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> About The Alliance > Press Release/Alliance News
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Louisville, Kentucky, September 21, 2006 – Forty-seven of the quilts from the “Put a Roof Over Our Head” exhibition will be displayed at the Genesee Valley Quilt Club quilt show on October 7 and 8. The guild is celebrating its 70th anniversary. The show is being held at the Schroeder High School Field House, 800 Five Mile Rd., Webster, NY. Artists from around the U.S. and three foreign countries created 74 quilts for the “Put a Roof Over Our Head” contest and traveling exhibit for The Alliance for American Quilts. The quilts, all of which were donated to The Alliance by the artists, will travel around the country until December 2007 when they will be auctioned off. All proceeds will benefit the organization. A CD catalog of the exhibition will also be for sale at the quilt show. Details on the CD and future venues can be found on The Alliance’s website (www.centerforthequilt.org/contest.php). The Alliance for American Quilts announced the winners of the “Put a Roof Over Our Head” contest on August 3, 2006. The announcement made by Karen Musgrave, curator and Alliance board member, was part of the celebrations around The Alliance’s move to Asheville, North Carolina. Alliance members voted for the three winners from the 74 quilts entered into the contest. Third place winner Ellen Levine of Asheville won a Quilters’ S.O.S. - Save Our Stories interview. Quilters’ S.O.S. - Save Our Stories is one of The Alliance’s oral history projects. Second place winner Ann Holmes, also of Asheville, won a complete software package donated by The Electric Quilt Company. The first place quilt was a group quilt made by Keti Kasrashvili, Irina Lavrinenko and Nino Chargeishvili of the Republic of Georgia. Their prize is a Bernina Aurora 440 QE sewing machine donated by Bernina USA. The Alliance for American Quilts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, uniquely joins people who love, study, collect, and make quilts to ensure that our nation’s great quilt heritage is documented, preserved and shared at the Center for the Quilt Online, www.centerforthequilt.org. For information on The Alliance for American Quilts, www.centerforthequilt.org, contact The Alliance (admin@quiltalliance.org or 502.897.3819 Mon- Fri 9-5 Eastern). For more information on “Put a Roof Over Our Head,” contact Karen Musgrave, Curator, at karenmusgrave@sbcglobal.net or 630.579.1024. ####
Louisville, Kentucky, Sept. 13, 2006- The Alliance for American Quilts has launched its “Memory Quilt” project, open to everyone, to honor, celebrate and share the special people who have touched their lives and inspired them to love quilts. The project provides a permanent place on the Center for the Quilt Online (http://www.centerforthequilt.org/) for individuals and groups to honor those special people. The “Memory Quilt” project was inspired by Alliance Board member Meg Cox’s desire for a memorial tribute to her mother Jo Cox, a passionate quiltmaker who passed on the art to her daughter. Alan Jabbour, President of The Alliance, expressed his delight that actor Tess Harper will serve as the spokesperson for the Memory Quilt project: “Tess Harper is an active and devoted member of the Advisory Council of The Alliance for American Quilts, and she will be a powerful and persuasive voice telling the world about The Alliance’s wonderful programs. Quilts are part of her personal heritage, and she understands well the values they reflect, the beauty they radiate, and the volumes they tell about the creativity of Americans – especially American women – from all walks of life.” Academy Award nominee for Crimes of the Heart, Tess Harper was born and raised in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. Her quilt collection is based on quilts made by her grandmothers and things picked up around the country. Recently Ms. Harper worked with Toby Keith, Burt Reynolds and Kelly Preston in Broken Bridges, a feature film and for the Cohen Brothers in No Country for Old Men, based on the Cormac McCarthy novel, opposite Tommy Lee Jones. “I am proud to speak on behalf of The Alliance for American Quilts and to serve as an Alliance Advisory Council member,” Harper said. “The Memory Quilt Project is exciting to me because it will be a repository of history and tradition, both personal and collective.” In the Star Memory Quilt block Ms. Harper memorializes both her grandmother, “Kitty Cat Ma,” and her Aunt Rita with a loving remembrance of childhood summers spent “sitting on a foot-stool made from five gallon cans and cotton batting, I watched thinking that they, like the hard Ozark hills around us, would always endure.” Donations for this project range from $100 to $1,000. Alliance members receive a special discount. To memorialize or honor a loved one, family member, mentor or friend, donors can submit photographs and testaments to the “Star Memory Quilt” (http://www.centerforthequilt.org/memoryquilt.php), or create a simple message for the “Chinese Coins Quilt” (http://www.centerforthequilt.org/memoryquilt1.php). The Alliance for American Quilts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, uniquely joins people who love, study, collect, and make quilts to ensure that our nation’s great quilt heritage is documented, preserved and shared at the Center for the Quilt Online, http://www.centerforthequilt.org/. To speak to Ms. Harper about the Memory Quilt project, her work with The Alliance, or the importance of quilts in her life, contact Amy Milne, The Alliance’s Executive Director, at 828-505-0739 or email amy.milne@yahoo.com. #### Press Release: “Put a Roof Over Our Head” Contest Winners Announced Asheville, North Carolina, August 9, 2006 – The Alliance for American Quilts announced the winners of the “Put a Roof Over Our Head” contest at the Asheville Quilt Guild show on August 3, 2006. The announcement made by Karen Musgrave, curator and Alliance board member, was part of the celebrations around The Alliance’s move to Asheville, North Carolina. Alliance members voted for the three winners from the 74 quilts entered into the contest. Third place winner Ellen Levine of Asheville won a Quilters’ S.O.S. - Save Our