by Quilt Alliance | Jun 5, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1832, Queen Regent Ka’ahumanu of Hawaii, died after a brief illness. Ka’ahumanu was the most powerful wife of King Kamehameha and after his death she was named Queen Regent, a title similar to a modern-day prime minister. The Queen embraced Christianity and right before her death, missionaries presented her with the first copy of the New Testament printed in the Hawaiian language, bound in red leather with her name engraved in gold letters. This Kapa Hae Hawaii (Hawaiian Flag Quilt) was made in the late 1800’s/early 1900’s in Hawaii. It was machine pieced, hand appliqued and hand quilted and although the maker’s name is unknown, there is an inscription that reads “E.K.C.” The quilt was documented by its owner, who inherited it, during the Hawaiian Quilt Research Project in 1993. 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: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka%CA%BBahumanu Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jun 4, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1862, Confederate forces evacuate Fort Pillow, Tennessee, leaving a clear path for the Union capture of Memphis. Two years later, the Fort Pillow Massacre was one of the bleakest battles of the Civil War, with nearly 300 surrendered black Union soldiers killed by Confederate forces. Agnes Mushet of Methuen, Massachusetts, made this Octagon Crazy Quilt pillow cover from cigar silks around 1890. Noted in this Quilt Index record: “husband Frank probably collected the silks when he worked at the Glen Forest Amusement Part on the Merrimack River in Methuen as head of concessions in the late 1890s.” The pillow cover is now owned by the New England Quilt Museum who documented it in The Quilt Index. 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/confederates-evacuate-fort-pillow http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Pillow Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jun 3, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1906, world-famous dancer, singer and actress Josephine Baker (Freda Josephine McDonald) was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Baker, who ran away from home to dance in vaudeville and on Broadway at age 13, was the first African American woman to star in a major motion picture (Zouzou, 1934). Baker moved to Paris in 1925 and there became one of the best-known entertainers in France and Europe. Baker died in 1975, two days after her last performance in Paris. Noted quilt historian, Cuesta Benberry of St. Louis, made this quilt top with the help of Annette Ammen, Lois Mueller and George Ammen (Annette’s husband), who drew many of the designs. Each block signifies something of importance in African American women’s quiltmaking experiences. Cuesta Benberry’s son donated this quilt, along with the rest of Benberry’s quilt ephemera collection, to the Michigan State University Museum when she passed away in 2008. 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://womenshistory.about.com/od/bakerjosephine/p/josephine_baker.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephine_Baker Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | May 31, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1965, American actress and model Brooke Shields was born in New York City. At only 14 Shields did a controversial commercial for Calvin Klein jeans with the tagline, “You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.” Mamie Lee Bryan made this strip quilt that includes a jeans pocket between 1976-1999. “This quilt was documented during a research project to identify and document practitioners of traditional customs in the communities of North Carolina and Virginia along a section of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The project was conducted by the Library of Congress’s American Folklife Center in cooperation with the National Park Service.” 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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooke_Shields Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | May 30, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On this day in 1913, a New York socialite named Mary Phelps Jacob received a patent for her invention of the modern brassiere, a streamlined alternative to the unhealthy and painful corset. Michigander Libby Cassin of Ishpeming began this quilt around 1930 and finished it in 1995 with the help of by her friend, Veronica Paeske, of Escanaba, Michigan. This “Square in a Square” quilt was machine pieced using “scraps left over from “The Gossard,” a factory in Marquette County, Michigan that made ladies undergarments such as bras and corsets.” The quilt was documented as part of the Michigan Quilt Project by the family member who inherited it. 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://inventors.about.com/od/bstartinventions/a/brassiere.htm Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
