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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.













Saturday, 1 November 2014

Welsh Quilt with Green Frame/Paisley Pears


Here is a Welsh quilt that I bought recently. It came from a house clearance in Portsmouth, so has no provenance. The family did come from Wales, however.


As you can see, the right side has a frame of darker green fabric surrounding a centre of light green sateen with pink and red flowers. The green fabric has been left in the sunlight at some point, causing bad fading at the folds. But the stitching is expertly done. 


The reverse is plain green sateen. You can see that paisley shapes and roses make an attractive centre, surrounded by crosshatching (check out the converging lines in the lower left hand corner!)


This quilter made great use of the paisley shape in the borders, as well as the centre....the paisleys form a fan in the corners...then they march around the edge, upright, and meet as a pair in the centre of the border....boxy motifs are seen around the outside...


Fading also seen on the back....some dark colours are very prone to this...


Another look at the center from the reverse...the quilt is a heavy one but the filling is lambswool.


This quilt was probably made by a professional quilter. The edges are neatly hand sewn. The quilt measures 76 x 80 inches.

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4 comments:

  1. Bovey Belle1 November 2014 at 08:10

    What a lovely quilt and design. I bought a sunlight-faded Welsh quilt in auction recently just for the quilting design (OH thought me mad!) Mine has large leaves and fan corners and a rather wonky border, so suggests home-made. Probably a Carmarthenshire quilt (and bought in Carms).

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  2. Jenny M1 November 2014 at 13:13

    Such beautiful quilting patterns....thank you for sharing.

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  3. Little Welsh Quilts and other traditions1 November 2014 at 13:26

    When Pembroke Naval Dockyard closed in the 20s. workers were transferred to various Naval Dockyards around the UK and many went to Portsmouth - my grandparents among them. Maybe quilts and quilting skills went too? Though the best quilting seems to be from North Pembs and not the south around Pembroke!

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  4. Robin1 November 2014 at 20:25

    Very interesting quilting. What a great find.

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