Stories interview. Quilters’ S.O.S. - Save Our Stories is one of The Alliance’s oral history projects. Second place winner Ann Holmes, also of Asheville, won a complete software package donated by The Electric Quilt Company. The first place quilt was a group quilt made by Keti Kasrashvili, Irina Lavrinenko and Nino Chargeishvili of the Republic of Georgia. Their prize is a Bernina Aurora 440 QE sewing machine donated by Bernina USA. Artists from around the U.S. and three foreign countries created 74 quilts for the “Put a Roof Over Our Head” contest and traveling exhibit. In celebration of The Alliance’s move to Asheville, the quilts are presently exhibited in 20 galleries, businesses and government offices around downtown Asheville for the month of August. The quilts, all of which were donated to The Alliance by the artists, will travel around the country beginning September 2006 and will then be auctioned in December 2007. All proceeds will benefit the organization. A CD catalog of the exhibition is for sale. Details on the CD and future venues can be found on The Alliance’s website (www.centerforthequilt.org/contest.php).The Alliance for American Quilts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, uniquely joins people who love, study, collect, and make quilts to ensure that our nation’s great quilt heritage is documented, preserved and shared at the Center for the Quilt Online, www.centerforthequilt.org. For information on The Alliance for American Quilts, Center for the Quilt Online, contact The Alliance (quiltalliance@aol.com or 502/897-3819 Mon- Fri 9-6 Eastern). #### Press Release: Quilters’ S.O.S. – Save Our Stories Reaches a Milestone “These stories are important for they encapsulate, into one compact package, information, knowledge, context and emotion about quiltmaking today,” said Karen Musgrave, one of the co-chairs of the project. The interviewees include quiltmakers of every type, from those who simply dabble to those who are professionals. This extensive online resource consists not only of the transcribed interviews but a newsletter, an extensive manual on how to conduct a Q.S.O.S. project of one’s own and a place to ask questions. All of the work is done by dedicated volunteers. The goal of the project is to create, through recorded interviews, a broadly accessible body of information concerning quiltmaking and make it available through the Internet. To ensure that all aspects of those involved in quiltmaking are represented last year the Q.S.O.S. Task Force conducted a study of the interviews to identify any gaps. The Task Force has also put together a list of the top 100 quiltmakers who need to be included. These are the focuses for this year’s interviews. Q.S.O.S. was designed to be simple, inexpensive and inclusive. The format can easily be adopted by organizations and individuals eager to document the personal stories of quiltmakers in their communities. Each interview runs approximately 45 minutes. The quiltmaker to be interviewed is asked to bring a “touchstone object” that she or he considers significant, preferably a self-made quilt. The interview unfolds from observations and questions about the touchstone object, which provides a consistent point of reference. Interview equipment and techniques are easily acquired and used with minimum training. This project of The Alliance for American Quilts works in partnership with the Regional Center for the Quilt at the Center for American Material Culture Studies, University of Delaware. The Alliance for American Quilts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, uniquely joins people who love, study, collect, and make quilts to ensure that our nation’s great quilt heritage is documented, preserved and shared at the Center for the Quilt Online, www.centerforthequilt.org. For information The Alliance for American Quilts, visit the Center for the Quilt Online, or contact The Alliance (502/897-3819 Mon- Fri 9-6 Eastern, quiltalliance@aol.com). CONTACT: #### Press Release: "Quilts 2007" Wall Calendar The calendar retails for $13.99. However, The Alliance is offering its members a special offer on the calendar. This special offer allows members to buy one calendar and get one free (plus shipping and handling, plus 6% sales tax for KY residents- limit 1 offer per member). Please allow 15 business days for delivery. For information concerning membership or purchasing the calendar, visit www.centerforthequilt.org. Pomegranate works in association with the world’s great museums, galleries and art resources to achieve the highest possible quality in reproduction and presentation. The Alliance for American Quilts, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, implements its projects in partnership with institutions and organizations nationally, including three regional centers— the Center for American Material Culture Studies at the University of Delaware, the Great Lakes Quilt Center at the Michigan State University Museum, and the Center for American History at the University of Texas. Other Alliance partners include the Library of Congress American Folklife Center, and MATRIX, the Center for Humane Arts, Letters and Social Sciences Online. For more information contact: #### Press Release: The Alliance for American Quilts Names Executive Director Louisville, Kentucky, March 20, 2006- The Alliance for American Quilts has selected Amy E. Milne as its Executive Director. In announcing Amy Milne’s appointment, The Alliance’s President Shelly Zegart said, “Amy brings a unique combination of talents, nonprofit leadership experience and energy to this position. We are confident that the combination of vision and focus she brings to The Alliance for American Quilts makes her a superb choice to move The Alliance forward with its diverse and challenging projects." Commenting on her appointment, Amy Milne said, “Quilts have always brought people together. The Alliance for American Quilts has built on that tradition, uniting people interested in quilts from inside and outside the quilt world around a shared vision and bringing their talents together in collaborative ventures. I am thrilled to join this organization. And as a native of western North Carolina, I'm proud to see a national organization of The Alliance's caliber move its headquarters to Asheville in 2006.” Amy E. Milne has worked as a nonprofit administrator, an educator and an artist for the past 15 years. She holds a Bachelor of Environmental Design from North Carolina State University and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan. Amy joins The Alliance after serving 5 years as Executive Director of SeeSaw Studio in Durham, N.C. The Alliance for American Quilts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, uniquely joins people who love, study, collect, and make quilts to ensure that our nation’s great quilt heritage is documented, preserved and shared at the Center for the Quilt Online. For information The Alliance for American Quilts, visit the Center for the Quilt Online, or contact The Alliance (502/897-3819 Mon- Fri 9-6 Eastern, quiltalliance@aol.com).