There are some very famous American quilts which is part of the country's history. The most recent famous quilt is the “Remembrance Quilt” made after the September 11th attacks in New York. This was made by first and sixth grade children from Roy Gomm Elementary School. This is a very patriotic quilt, designed to show the flag, and indicates the invaluable support from volunteers in the Red Cross that made recovery from the September 11th possible.
The Red Cross quilts are very famous and have been used as a fund raising method for years. The Red Cross had already got a really famous quilt in its ‘Signature Quilt’. This isn’t, however, just one quilt – it is the name given to quilts produced for fundraising, as a means of providing therapy and a way of expressing the commitment of the many people involved in their making.
It’s astonishing that the simple Red Cross emblem can be reproduced so many different ways and provide such a valuable means of support to the volunteer movement.
The Red Cross Signature Quilts were first made in 1918 to raise funds for the war effort. It established the tradition of incorporating the values of volunteer work and community, bravery and care of the injured and sick. This first quilt was signed by President Woodrow Wilson and his wife, Theodore Roosevelt, Helen Keller and Sarah Bernhardt amongst others.
The Guicciardini Coverlet which is reputedly the oldest quilt in the world and has been dated to the 1300s. Half of it is housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the other half housed in Florence, this is very valuable and carefully guarded.
The oldest quilting museum is said to be the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles in California. This museum has ever changing exhibitions, and examples of some of the finest quilting from Hawaii and the Amish and Shaker communities in America.
This is a wonderful display of both the very traditional and the very modern pattern styles, and is well worth a visit.These are examples of the ways quilts can tell many real life humanity stories. They reflect on the lives of real people, real events, and real places.