Here is a quilt which, although worn and stained, is still visually very pleasing. I am constantly amazed at how sturdy the sateen cottons were - the antique fabrics often seem of far higher quality than our modern fabrics! There is still a lot of wear left in this quilt - and the cotton sateen has an incredibly soft feel to it. The cotton wadding in this quilt is thick, and the quilt is heavier than the other three quilts, plus the stitching is not as fine due to the thicker wadding. Actually, if you look closely at this quilt, you realise that it is not pink and white - it is in reality a light pink and a dark pink quilt. And notice that the star is light and the central background is the darker colour - a reversal of the standArd star quilt.
This quilt is also very unusual for a star quilt in that it has a frill. This was a popular edge treatment in the 20's and 30's. The quilt is of a later date and therefore the patterns are rather derived and a bit different the usual ones. The quilt itself came from the Robinson family, from Hardwick near Stockton, Cleveland. The quilt had been passed down in the family. I tried to get more information from the seller and wrote a letter but never got a reply. The size is 220 x 240 cm or 87 x 95". The seller said that it was 60 years old which would imply that it was made in the 1950's but it does look older than that... and we know that the cotton sateen was no longer manufactured from 1936 (as it was too labour intensive to make).
Quilting patterns seen in this quilt are:
Centre- rose in a ring plus ferns
Diamond - rose in a ring plus ferns
Sqares - infill plus rose in a ring plus a scroll
Border 1 - small running feather Border 2 - small twist plus corner scroll Border 3 -- small floral scroll Border 4 - twist Border 5 large floral scroll with a corner rose. The quilting thread is light pink and the stitching is about 8 stitches to the inch.
The reverse is pink and white strips i.e. a strippy reverse.
Very interesting. Although it had been passed down via a family in Hardwick, it would almost certainly not have been stitched there, as Hardwick was created as a large council estate in the 1950s. As you say, it looks a bit older, which would predate any houses being there, other than a few farms. Shame they couldn't give you more info. But a lovely quilt nevertheless and it looks in really good condition.
ReplyDeleteSeeing all these beautiful handquilted specimens has me itching to stitch Pippa. Once our patchwork exhibition is out of the way it is on my list.
ReplyDeleteShirley
This is fascinating... I can't wait for the next "episode".
ReplyDeleteMy taste definitely runs to this soft pink rather than the bronze...who knew-North Country kit quilts!
I'm learning so much as a result of this blog. Thank you, Pippa, for taking the time to do this in such detail. I was a bit taken aback by your saying that some of your quilts were ugly, but then I scrolled down and saw that I'd missed the purple and orange one! It would certainly brighten your room on a steely gray winter day.
ReplyDeletethanks I really enjoy reading your blog, always learning something.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing your knowledge with us.
Kathie