#### January 21, 2006 #### Press Release: “Put a Roof Over Our Head” Quilt Contest Louisville, Kentucky, January 4, 2006- The Alliance for American Quilts announces its first quilt contest to help celebrate its move to Asheville, North Carolina and to support the mission of documenting, preserving and sharing our great quilt heritage. The contest is sponsored by Bernina of America and The Electric Quilt Company. Let your imagination run wild while using The Alliance’s house pattern and you have met the general theme for this competition. The house pattern and more details on the contest can be found at http://www.centerforthequilt.org/contest.php. Anyone can enter. Entry deadline is May 15, 2006. The quilts will travel and be exhibited in a variety of places including The Alliance’s website and throughout downtown Asheville in August. After viewing the quilts online, the members of The Alliance for American Quilts will each have one vote for their favorite quilt. First prize will be a Bernina Aurora 440QE sewing machine and second prize will be a complete Electric Quilt Company software CD package. Winners will be announced in August in Asheville. A full color catalog will be published on CD and will also be available for sale. Quilts will not be returned and are considered a donation to The Alliance for American Quilts. The quilts will be auctioned when the quilts are finished traveling and the proceeds will go to the organization. The Alliance for American Quilts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, uniquely joins people who love, study, collect, and make quilts to ensure that our nation’s great quilt heritage is documented, preserved and shared at the Center for the Quilt Online. For information The Alliance for American Quilts, visit the Center for the Quilt Online, or contact The Alliance (502/897-3819 Mon- Fri 9-6 Eastern, quiltalliance@aol.com). #### Press Release: Patty and David Crosby, founders of Mississippi Cultural Crossroads, The Alliance’s Newest Quilt Treasures Louisville, Kentucky, November 9, 2005 — Patricia and David Crosby, founders of Mississippi Cultural Crossroads in Port Gibson, Mississippi, are the subjects of a new Quilt Treasures, a project of The Alliance for American Quilts. This online multi-media web-based portrait explores the Crosby's work to bridge racial boundaries through community-based arts, education and economic development efforts. Mississippi Cultural Crossroads is a unique and award-winning center that has been recognized as a national model for quilt-related documentation, interpretation, education, marketing, economic development, and community building. Quilt Treasures is a collaborative program of The Alliance for American Quilts, Michigan State University Museum and MSU's MATRIX: The Center for Humane Arts, Letters and Social Sciences Online, to document the stories of notable individuals in the late 20th century American quilt revival through multi-media presentations combining video, sound, photographs, testimonies, and sometimes even poetry. The Alliance has an adjudicated list of individuals to be interviewed and several additional portraits are already currently in various stages of production. To see more completed portraits visit www.centerforthequilt.org/treasures/index.html. The interview with the Crosbys was made possible by generous donations to The Alliance for American Quilts from Jinny Beyer and from Lake Mills Studios. Completion and presentation of this portrait was made possible by a grant from the Rock River Foundation. Completion of the series of Quilt Trearsures was made possible also by contributions from RJR Fashion Fabrics in honor of Judy Sabanek; from Karey Patterson Bresenhan and Nancy O'Bryant Puentes in loving memory of their mother and aunt, Jewel Pearce Patterson; and with in-kind support from Michigan State University Museum and MATRIX: Center for Humane Arts, Letters and Social Sciences Online at MSU. The Alliance is still seeking support to underwrite this important quilt history documentation and education activity and welcomes contributions towards the Quilt Treasures project. The Alliance for American Quilts, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization, uniquely joins people who love, study, collect, and make quilts to ensure that our nation’s great quilt heritage is documented, preserved and shared at the Center for the Quilt Online. For information on The Alliance for American Quilts, visit the Center for the Quilt Online, or contact The Alliance (502/897-3819 Mon- Fri 9-6 Eastern, quiltalliance@aol.com). #### Pres Release: The Alliance for American Quilts Announces Move to Asheville, North Carolina Louisville, Kentucky, October 10, 2005 — The Alliance for American Quilts announced today that it will move its offices to Asheville, North Carolina in summer 2006. The Alliance has been invited by HandMade in America, a nationally recognized craft and economic development organization, to join them in new offices currently under construction in downtown Asheville. The offices are part of Buncombe County’s effort to encourage the further development of Asheville as a premier center for craft and design. As a national organization devoted to the dynamic field of quilts, The Alliance is a highly prized partner in this endeavor. There is a rich tradition in quilting of making do with little, of taking small scraps and combining them ingeniously to create a gorgeous artifact whose magnificent whole transcends