As I’m sure you’re aware, 2019-2020 is the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote. There will be many events planned to celebrate this historic accomplishment and one of them is a SMALL SUFFRAGE QUILT CHALLENGE!
The first election in our nation held after the amendment went into effect was in Minnesota, in Dakota County. This municipal election in South St. Paul had 90 women lining up to vote, and their votes were kept separate, so we even know the names of many of these women.
Each year the Dakota County Historical Society (located in South St. Paul) hosts a month-long quilt show displaying quilts made by the Dakota County Star Quilters. Because of this history, the Dakota County Star Quilters is hosting a special challenge for their March 2020 show. They are inviting U.S. quilters to participate by sending in a 24” square quilt for the display.
Since we’ve begun planning this event we’ve already gotten four requests for this display to be displayed elsewhere after March 2020. While we are certainly in the early stages yet, it is exciting to know that the MN Quilters and the Mall of America are interested in possibly displaying these suffrage quilts in their suffrage celebrations.
You can choose not to have your quilt tour and it will be promptly mailed back to you after the end of the DCSQ show. If you do choose to have your quilt participate in the tour, your quilt will be mailed back to you probably at the end of 2020.
Attached is a one-page handout you are welcome to print out. We are not limiting participants as to technique, we invite your creativity. We also invite you to share this handout/information with any of your quilting friends. We are not limiting participation to just Minnesota quilters.
Please note the submission deadline is January 1, 2020.
For specific Submission Guidelines, they are posted online at the Dakota County Star Quilters website: www.dcsq.org.
Thank you for your time and we hope you’ll submit a small quilt for this display.
