by Quilt Alliance | Feb 4, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
Mohicans in Morganton On this day in 1826 The Last of the Mohicans, the second in a series of 5 novels by New Jersey author James Fennimore Cooper, was published. The book was adapted for film several times starting in 1912. The 1992 version of the film, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, was filmed in part in Western North Carolina in the Lake James community near the small town of Morganton (my home town). This Tulip or Rose Tree quilt, made for a wedding gift, was entirely handmade by Sarah Elizabeth Brittain Walton of Morganton, N.C. around 1870. Sarah was a Scotch-Irish mother of six who was an expert seamstress and did all sorts of handiwork. Sarah’s granddaughter inherited the quilt and documented it during the North Carolina Quilt Project in 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/the-last-of-the-mohicans-is-published http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_of_the_Mohicans Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Feb 3, 2013 | Alliance Quilt Contests, Tiny Desk Exhibition
The 7th annual Quilt Alliance contest theme is TWENTY and all quilters who love quilt history and believe that every quilt has a story worth sharing are encouraged to enter. This year in honor of our 20th anniversary as a nonprofit organization, we celebrate “twenty”: the numeral, the concept, the quantity, the word. All techniques and materials are encouraged. Entries must be a quilt (3 layers–top, filling and backing) and conform to our contest guidelines. Postmark deadline for entries is May 1, 2013. The Grand Prize winner (to be chosen by a panel of three professional quilters/designers) will receive an HQ Sweet Sixteen machine quilting system by Handi Quilter, Inc. Download entry forms here. Here is a Tiny Desk Exhibition (love those NPR Tiny Desk Concerts) of Alliance contest quilts made by Alliance member Dr. Ramona Bates of Little Rock, Arkansas. Ramona donated these miniature beauties between 2009-2012 and each quilt now lives in the collection of a generous quilt fan. Click on the link below each quilt to see materials and techniques Ramona used along with her artist statements. These quilts are also documented in The Quilt Index, along with all Alliance contest quilts (browse them here). Meet this Member! Visit Ramona’s Blog, Sutured for a Living, and find out more about this talented plastic surgeon with a passion for piecing (and knitting, and dogs and knitted items for dogs…). Thank you, Ramona, for giving your time, talent and treasure to this organization. As you help us save the stories of quilts and quiltmakers, we are so proud to preserve and share your own quilt story. I hope you enjoy this Tiny Desk Exhibition. Please share with a friend! Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Feb 2, 2013 | QSOS
The Quilters’ S.O.S.- Save Our Stories project just got a little bit bigger. With over 1,000 interviews presented on our website and archived in the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, this collection is the largest of its kind. Thanks to the support of a grant by the Ardis and Robert James Foundation matched by donations from devoted Q.S.O.S. patrons, the project is taking a big leap forward. New staff support (project manager Emma Parker), the debut of our first quilts and oral history conference (coming on July 20 in Herndon, Virginia) and the launch of a scholars program aimed at mining this valuable repository for inspiring and educational content, are all on tap for 2013. Here are a few of the newly posted interviews with an excerpt from each. Enjoy and please share! Jessie McCoy Interviewed on October 14, 2010 for the Georgia Q.S.O.S. Interviewer: Jodie Davis Location: The Georgia Quilt Show in Duluth, Georgia. Read the full interview. Barbara Brackman Interviewed on March 5, 2011 for the Kansas Q.S.O.S. Location: Moda Fabrics in Dallas, Texas Interviewer: Meg Cox Read the full interview. Victoria Findlay Wolfe Interviewed on August 5, 2011 for the New York Q.S.O.S. Location: New York, New York Interviewer: Meg Cox Read the full interview. Michael Michalski Interviewed on April 27, 2011 for the New York Q.S.O.S. Location: The National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky Interviewer: Amy Milne Read the full interview. Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Feb 1, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
Collector’s Dictionary. On this day in 1884 the first portion of the Oxford English Dictionary was published. The editors originally envisioned the dictionary as a four-volume work that would take 10 years to complete. The project actually took over 40 years and resulted in 10 volumes containing over 400,000 words. This Checkerboard (alternate name Collector’s Dictionary) quilt top was made by an unknown quilter in the late 1800’s in Cornish, New Jersey. It was documented in 1988 by the inheritor of the quilt during The Heritage Quilt Project of New Jersey. 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/oxford-dictionary-debuts Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jan 31, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
Treasures from Zanesville. On this day in 1872 author Zane (changed from his given name—Pearl) Grey was born in Zanesville, Ohio. Grey’s most famous novel Riders of the Purple Sage is the tale of a man transformed from a weak easterner to a strong adventurer shaped by the rugged environment and culture of the American West. This T-Pattern quilt was also made in Zanesville, Ohio in the late 19th century. Three generations of women worked on the quilt: Mrs. Adam Racquet (mother), Mrs. Peter Gobel (daughter) and Mrs. David Gobel (granddaughter –in law?). Family members inherited the quilt and documented it (along with two others made by this group) during the North Carolina Quilt Project in 1985. 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/author-zane-grey-is-born Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