its humble parts. The Alliance has done this all along by being nimble and creative, forging itself into a sophisticated and practical organization that serves the quilt world in many ways. “Limited funds, the sweat equity of our board, members and supporters, and pure passion have fueled The Alliance for the last ten years and brought us to the accomplishments and reputation we have today,” said Alliance President Shelly Zegart. “We need a stronger engine – dedicated office space and full-time staff – to keep the work going and growing. Our move will give The Alliance a chance to gain the broader recognition it deserves – and quilts more of the recognition they deserve.” The Alliance was chosen from many organizations for the coveted space with HandMade. Rebecca Anderson, HandMade’s Executive Director, said, “HandMade chose The Alliance for American Quilts to share our new office space because of its national presence, use of technology, and innovative thinking about handmade objects. This joint venture will bring together different, but complementary organizations, resulting in a synergistic relationship, enabling each to grow in ways we might not otherwise.” The Alliance for American Quilts has been working for more than ten years to preserve and share the incredibly rich stories embodied in American quilts – stories about families and communities; histories of diverse people revealed through patterns, fabric, pictures, and colors. The Alliance is known for the high quality of its programs and projects, including the Center for the Quilt Online, which has become the “gold standard” web site for researching quilts and quiltmakers. From the site, users can access The Quilt Index, a groundbreaking resource that will include 15,000 quilt records and photographs by late 2006; Quilters’ S.O.S. – Save Our Stories, featuring nearly 500 oral history interviews with quiltmakers; Quilt Treasures web documentaries about the work and lives of the leaders of the 20th century American quilt revival; and much more.HandMade has led a renaissance of the Asheville area through the development of business, cultural tourism, and academic centers focused on the handcrafts. Quilts have been an important part of that movement. Quilt traditions, activity, and groups are strong throughout western North Carolina. Nationally known quiltmaker Georgia Bonesteel has sung the praises of the area for more than 20 years, and the North Carolina Quilt Symposium is one of the longest running statewide quilt events in the nation. The Alliance’s national board of directors will officially “kick off” the organization’s new home in August 2006, when it will hold its first Asheville-based board meeting and celebration. Read this article at Planet Patchwork http://planetpatchwork.com/travel/asheville2005.htm for some other reasons why Asheville is the perfect place for The Alliance. For additional information, CONTACT: #### Press Release: Take a Chance and Save Quilt History with “The Voice of You and Me 2006” Louisville, Kentucky, September 12, 2005- Well-known quilt artists Yvonne Porcella and Karen Musgrave have collaborated on the quilt, “The Voice of You and Me 2006,” to support the work of The Alliance for American Quilts. This third in the series of quilts titled “The Voice of You and Me” has art quiltmakers Porcella and Musgrave, both of whom are Alliance board members, returning to their art quilt roots after last year’s naïve rendition of a Baltimore Album-style quilt. In addition, a free block pattern for the block featured in “The Voice of You and Me 2006” (and also our last quilt) is available to members of The Alliance through our Members-Only pages. This colorful contemporary art quilt is highly quilted. The quilting on the 58" x 60" quilt was donated by professional long-arm quilter Karen Watts of Houston, Texas. Tickets are $5.00. The drawing for the quilt will be held in Louisville, Kentucky on May 20, 2006. Penny McMorris, quilt expert and head of the Alliance website committee, says about the quilt, “It's very dynamic! Love the way the colors work together. The lime green and pink really do wonderful things together. Beautiful!” When Musgrave was asked about her experiences with making the quilts, she said, “Each of these quilts have provided me not only with a great learning experience and a chance to work with Yvonne but most importantly, an opportunity to do something I love to support an organization that is amazing.” The Alliance for American Quilts, a nonprofit organization, uniquely joins people who love, study, collect, and make quilts to ensure that our nation’s great quilt heritage is documented, preserved and shared at the Center for the Quilt Online. For information on membership, to purchase tickets and to learn more about The Alliance for American Quilts, visit the Center for the Quilt Online, or contact The Alliance (502/897-3819 Mon - Fri 9 -6 Eastern, quiltalliance@aol.com). ####
“The Art and Soul of Quilts: Stories and Quilts Collected from Q.S.O.S. Interviews” October 8, 2005 – January 30, 2006 – Harrisonburg, VA, Virginia Quilt Museum, “The Art and Soul of Quilts: Stories and Quilts Collected from Q.S.O.S. Interviews,” an exhibition from Quilters’ S.O.S.- Save Our Stories (Q.S.O.S.) interviews from the Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. area projects. Opening reception is Saturday, October 15, 1-3 pm. Address: 301 South Main St., Harrisonburg, VA 22801 Museum hours: Mon, Thurs, Fri, Sat 10-4; Sun 1-4; Closed Tues, Wed, major holidays. Admission: $5.00 adults, $3.00 students 12-18, $2.00 students 5-11, children under 5 free. The exhibition also celebrates the 10th anniversary of the VQM located in an 1856 historic home in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Visitors will also enjoy pieces from the permanent collection, a collection of antique sewing machines, a Civil War Room, library, children's rooms and a gift shop. For more information call 540-433-3818 or email director@vaquiltmuseum.org or www.vaquiltmuseum.org. #### “QuiltVoices,” an exhibition of Quilts and Quotes from Quilters’ S.O.S. - Save Our Stories September 9 – December 9, 2005 – Newark, DE, University of Delaware Gallery, “QuiltVoices,” an exhibit of 26 quilts and quotes from Quilters’ S.O.S. - Save Our Stories (Q.S.O.S.) interviews. Opening reception on September 16, 2005, 4:30 - 7:00 pm. University Gallery, Old College Building, Main St. and North College Ave. Newark, DE 18716. Hours: Tu, Th, Fri 11:00 am - 4:00 pm, Wed. 11:00 - 8:00 pm, Sat, Sun 1:00 - 4:00 pm. Open and free to the public.Gallery Talks
