Pink and Cream North Country Wholecloth Frame Quilt

I must admit to have been wanting a wholecloth frame quilt for some time. Many have very attractive borders of printed floral fabric and look very decorative as wholecloths.

This quilt has a border of plain fabric, nicely mitred in each corner. The colours are reversed on either side - pink borders on one side and cream borders on the other. the quilting is especially nice and well done - a feature of earlier quilts. Later quilts tend to have larger stitches and simpler designs.

The frame makes an attractive quilt, although simple in format......

The quilting has many double and triple lines - the stitches are certainly made by an experienced quilter, probably a professional seamtress or quilter.

the corners are handled well, with a daisy and paired plumes.

In the borders are swags - triple lined - with spectacles. Stars and diamonds complete the design.

A photo to show how the colours reverse on the two sides of the quilt.

This quilt was bought at auction in Derbyshire and no information is known about it. Some of the other items had Duffield written on them.

Lilian Hedley says that this style was popular from about 1900 until the First World War. The size is 78 x 84 inches and it is made of cotton sateen. Again, a bit mystifying as to price as, although in the popular colours of pink and white, it went for only £75.....very reasonable for such good quilting. Perhaps the fact that it was sold as a "Comfy Quilt" has something to do with this? Comfy quilts were machine made and although attractive, being factory made in colours that are not always to modern tastes, are not very popular.