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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.













Thursday, 19 March 2015

Tea Cosy - Emma Dryden from Easington

Here is a tea cosy in corded, or Italian, quilting....it was made in 1946 by Mrs Dryden of Easington as a wedding gift, and never used. Mrs Dryden taught traditional quilting.


The tea cosy is expertly stitched and is nicely put together.

The designs are floral....

I tried to find out more about Mrs Dryden on the internet....googled various things to do with Dryden, quilting and Easington.....nothing of interest came up.....as a final attempt I searched for the more general "Durham quilters"....and suddenly this image from an archive appeared...it was Mrs Dryden....


I was able to discover that her full name was Emma Dryden, and that she lived at High Moor Farm, Easington. She had five daughters and one son, and evidently won many prizes for her quilting.

Mrs Dryden at her quilting frame...apologies for the poor images... And Emma with some of her trophies for quilting. Mrs Dryden was a friend of Amy Emms. She was older than Amy, and the seller says that it was Mrs Dryden who should be credited for starting the revival of traditional quilting.

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2 comments:

  1. fabriquefantastique19 March 2015 at 14:50

    Well done with your investigations, it pays to persevere.

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  2. Unknown7 September 2016 at 15:29

    Pippa

    Many thanks for your enquiry about Emma Dryden; I am her youngest grandson. Despite having limited use of only one eye, she made numerous eiderdowns, quilts, bed-spreads and coats, for which she won many awards. She was married to Hugh and they farmed at Moor House Farm, just outside of Easington Village, before moving into Easington after they retired. As stated above, they had five daughters, but two sons; sadly all now dead. Off the top of my head, I think that she died in about 1974. I would be happy to help you further if I can, but I do not normally frequent quilting websites; I am only here because of your enquiry.

    Chris

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