For other activities, please visit the Gallery’s website. September 23 – December 31, 2005 – Wilmington, Delaware, Historical Society of Delaware, “Quilt Stories†by Teresa Barkley, a companion exhibit to “QuiltVoices.†For hours and more information call 302-655-7161. #### Louisville, Kentucky, June 22, 2005- The Alliance for American Quilts has joined with Pomegranate Communications, Inc. to produce a one-of-a-kind calendar. “Quilts 2006” is a high quality wall calendar (opens to 12” x 26”) that showcases full-color reproductions of twelve quilts representing the traditional, the antique and the contemporary. In addition, you may read interviews by the contemporary quiltmakers featured in the “Quilts 2006” calendar, as well as hundreds of other interviews of quiltmakers, at Quilters’ S.O.S. - Save Our Stories (www.centerforthequilt.org), the Alliance’s extensive oral history project. The calendar retails for $13.99. However, The Alliance is offering its members a special on the calendar. This special discount offer allows members to purchase calendars for $6.99 each (limit 2 at this price) plus shipping and handling (plus 6% sales tax for KY residents). Please allow 15 business days for delivery. For information concerning membership or purchasing the calendar, visit www.centerforthequilt.org. Pomegranate works in association with the world’s great museums, galleries and art resources to achieve the highest possible quality in reproduction and presentation. The Alliance is excited to announce that, based on projected sales of the 2006 calendar, Pomegranate has already asked The Alliance to participate with them to produce a 2007 calendar! The Center for the Quilt Online shares incredible, FREE resources with everyone who cares about quilts. At The Center for the Quilt Online, you can find: • Quilt Query—Experts from our incredible board,—including Marsha MacDowell, Penny McMorris, Yvonne Porcella, Julie Silber, Merikay Waldvogel, Janice Wass, and Shelly Zegart—will answer your questions about quilts, including care, display, history, restoration, and evaluation. • Quilters' S.O.S. - Save Our Stories—The Alliance’s extensive oral history project, with hundreds of in-depth interviews with quiltmakers across the U.S. • Quilt Treasures—Documentary web portraits of key figures in the great 20th century Quilt Revival—including Virginia Avery, Cuesta Benberry, Jinny Beyer, Jean Ray Laury, Bonnie Leman, and Yvonne Porcella. • The Quilt Index—A growing digital reference library, with searchable information and photographs of thousands of historic and contemporary quilts • Boxes Under the Bed ™—A national project to ensure the preservation of historic quilt related materials, such as patterns, letters, and clippings from publications • Special Features—Film clips from “The Quilts of Gee's Bend,” “Hearts and Hands,” and “Quilts in Women's Lives.” • H-Quilt—The lively internet discussion forum. The Alliance for American Quilts, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, implements its projects in partnership with institutions and organizations nationally, including three regional centers— the Center for American Material Culture Studies at the University of Delaware, the Great Lakes Quilt Center at the Michigan State University Museum, and the Center for American History at the University of Texas. Other Alliance partners include the Library of Congress American Folklife Center, and MATRIX, the Center for Humane Arts, Letters and Social Sciences Online. #### Blogging from Eurasia - The Alliance for American Quilts and Gee's Bend Quilts in Georgia, Armenia and Kazakhstan On her third trip to the Republic of Georgia, Karen Musgrave is continuing on her quest to revive quiltmaking in that country. Her amazing stories can be followed on The Alliance's exciting new blog (weblog) at www.centerforthequilt.org/blog. Karen Musgrave, a member of the board of The Alliance for American Quilts, is travelling this time with a small Gee's Bend quilt exhibition to Georgia, Armenia and Kazakhstan, all three former Soviet republics. Serendipity is always part of what makes those of us passionate about quilts keep going. News of Karen's energy and quiltmaking work with the women of Georgia spread throughout the region, resulting in the interest of two additional countries. Also thanks to another Alliance board member, Harry Arnett of Tinwood Alliance - the force behind the Gee's Bend project -Karen was entrusted with a group of Gee's Bend quilts to create with the U.S. embassies and the quiltmakers an exhibition in the three countries. This part of her work began with a query on her first trip by our embassy in Georgia, asking Karen if she knew of any quilts like those of Gee's Bend and would she be able to put together some kind of exhibition for Black History Month. One thing led to another... In Georgia, as a result of all of this quilt publicity, previously unknown historic and contemporary quilts are coming out of the woodwork. Karen's next goal is to bring an exhibition of the quilts from Georgia to the United States. We don't know yet what Karen will both discover and inspire as she travels to the other two countries for the first time. Karen Musgrave is a quiltmaker, teacher, lecturer, writer and co-chair of The Alliance's project Quilters' S.O.S. - Save Our Stories. You can follow Karen's adventures, learn of her discoveries including quilts, and send her comments by visiting the Alliance's weblog at www.centerforthequilt.org/blog. She would love to hear from you. She returns to the U.S. on the 3rd of April. #### National Grant Boosts Expansion of the Innovative Quilt Index Louisville, Kentucky and East Lansing, Michigan, November 1, 2004- The Quilt Index is changing the face of quilt research and providing unprecedented resources at the Center for the Quilt Online. This Alliance for American Quilts collaboration with Michigan State University Museum, in partnership with MSU's MATRIX - The Center for Humane Arts, Letters, and