Magenta/Deep Pink Durham

I don't know how to describe the colour of this quilt! In some lights, it looks a purple or magenta colour, in artificial light it looks like a deep pink colour. But it is very nicely stitched and designed, and looks unused, as if it were simply left folded up and stored away.The size is a generous 85 x 95 inches. No provenance, but the quilt came from a dealer in Teeside, Cleveland.

Here is the central medallion, very striking with a star effect sprouting shell motifs. The centre circle has concentric circles and there is crosshatching (smaller than the background grid and different orientation) to complete the effect. This rather looks like a petal/flower shape as well as a star. Notice how the motifs have been double outlined for emphasis.

Here you can see that the two sides are different shades of pink/purple - light and dark, as is usual in north country quilts.

The outer border is a fan or shell (pecten or scallop shell) pattern. You can see that there is a slight fade here and there where the sun caught on the folded quilt. Again, the shells have been double outlined.

The stitching is very nicely done, probably a professional quilter. The panels are machine stitched and there is a machine sewn line around the edge (this made for a firmer edge).

Quite a simple design, with only a few motifs and a lot of background stitching. I don't think this is of any great age - probably 30's or 40's. But it is what I would call an honest, better quality Durham quilt. Someone thought it was too good to use - or did they prefer their store bought blankets?