The Quilt Alliance
After reaching out to Amy Milne, Executive Director of the Quilt Alliance, we gained deeper insight into the nonprofit’s mission to preserve and share the stories behind quilts and their makers. From the groundbreaking Quilters Save Our Stories (QSOS) oral history project to grassroots efforts like Go Tell It, the Quilt Alliance is committed to ensuring that quilts—and the people who create them—are remembered. The following information, provided by Milne, offers an overview of the organization’s work, its impact, and how quilters and supporters can get involved.
The term rotary cutter appears 238 times in the nonprofit Quilt Alliance’s Quilters Save Our Stories (QSOS) project. QSOS is a collection of oral history interviews with quilters, archived at the Library of Congress and the University of Kentucky. QSOS was launched 26 years ago in 1999 and is not only the largest collection of interviews with quilters but also the largest grassroots oral history project of its kind in the world. A companion project, Running Stitch, a QSOS Podcast, delves into the collection to discuss themes and spotlight excerpts. A recent episode, The Rotary Cutter with Kristin Barrus, gives listeners a feel for why this revolutionary tool is mentioned so many times in the QSOS interviews.
Listen to Trailer here.
Listen to the full episode here.
The Quilt Alliance encourages the entire quilting community to get involved in their projects, and the reasons are compelling. Quilts are historical documents that contain important information about the life and times of the maker, their community, and their world. However, most quilts outlive their makers, and if they are not documented, then their history fades away, and the maker becomes Anonymous. All quilt makers and owners have an opportunity to prevent Anonymity! Grassroots projects like the QA’s Go Tell It video documentation project are an easy way to preserve and share the history of any quilt.
The Quilt Alliance provides its members (both individuals and guilds) with valuable resources like a Quilt Documentation Guide, a Quilt Journal, quilt labels, and ongoing training. This month, members can access a virtual workshop on Creating & Using QR Codes on their labels. When guilds join, their members can use the Affiliate code to register for their own free individual memberships.
Member support provides critical funds to run QA projects and an important outreach and volunteer base for educational initiatives. Members receive exclusive content and discounts to all QA events, onsite or online. Find out more at www.QuiltAlliance.org.
OLFA is a proud sponsor of Quilt Alliance.