Social Sciences Online has been awarded a nearly half-million dollar grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Washington, D.C., to lead a national initiative to link and access the repositories of museums and libraries around the country. The $495,996 award, from the IMLS's National Leadership Grant for Library-Museum Collaboration program, supports the further development and expansion of the Quilt Index as an innovative national model. In this new phase, the grant will support new Index partnerships with the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum; the Museum of the American Quilter's Society; the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum; the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries; and the Winedale Center for the Quilt at the Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin. This phase will expand the Quilt Index to more than 15,000 quilts and the associated documentation available for searches across the collections for patterns, individual quiltmakers, themes, techniques, and many other characteristics. Moreover, it will result in a model for repositories--of any size and anywhere in the world--to make thematic collections of any kind more accessible and useful for education and research. Tradition meets technology The Quilt Index merges tradition with technology and springs from the work of a uniquely-specialized team of researchers and experts who are committed to making significant quilt-related data accessible for research and teaching as well as developing replicable applications of technology in the humanities. Already the pilot phase of the Quilt Index has resulted in material that services the collection management needs of individual repositories and, at the same time, makes their collections accessible to worldwide users. In support of learning "At IMLS, we recognize that museums and libraries share a fundamental educational mission. They exist to support learning," explains Robert Martin, director of the Institute. "When museums and libraries join forces, their partnerships can be more powerful and their projects can reflect the best thinking in the realm of lifelong, informal thinking. It is our hope that these grants will provide models for the best practices of tomorrow's museums and libraries." Principal Quilt Index partners Michigan State University Museum, the state's natural and cultural history museum, is home of the Great Lakes Quilt Center. The museum has a long history of engagement in research, education, exhibitions and service projects related to quilts, and holds a collection of more than 500 quilts, quilt-related ephemera and documentation. For more information, visit http://www.museum.msu.edu or contact Marsha MacDowell, (517) 355-2370 (tel); macdowell@pilot.msu.edu. MATRIX - The Center for Humane Arts, Letters and Social Sciences at Michigan State University is devoted to the application of new technologies in humanities and social science teaching and research. It creates and maintains online resources, provides training in computing and new teaching technologies and creates forums for the exchange of ideas and expertise in new teaching technologies. For more information, visit http://www.matrix.msu.edu. or contact Professor Mark Kornbluh, (517) 355-9300 (tel); (517) 355-8363 (fax); mark@mail.matrix.msu.edu. #### The Alliance for American Quilts Offers a Unique "Place" to Belong Louisville, Kentucky, August 18, 2004-The Alliance for American Quilts has announced a new opportunity for everyone who loves quilts to be a part of history as a Charter Member. Members of The Alliance will be active participants in ensuring that our great quilt heritage is documented, preserved and, most importantly, shared at the Center for the Quilt Online. Membership also comes with many benefits and opportunities for those who join. The Center for the Quilt Online already shares incredible, FREE resources with everyone who cares about quilts. As Alliance President Shelly Zegart said, "The Center for the Quilt Online is the place to go for information about American quilts and quiltmakers-from our Quilters' S.O.S. - Save Our Stories oral histories, to the Quilt Index database of quilts, to web documentaries of the "Quilt Treasures" who made the quilt revival possible, to wonderful films in streaming video, to opportunities to get advice and information from quilt experts. Membership adds great value to what is already available." For as little as $50, new Charter Members receive a handsome limited-edition Alliance pin; advance email notification of Alliance projects, plans, and activities; invitations to quilt event openings, lectures, and symposia; access to special members-only pages on the website; and website recognition for their support. For membership at higher levels, Members may receive signed books, invitations to private museum receptions and private guided tours of quilt exhibitions or museums, provided freely by the members of The Alliance's board of directors. For example, one of the first exclusive offerings on the members-only pages is a pattern for a block designed by Alliance board member and quilt artist Yvonne Porcella. It is from The Voice of You and Me 2004, the second raffle quilt created by Yvonne and quilt artist and board member Karen Musgrave to benefit The Alliance. This year's quilt is a naïve rendition of a Baltimore Album-style quilt made with 1850s reproduction fabrics. #### Take a Chance and Save Quilt History with "The Voice of You and Me 2004" Louisville, Kentucky, August 11, 2004- Well-known quilt artists Yvonne Porcella and Karen Musgrave have collaborated on the quilt, "The Voice of You and Me 2004," to support the work of The Alliance for American Quilts. The Alliance for American Quilts, a nonprofit organization, uniquely joins people who love, study, collect, and make quilts to ensure that our nation's great quilt heritage is documented, preserved and, most importantly, shared at the Center for the Quilt Online. This second in the series of quilts titled "The Voice of You and Me" is a real departure for art quilters Porcella and Musgrave, both of whom are Alliance board members. Instead of a modern-looking art quilt, the two created a naïve rendition of a Baltimore Album-style quilt, made with 1850s