by Quilt Alliance | Mar 6, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On This Day in History Quilt for March 6: On this day in 1475 Michelangelo Buonarroti, best known of the Italian Renaissance artists, was born in the small village of Caprese. He became an apprentice at only 13 and was then taken on by Florentine ruler and arts patron, Lorenzo de’Medici. At age 33, Michelangelo was commissioned to paint the ceiling of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel. It took several years to complete the frescoes, the most famous of which is The Creation of Adam in which the hands of God and Adam are outstretched towards each other. Jacquelyn Lee Faulkner of East Lansing, Michigan created this quilt, “The Touch,” in 1984 as commission for the First Presbyterian Church of Lansing. Faulkner was inspired by another artist’s rendition of Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam.” The quilt was documented as part of the Michigan Quilt Project. Faulkner said: “The artist had given the arms and background a surface design of different colored triangles that flowed over the painting…. The fabric background and muscle groups [for the quilt] evolved from there… I drew in muscle groups that gave the arms very flowing lines, using a few cracks in the ceiling as guidelines. I drew into the background flowing lines for piecing.” 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/michelangelo-born Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Mar 5, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On This Day in History Quilt for March 5: On this day in 1963 the Hula-Hoop was patented by Arthur “Spud” Melin, co-founder of the Wham-O company. Melin and friend Richard Knerr, launched the company selling slingshots (that made the sound “Wham-O” when fired) to feed falcons used for hunting. A wooden hoop used in Australian schools for exercise and the hip-gyrating Hawaiian Hula dance inspired the idea for the Hula-Hoop. Wham-O sold an estimated 25 million of the plastic toys in its first four months of production. This quilt, titled Enigma 3, was born in Australia as well. Quiltmaker Mariya Waters of Melbourne, Australia made this machine quilted wholecloth wall piece in 2003, and it received 3rd place in the Miniature Quilts category at the American Quilter’s Society Quilt Show in Paducah, Kentucky. It is now part of the “Oh, Wow! Miniature Quilt Collection” of the National Quilt Museum, a collection of small quilts made to scale. Another very similar miniature quilt with the same title, made by Waters, is also documented 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/hula-hoop-patented http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hula_hoop Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Mar 4, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On This Day in History Quilt for March 4: On this day in 1781 Rebecca Gratz, the Jewish American educator and philanthropist, was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. At age 20 she helped found the “Female Association for the Relief of Women and Children in Reduced Circumstances.” She worked hard to help Jewish women in her community, especially those who were underprivileged, integrate into American life and culture without making religious or moral sacrifices. Jewish American quiltmaker Bertha Stenge of Chicago, Illinois made this quilt around 1946. The title of the quilt is O.P.A., referring to the Office of Price Administration, the governmental agency in charge of rationing food during wartime. The quilt is owned by the Illinois State Museum who contributed it to The Quilt Index. The record includes this description about construction: “Hand Piecing, Hand Applique, Appliqued seahorses (possibly representing sardines) on pieced blocks in center and border, Inner border of distorted diamonds, flat boxes (sardine tins ?) and stuffed work representing celery and keys for tins.” 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/Rebecca_Gratz http://jwa.org/womenofvalor/gratz Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Mar 1, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On This Day in History Quilt for March 1: On this day in 1692 the Salem Witch Hunt began in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The first women put on trial were Sarah Goode, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba, an Indian slave from Barbados. All three were charged with illegal witchcraft, spurred by the testimonies of two girls in the colony who had experienced “fits” and other mysterious episodes that a doctor attributed to the effects of witchcraft. Mary Margaret Berkley Watson of Point Pleasant, West Virginia hand pieced the blocks for this Water Witch quilt in 1889 (no obvious witchcraft involved). She was assisted by E.F. Berkley Thomas who helped “set up” the top in 1939 and L.B. Hogg and Mildred Hargraves who hand quilted the piece in 1948-49. The quilt was documented by the great niece of one of the makers during the West Virginia Heritage Quilt Search in 1992. 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/salem-witch-hunt-begins Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Feb 28, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
On This Day in History Quilt for February 28: On this day in 1964 American jazz pianist and composer Theonious Sphere Monk was featured on the cover of Time magazine. Monk’s unorthodox approach to piano and unique improvisational style made him the second-most recorded jazz musician (after Duke Ellington). Monk was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina in 1917, but moved with his family to New York City at the age of 5. This quilt was also born in Rocky Mount. Annie Bryant made this scrappy Log Cabin in 1925. She hand pieced and hand quilted it with cotton, wool and linen fabric and wrote the recipient, her granddaughter’s initials in ink. The quilt was documented by Bryant’s granddaughter in 1986 during the North Carolina Quilt Project, who said, “She just wanted to give us something.” 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/thelonious-monk-makes-the-cover-of-time-magazine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelonious_Monk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIkmNNmAnAM Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
