by Quilt Alliance | Sep 5, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1836, Sam Houston was elected president of the Republic of Texas after it earned independence from Mexico. Houston was born in Virginia and then moved with his family to Tennessee after his father died. He practiced law in Nashville, served as Tennessee’s representative to the U.S. Congress and was elected governor of the state in 1827. Lori Manning Houston of Cumberland, Tennessee hand pieced this Bird in Flight quilt around 1920 and Mae Houston Howard hand quilted it around 1950. Houston’s grandchild received the quilt as a gift and documented it during the Quilts of Tennessee project. The owner noted that his/her grandmother made quilt tops for each grandchild and his/ her aunt quilted it. It was pieced with whatever was available. Also noted in the record: “appears to be unwashed and unused.” View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about its history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view. Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/sam-houston-elected-as-president-of-texas- Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Sep 4, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1982, American musician Frank Zappa earned his first and only Top 40 hit, “Valley Girl.” The song was conceived by Zappa’s 14-year-old daughter Moon Unit as a way to get her busy father’s attention. The song, while a complete satire, spawned a teen subculture in the San Fernando Valley, spreading phrases like “Gag me with a spoon” and “Fer sure” past the local malls out into the world. Grace Reynolds Tyler made this “Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Quilt” in 1934 in Wheeler TVA Dam Village in Alabama. Three other quilts in this same pattern called “Lazy Man,” (designed by Ruth Clement Bond, wife of TVA Personnel Officer), have been located. This quilt was documented during the Quilts of Tennessee project and appears in Merikay Waldvogel’s book “Soft Covers for Hard Times: Quiltmaking and the Great Depression (Nashville, TN: Rutledge Hill Press, 1990). Waldvogel interviewed Bond, who said: “the black man in the center is in the process of choosing between a job offered by the Federal Government (the white uniformed hand) or the “life of frivolity” represented by the woman whose profile is at the right.” View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about its history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view. Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/quotvalley-girlquot-becomes-a-top-40-hit-for-frank-and-moon-unit-zappa Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Aug 30, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 30 B.C., Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, took her own life after her armies were defeated by Octavian (later called Augustus), the future first emperor of Rome. Distressed over her defeat, Cleopatra tried to seduce Octavian in an attempt to make peace with him, but he resisted her charms and she committed suicide rather than surrender. Casandra Cleopatra Eliza Sanders made this Double T quilt in 1885 in Lewisburg, West Virginia. The quilt was documented during the West Virginia Heritage Quilt Search by Sanders’ great grandson who was given the quilt by his 101 year old grandmother. Sanders’ was a Civil War widow who raised seven children by herself. The quilt’s present owner states: “The entire family disembarked from the train (from their former home of Grundy, W.V.) and walked to Lewisburg carrying their luggage. “She [great grandmother] made this quilt when her children were small and times were hard trying to raise her children without her husband.” View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about its history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view. Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/cleopatra-commits-suicide Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Aug 29, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall near New Orleans, Louisiana. This category 4 hurricane was the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States, displacing one million residents, and ranking alongside the Great Depression in human impact. The Quilting Queens of Minden (Louisiana) met during their post Hurricane Katrina and Rita volunteer work. They made this one patch quilt titled “God’s Blessings” from clothing items that were left at a relief center that could not be distributed The group met weekly and made quilts to auction off to raise money for hurricane survivors. This quilt is special because it was signed by Hurricane Katrina evacuees, as well as relief workers. It was documented as part of the Louisiana Quilt Documentation Project in 2006. View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about its history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view. Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hurricane-katrina-slams-into-gulf-coast Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Aug 27, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1833, Margarethe Meyer Schurz was born in Hamburg, Germany. Schurtz studied education with Freidrich Froebel, the creator of the “kindergarten” concept, then moved to the U.S. and founded the country’s first kindergarten. The program, in Watertown, Wisconsin, lead young children in games, songs and group activities channeling their energy and preparing them for primary school. Maude Ada Franks Combs made this String Quilt in the 1930’s in Wellington, Texas. The quilt is foundation machine pieced and hand quilted and was one of many that Combs made for her family, teaching her daughter (who now owns the quilt) the “necessary homemaking arts” in the process. Combs’ daughter wrote: “I do not recall at what age she taught me to mark, cut, and string tiny pieces for intricate blocks, but when I was enrolled in kindergarten, I had scissor marks on my right hand and my thimble finger was already bent and I was not even five years old.” The quilt was documented during the Texas Quilt Search Project and is included in the book Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, Vol. II, 1936-1986, by Karoline Patterson Bresenhan and Nancy O’Bryant Puentes (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1990. It was included in an exhibition by the same name at the 1990 International Quilt Festival, Houston, Texas. View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about its history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margarethe_Schurz Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