reproduction fabrics provided by P & B Textiles and batting provided by Hobbs Bonded Fibers. The quilting on the 70" x 60" quilt was donated by Nancy Brieschke of Cedar House Quilting in Sandwich, Illinois. Tickets are $5.00. The drawing for the quilt will be held in Louisville, Kentucky on May 18, 2005 at the Garner-Furnish Studio. "This quilt is my connection to the past so I can support the present, as I create for the future, because I know that quilts matter," said Karen Musgrave, of Naperville, Illinois. Yvonne Porcella, of Modesto, California said, "This quilt gives the feeling of hearts and hands and home. The feeling is one of reminiscing about antique quilts and those anonymous women who made unusual pictures. These are the women we will never meet but they give us a warm feeling, and we love the sense of style they offer with their handwork." A pattern for one of the quilt's blocks is available to members of The Alliance. For information on membership, to purchase tickets and to learn more about The Alliance for American Quilts, visit the Center for the Quilt Online, contact The Alliance (502/897-3819, quiltalliance@aol.com). The Center for the Quilt Online shares incredible, FREE resources with everyone who cares about quilts. At the Center for the Quilt Online, you can find:
The Alliance for American Quilts, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, implements its projects in partnership with institutions and organizations nationally, including three regional centers- the Center for American Material Culture Studies at the University of Delaware, the Great Lakes Quilt Center at the Michigan State University Museum, and the Center for American History at the University of Texas. Other Alliance partners include the Library of Congress American Folklife Center, and MATRIX - The Center for Humane Arts, Letters and Social Sciences Online. #### Alliance for American Quilts Launches Streaming Video from Important Quilt Films The Alliance for American Quilts has just launched streaming video from three of the most important documentary films about quilts ever made:
The films can be accessed at www.centerforthequilt.org/specialfeatures The Alliance for American Quilts is dedicated to making high quality quilt research and information available to everyone. As part of that effort, The Alliance is working with scholars, curators, film makers, collectors, and institutions to bring important contributions to quilt study to the internet. The Alliance's Special Features pages present a variety of resources that significantly enhance understanding of the quilt's central place in American history, art, and society. The Quilts of Gee's Bend The Alliance is grateful to the Tinwood Alliance, organizers of the Quilts of Gee's Bend exhibition, for permitting use of their video on the Web. Films by Pat Ferrero Quilts in Women's Lives was the first film to document living quiltmakers and what quilts mean to them. The Alliance thanks Pat Ferrero for sharing clips from her award-winning films, and BERNINA® of America for sponsoring Quilts in Women's Lives. #### Alliance Raffle Quilt Winner Announced The drawing for The Alliance's first raffle quilt, "The Voice of You and Me," was held Saturday April 24, and the quilt was won by Marsha and David Roth of Louisville, Kentucky. The Roths are very excited about winning the quilt, and plan to hang it in their new home. We hope to have pictures of the Roths accepting the quilt posted here soon. The raffle brought in a total of $7777 for The Alliance for American Quilts, which will go to support our many projects. The Alliance thanks everyone who purchased raffle tickets, and quilt artists Yvonne Porcella and Karen Musgrave, who created the quilt for us. Yvonne and Karen are already hard at work on our next raffle quilt, which will be a folky block-style sampler made with reproduction fabrics donated by P & B Fabrics. We will begin offering tickets soon and will post photos and information about the quilt here as soon as it is completed. Stay tuned!! #### Quilt Index Featured on Yahoo!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 10, 2003 QUILT INDEX LAUNCHED: ONLINE DATABASE UNCOVERS AMERICA’S QUILT HERITAGE Innovative use of technology makes quilts and quilt history more accessible than ever before. LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY and EAST LANSING, MICHIGAN – The Alliance for American Quilts and Michigan State University announced today the launch of The Quilt Index (http://www.quiltindex.org), a new website placing historical and contemporary American quilts at the fingertips of anyone with a computer and internet access. This landmark online resource offers a central, searchable database to provide first-of-its-kind access to information and images of this original American art form. The Quilt Index launches today with information for over 1,000 quilts from four separate archives. Yet this is just the beginning of an effort to bring thousands more quilts into the Quilt Index in the future. The Quilt Index was conceived and developed by the Alliance for American Quilts in partnership with Michigan State University Museum/Great Lakes Quilt Center and MATRIX: The Center for Humane Arts and Letters Online, at Michigan State University. Four quilt archives contributed quilt images and surveys from the state and regional quilt documentation projects to create this initial phase of the Quilt Index. The primary collection-holding institutions involved in this first phase are the Illinois State Museum, the Michigan State University Museum, the Tennessee State Library and Archives, and University of Louisville Archives and Records Center. Quilts: a vital American art form Quilts are a doorway into the lives of the diverse cultures of America. Traditionally a women's art form, they have attracted wide interest and respect among scholars over the past 30 years. Besides the craftsmanship and beauty, they are read as documents of history--revealing stories of their makers and users, and traditions of families, artists and communities. Now, information and images about family heirloom quilts and quilts stored away in museum cabinets are visible and accessible on the world-wide web. "The Quilt Index has long been a dream of many who study quilts and work