Table of Contents
Site home
Front page
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 2a
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8a
Chapter 8b
Chapter 8c
Chapter 8d
Chapter 8e
Chapter 8f
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17

References and Resources

 

 

Redwork and Bluework Quilt Tributes to Fallen Presidents

Chapter 10

This tribute quilt to honor President McKinley, (whose profile is located at lower right), was made by Patricia Cummings, 2005. Included are portrait blocks that depict President and Mrs. William McKinley, and Vice President and Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt. The center block has the image the Temple of Music where the president was greeting visitors when he was shot. Photo by James Cummings.

---

Pan American Redwork Quilt of 1901 Commemorates Event

A quilt that recalls “The Pan American Exposition of 1901” is featured in the book, Red & White American Redwork Quilts, by Deborah Harding.¹ The quilt is presently owned by the Buffalo and Erie Historical Society, Buffalo, New York.

Many of the blocks in that quilt feature the architecture of the buildings that were assembled for the exposition.

To understand that historic quilt more completely, it is necessary to examine the pages of American History. On September 6, 1901, while President McKinley and his wife were visiting the Pan American Exposition, Leon Czolgosz, shot the president twice, at point-blank range. At the time of the shooting, the President was standing in a receiving line,greeting visitors at the Temple of Music.

The president did not die immediately. At one point, he even was expected to recover from the wounds. Unfortunately, within one week's time, the nation was mourning the loss of the twenty-fifth president of the United States. Subsequently, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt was sworn into office and became America's first president of the twentieth century.

Willa Baranowski of New York compiled a set of block designs from a vintage quilt of this type. My quilt utilizes five of the Pan American Quilt motifs. The 48” square quilt is both hand quilted and tied, and features authentic vintage buttons and reproduction buttons for embellishments. The four hearts, one in each corner, show my love of country, and respect for former presidents, particular those who were assassinated.

The four squares of floral fabric, placed in juxtaposition to the embroidered blocks, counteract the more somber theme of the piece, a reminder that we should look to the future with hope and faith.

A black and white fabric with musical notes encloses the center of the quilt. A second, black fabric features prominent musical notes. The notes appear to be etched in gold onto the surface of the cloth. This elegant fabric seems to be a fitting salute to President McKinley, and recalls the time when America mourned a fallen leader.

---

“Tribute to Abraham Lincoln”

On April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was shot as he sat in Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. His assassin was John Wilkes Booth, a now infamous name. The quilt above, “A Tribute to Abraham Lincoln,” was made by Patricia Cummings in 2001. The profile of the president was cut from black ultrasuede and appliquéd onto the background. “Lincoln's Platform,” the pieced geometric block, that was published in 1860, in honor of Lincoln, is seen four times on this quilt. The corner blocks have print fabric with the national flag. The Bluework blocks include the eagle carrying arrows on the right and an olive branch on the left; oak leaves and the words “Honest Abe”; Lincoln's top hat; and the place of his birth, his “Kentucky Home, 1809.”

The 52 1/4” quilt is hand quilted with crosshatching and has outline quilting in the pieced blocks. Border cables are quilted with white thread on the navy blue background. In some patriotic quilts, the eagle's banner include, “E pluribus unum,” Latin words that mean “From many, one,” and symbolize national unity.

---

"Old Man of the Mountain” in New Hampshire, “The Granite State"

The following poem was written right after September 11, 2001. We were traveling through the White Mountains when we saw “Old Glory” flying proudly from atop the “Old Man of the Mountain.”

"Freedom's Symbol"

by Patricia L. Cummings

High atop a mountain
in New Hampshire's granite hills,
there stands a symbol mighty
which beckons to us still.

The "Old Man" stirs our hearts with pride
as "Old Glory" from it waves.
So bold, aloft, of Freedom speaks,
from Tyranny, us saves.

---