by Quilt Alliance | Jun 19, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1970, Manhattan native Carole King earned her first #1 single, a double-sided hit with two songs she wrote and performed: “It’s Too Late” and “I Feel the Earth Move.” Before this King earned her living as a songwriter for Aldon Music for whom she co-wrote hit songs like “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” and “Take Good Care of My Baby” with her then-husband Gerry Goffin. Carole S. Filipi Bors of Saline, Nebraska made this embroidered quilt in 1972. The quilt was meant as a gift for a teacher and Bors hired another someone to do the hand quilting. This record states, “Quiltmaker typically charged 30 dollars for quilts.” The quilt was documented in 1987 as part of the Nebraska Quilt Project. View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about it’s history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view. Sources: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/carole-king-has-her-first-1-hit-as-a-performer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carole_King Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jun 18, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1923, the first Checker cab rolled off the assembly line at the Checker Cab Manufacturing Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The company with the familiar checkerboard graphic produced cabs in Michigan until 1982. Nellie (Shea) Neal, a Methodist homemaker from Hoxie, Kansas who learned to quilt from a friend, hand pieced this 9 Patch Checkerboard quilt between 1937-38. The quilt was documented during the Kansas Quilt Project by its current owner, Ingrid Neal, also of Hoxie. View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about it’s history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view. Sources: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/checker-cab-produces-first-taxi-at-kalamazoo-factory Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jun 17, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1885, the Statue of Liberty, a copper and iron statue given as a gift of friendship by France to the people of America, arrived in New York Harbor in 350 individual pieces packed in more than 200 crates. The words of American poet Emma Lazarus were used for the statue’s plaque, including the now-famous line: “Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Carol Anne Grotrian made this quilt, titled “Light of Liberty” in 1986. The quilt was Grotrian’s prize-winning entry in The Great American Quilt Contest with the theme “Expressions of Liberty,” commemorating the Centennial of the Statue of Liberty in 1986. Rather than a literal image of the Statue of Liberty, Carole Anne Grotrian presents an abstract view of the Statue, Bedloe’s Island, and the light emanating from Liberty’s torch from above. Gotrian donated the quilt to the New England Quilt Museum. View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about it’s history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view. Sources: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/statue-of-liberty-arrives Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jun 14, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1777, the Continental Congress adopted a resolution stating that “the flag of the United States be thirteen alternate stripes red and white” and that “the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.” According to popular history Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Ross designed this first national flag, nicknamed the “Stars and Stripes.” Laura Maria Ott Myers of Erath, Texas made this Stars and Stripes quilt around 1910 and it was later quilted by Inez Lee. The quilt was identified and reviewed during the Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Association’s Texas Quilt Search, which happened between 1983-1985. Karey Bresenhan served as quilt historian and described how the quilt is somewhat of a rule breaker: “…it is full of movement and images, yet the pieced stripes don’t match up, points in stars are cut off, the quilt edge ripples. . . .yet it is inspired.” The quilt is included in the book Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts, Vol. I, 1836-1936, by Karoline Patterson Bresenhan and Nancy O’Bryant Puentes (Austin: University of Texas Press) and was included in an exhibition by the same name in the Texas State Capitol Rotunda, Austin, Texas, April 19-21, 1986. View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about it’s history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view. Sources: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/congress-adopts-the-stars-and-stripes Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jun 13, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1910, William D. Crum, an African American physician from South Carolina, was appointed the U.S. minister to Liberia. Previously he held the positions of delegate to Republican National Convention from South Carolina, and U.S. Collector of Customs in Charleston. Leona Johnson of Monrovia, Liberia, made this Zinnia Variation quilt in 1992. “The quilt was brought to Flint, Michigan by the maker’s sister’s son, Rev. Emmanuel Bailey. Emmanual goes to Monrovia, Liberia about every 6 months to see his relatives and to work on the building of an orphanage for the victims of war. He put his order in for these quilts last January and then picked them up in August.” Michigan State University Museum purchased two of Johnson’s quilts from Rev. Bailey for its permanent collection. View this quilt on The Quilt Index to read more about it’s history, design and construction. Be sure to use the zoom tool for a detailed view. Sources: http://www.blackfacts.com/fact/437c4392-71d2-4e53-9fe0-d6c3d5c89f72 Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
