by Quilt Alliance | Jan 14, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
A traitor and a quilt, born in Connecticut On this day in 1741 Benedict Arnold was born in Norwich Connecticut. Arnold fought for the Americans early in the Revolutionary War, becoming a general and playing key roles in crucial victories. He was not satisfied with the recognition he received however, and became one of the most famous traitors in American history when he attempted to give away U.S. posts in return for money, was caught and escaped to British territories. This Tree of Life wholecloth quilt was hand quilted by Mary Sill in Old Lyme, Connecticut around 1840. The fabric, made from a bed curtain, dates as early as the 1790’s though. The quilt was eventually brought to Hawaii by descendants of the quiltmaker, and they donated the quilt to the DAR by the Aloha chapter. 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/topics/benedict-arnold Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jan 11, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
Survivors and witnesses On this day in 2010, Hermine “Miep” Santruschitz Gies died at age 100 in the Netherlands. Gies helped hide Anne Frank and her family from the Nazis during World War II, and was the rescuer of Anne’s now-famous writings. In her 1987 memoir, “Anne Frank Remembered,” Gies wrote: I am not a hero. I stand at the end of the long, long line of good Dutch people who did what I did and more—much more—during those dark and terrible times years ago, but always like yesterday in the heart of those of us who bear witness. Never a day goes by that I do not think of what happened then. The quilt above, titled “Survivors 2003,” was made in 2010 by Aniko Feher of Royal Oak, Michigan. Feher includes the story of the photo in the Quilt Index record; here is an excerpt: This is a memorial quilt dedicated to my mother, who was a Holocaust survivor. She was liberated in Bergen-Belsen. After liberation Bergen-Belsen became a DP camp. It took her a while to recuperated from starvation. Once she was physically stronger she wanted to return home and find her family. Survivors were promised transportation home but after many months no transportation was provided. My mother with 4 other survivors from Budapest decided to go home on their own. Most of their journey was on foot. Somewhere on that journey a tiny group photo was Taken of the 5 survivors. In the group photo my mother is the second from the left, the large portrait is also of her when she was old and fragile, before she passed away. 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/miep-gies-who-hid-anne-frank-dies-at-100 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miep_Gies Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jan 10, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
10-4, Good Quilters! On this day in 1976 the number one hit on the U.S. pop charts was “Convoy” by C.W. McCall (actually a pen name for an Omaha advertising executive, Bill Fries). At the time the mid-70’s trucking/CB radio craze was at its height. The song inspired a movie by the same name starring Kris Kristofferson, Ali McGraw and Ernest Borgnine. This lap quilt, made for a fundraiser, is titled “Milwaukee Clipper Night Skies” and was pieced by Peggy Iverson of Fruitport, Michigan in 2008, and quilted by Carol Hustier. Iverson started quilting as a teenager and has worked as a trucker and a factory worker. 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/quotconvoyquot-by-cw-mccall-is-the-351-song-on-the-us-pop-charts http://www.lyricsfreak.com/c/cw+mccall/convoy_20026575.html Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jan 9, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
Quilts, Fleming Quilts. (for my Bond fans) On this day in 1965 Goldfinger, the seventh book in Ian Fleming’s James Bond series debuted in theaters across the United States. Fleming (1908-1964), who came from a wealthy family in London, worked as a foreign correspondent, stockbroker and personal assistant to Britain’s director of naval intelligence during World War II, and drew inspiration and details from this exciting work to create the best selling Bond novels. This Lone Star, or Tumbling Blocks variation, was hand quilted by Mrs. Bell Fleming of Land of the Lakes, Fleming Hill, Kentucky in the 1870’s. The quilt was documented by the Kentucky Quilt Project and contributed to The Quilt Index by the University of Louisville Archives and Records Center. 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/bond-movie-features-aston-martin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldfinger_%28novel%29 Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
by Quilt Alliance | Jan 8, 2013 | On this Day in History Quilts series
Prime quilts. On this day in 1816 pioneering mathematician Sophie Germain, was awarded a grand prize by the French Academy of Sciences for her work on number theory that revealed patterns produced by vibration. The construction of modern skyscrapers utilizes this applied mathematics foundations developed by Germain at age 40. Germain died at age 55 from breast cancer. A school and a street in Paris are named in her honor, and certain prime numbers are now referred to as “Sophie Germain primes.” Matrix IV: All Buttoned Up is a small wall quilt made by Karen Fisher of Tucson, Arizona, for the 2008 Quilt Alliance contest. Fischer wrote in her artist’s statement: My Matrix quilts are based on a simple mathematical formula: columns of background plus rows of foreground create areas of interacting color and value…Each quilt explores scale, color arrangement, and finishing techniques. I plan at least three more, and I continue to have fun with these very formal color explorations.” 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/sciencemath1/a/sophie_germain.htm Posted by Amy E. Milne Executive Director, Quilt Alliance…