to preserve their history," adds Shelly Zegart who co-founded the first of the quilt documentation project, the Kentucky Quilt Project, in 1981. Zegart, now board president of the Alliance for American Quilts (www.centerforthequilt.org), says the Quilt Index is the culmination of more than 20 years of effort to document and preserve our quilt heritage. The advantage of a single comprehensive Quilt Index is enormous, the project architects say. Quilts can be viewed by contributing collection or documentation project as well as searched across collections for patterns, individual quiltmakers, themes, techniques, and many other characteristics. As a result," The Index provides a rich, deep resource for students, teachers, scholars, quiltmakers, and the general public," notes Marsha MacDowell, curator of folk arts at the MSU Museum and MSU professor of art and art history. "Quilts and quilting are made far more accessible than ever before." MacDowell is also on the Board of Directors of The Alliance for American Quilts. "Access to this varied cultural material across institutions illuminates patterns in the art's growth and transformation," explains Justine Richardson, Quilt Index Project Manager at MATRIX and Alliance board member. “One especially interesting part of this Index is the Exhibit Hall section, where guest curators can put together quilts and quilt information that has not been compared before and create dynamic virtual exhibits using the quilts in the Index.” Bonnie Leman, founder of Quilter’s Newsletter Magazine, observed, “The potential of this Index to positively affect the ongoing health and growth of the art and craft of quiltmaking is huge. Those who have made it happen have given the quilt world a tremendous gift. This is an exciting development in the history of the quilt!” Textiles, technology and beyond Establishing a design, gathering materials and piecing steadfastly is what it takes to make a quilt. Using today’s technology, that same process was required for The Quilt Index to produce an elegant and complex resource that is more than the sum of its many parts. Major advances in digital library technology combined with years of quilt documentation and research made the development of this comprehensive on-line Index possible. The complex Quilt Index architecture and web site interface design were constructed by MATRIX, a center devoted to the application of new technologies in humanities and social science teaching and research. The technological challenge was to create a sophisticated database structure to both take in and deliver information. Each site needed flexible and individualized access to manage their records remotely and accommodate information unique to that region or project. "The synergy of our research in digital library preservation initiatives has permitted this broad application for public humanities, art history, folklore, and history," explains Mark Kornbluh, director of MATRIX and associate professor of history at MSU. "This is a powerful example of ‘humanities technology’ at work." The Quilt Index also required a comprehensive, controlled vocabulary and common descriptions and fields to allow meaningful searching and sorting capabilities. The faculty and curatorial staff at the MSU Museum's Great Lakes Quilt Center with experts in quilt research, collections management, documentation, and interpretation led the development, definition and testing of the data fields. These records are also better protected for future generations. Data preservation is a key component of the Index project. As the Index grows in the coming months and years, the digital information is protected by redundant back-up systems at the university, especially important as more collections from around the country begin to be incorporated. Planning and implementation of the Quilt Index was made possible by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) division of preservation and access. Following the completion of quilt entry from each of the four pilot sites, The Alliance for American Quilts and MSU will begin working with other groups around the country to add records for the tens of thousands of quilts that have been documented by state quilt projects and collecting institutions. “Today’s launch is a milestone not only for quilt research, but also for the organizations that have come together to make this dream a reality, “ explains MJ Kinman, Executive Director of The Alliance for American Quilts. “The goal of The Alliance is to bring together quiltmakers, designers, academic and research institutions, and the quilt industry with one aim in mind -- to bring quilts to the center stage of American culture where they belong. The Quilt Index is a major step toward that goal.” The principals: arts, history, technology The Alliance for American Quilts is a national non-profit organization headquartered in Louisville, KY, that promotes projects to document, preserve, and share the history and stories of quilts and quiltmakers. The Alliance brings together institutions and individuals from the creative, scholarly, and business aspects of quilts to advance the recognition of quilts in American culture. See http://www.centerforthequilt.org. Michigan State University Museum, the state's natural and cultural history museum, is the home of the Great Lakes Quilt Center. The MSU Museum has a long history of engagement in research, education, exhibitions and service projects related to quilts and holds a collection of over 500 quilts, quilt-related ephemera and documentation. See http://www.museum.msu.edu. MATRIX: The Center for Humane Arts and Letters Online at Michigan State University is devoted to the application of new technologies in humanities and social science teaching and research. It creates and maintains online resources, provides training in computing and new teaching technologies, and creates forums for the exchange of ideas and expertise in new teaching technologies. See http://www.matrix.msu.edu. #### In Their Own Words: Writing Quilt History a Little at a Time
Quilters' S.O.S. - Save Our Stories
The Alliance for American Quilts and the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution Form Partnership to Record Quilt History
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