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I am a quilter living in Woodbridge, Suffolk who has made quilts since I was a teenager. I also ring bells! Both are great British traditions....I will try to feature some of my antique Welsh and Durham quilts, the quilts I make myself, my quilting activities and also some of my bellringing achievements. Plus as many photos as I can manage. NB: Double click on the photos to see greater detail, then use back button to return to the main page.













Monday, 17 February 2014

Brown and Pink Welsh Quilt - Rhayader

Here is a Welsh quilt, which was bought many years ago from a house clearance in Rhayader, midWales. It had been stored and never used, as intended, in a B &B. This quilt is a good example of one made by a local quilter or by a farm wife. The patterns are different to any of my other Welsh quilts, but of course, the variety seen is one of their hallmarks...


The quilt is made in a rather thin, silky artificial fibre. The gold side is in good condition, but the pink side has some patches where there is thinning. The pattern is a bit hard to make out here, but the centre  is hearts forming a flower, surrounded by several straight lines forming a square. The use of several lines, five here, has a nice effect. This is followed by a border of flowers and leaves, then square infill.


Another photo of the centre...rather lumpy, I was wondering why....


The pink side, stitching is a bit easier to see here..the fabric is "shot" ie has a gold cast in some lights. The outer borders are an Interesting use of fans which I had not seen before....


A border of fans with another square motif in the corner...


Another look at that fan design, with a flower in the intersections...

The gold side.....the edges of this quilt are hand sewn. Size is about 80 x 82 inches. 

I had wondered why the quilt looked a bit puckered, especially in the centre. Usually these Welsh quilts have either lambs wool or a single worn blanket inside them. When I held this up to the light, I could see that the filling was a real patchwork of wool offcuts ..some light, some dark, some big some small, and some lightweight and some heavy. No wonder this quilt had shrunk unevenly when it was washed! A quilt that reflects the mend and make do attitude of the day....

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