For years, fans have been sending the Beck family handmade quilts. Some quilts are taken to the Beck's house in Dallas, while others are kept around the studios. Glenn has taken a few favorites to his ranch, and they kept the family warm during the cold Christmas break. Glenn loves them for the warmth they provide, for the stories they tell about the people who made them, and for the time and dedication put in by each person who creates them. That's why he asked 1791 to offer families the experience of creating and sharing a quilt through their store, one not only made of the highest quality but that taught history as well.
Glenn just needed to find the right partners to help 1791 develop the highest quality quilt, and in the heart of the Mountain West while on vacation last summer, Glenn found the answer in a small, boutique quilt company.
Today, 1791 Supply & Co., in partnership with Suppose Quilt Boutique, is proud unveil the George Washington Positioning Life Guard Flag Quilt Kit.
The Flag
With 13 stars arranged upon a blue background, the George Washington Positioning Flag served as Washington's headquarters standard and was with him wherever he went. It saw all of the action that Washington saw, and was present at some of the biggest moments in America's early days.
"I fly this flag at my house," said Glenn. The phrase "Life Guard", which adorns 1791 patches with the flag pattern as well as the quilt kit, represents those "who will stand and preserve the history and the life of what George Washington fought and died for – what he spent his whole life living for."
The Valley Forge Historical Society in Pennsylvania currently keeps an original version of the flag.
The Story
Last summer, Glenn had just finished raising his positioning flag at the ranch, when Tania came home with a new discovery. She had found a small quilt shop in a nearby town that was run by a kind and caring group of people: Suppose Quilt Boutique.
The staff at Suppose didn't know Glenn from his radio or TV show, and when he arrived at the store with Tania he simply introduced himself as the guy staying in the mountains just outside of town.
Not long after stepping into the shop, the creative gears in Glenn's head started to turn quicker and quicker. He asked Kathy and Jo, who run Suppose, if they would help him design a quilt for 1791. The pair was skeptical. They had declined similar requests in the past, but they found themselves buying into Glenn's vision.
Over the next few weeks, the 1791 team and Suppose went back and forth looking at fabric swatches, exchanging design sketches, and finalizing a plan. Kathy and Jo got to work on a prototype, and included plenty of special touches, including hand-quilting the stars and doing the applique by hand.
Launched by 1791 Supply & Co.
Once the prototype of the quilt was delivered to the Beck family, Kathy and Jo got to work on designing a quilt kit for 1791 so families could share in the experience themselves at home.
"For three years I asked my wife if she would make a quilt for me, but she needed a kit," Glenn explained. Needless to say, the kit makes it possible for anyone to make the same quilt that the Beck family has at their ranch.
Glenn has personally worked hard to make sure that every piece of the quilt kit is exceptional, overseeing all of the details of the project. From the packaging to the instructions, which feature a Valley Forge Map on the back that can be displayed at home to compliment the quilt itself, Glenn has ensured that the quilt kit meets and exceeds the high standards of 1791.
"1791 is really about quality. Making everything different, better, and telling history," Glenn said.
