Welsh Woven Blankets at the Quilt Museum

Before I show you the quilts from the Minerva Centre, I just thought that I would show you the woven woollen blankets that were on display in a side room of Jen Jones' Quilt Museum. The shop has been selling A LOT of blankets recently - more than quilts - and Hazel from the shop thought that some of the blankets from the collection should also be on display. Some of these blankets have clear similarities with the Welsh quilts. Or is it that the quilts mimic the blankets? At one time, there were many, many local mills in Wales producing woollen fabrics and woven blankets. A few still survive.


Woven blanket commemorating Canaervon Castle and the University of Wales. Notice the woven leeks in the border!!

A woven blanket that has similar borders and patches to a quilt - and also looks rather Amish, if you ignore the brown colour (not a favorite colour in the conservative communities) .

Woven coverlet - looks like the patterns that my grandmother used to weave on her loom - and notice the borders again.

Stack of older woven blankets - these were woven on narrow looms, thus have a seam down the middle where two widths were joined together. Very collectible now.

The price of these Welsh blankets has shot up recently - they are nice to have on a bed and do look very cosy. As long as you use them and keep moving them, moths shouldn't be a problem.

Quilt Museum at Lampeter - 3

The final lot of photos taken at the Jen Jones Welsh Quilt Centre, Old Town Hall, Lampeter. As before, I am not including too much information. I would strongly encourage you to buy the catalog (available in English or Welsh), which contains more information on these quilts, from http://www.jen-jones.com/. There will also be a DVD available soon, which will have photos of all three exhibitions, together with more detailed commentary on a few of the quilts.

Here is my favorite quilt of the show - a stunning yellow wholecloth with just beautiful quilting. Both sides were available for inspection.

A closer look at the quilting, which includes "coins" spirals, fans, chevrons and more. Made by Anna Davies of Whitland, Carmarthenshire.

Scalloped edge cot quilt circa 1930.

I found these photos in the hall. The quilters in the larger photo were from Solva and the photographer was Margaret Wright. I wonder who the man in the other photo is?

Here he is in another photo, talking to Jen and Roger.

I was interested to see this quilting frame, with part of a quilt still attached and the quilt backing.

The quilting shows the traditional Welsh leaves and spirals

Applique quilt which doesn't seem to be in the catalog!!

Beautiful array of red and white quilts. The one on the bed is from Llanybydder, late 19th C - the one on the wall is from the 1890's.

Well, that is the end of my photos from Jen's exhibition - next, photos from The Quilt Association at the Minerva Centre.

Quilt Museum at Lampeter - 2

Here are some more photos taken at the Jen Jones Welsh Quilt Centre, Old Town Hall, Lampeter. As before, I am not including too much information. I would strongly encourage you to buy the catalog (available in English or Welsh), which contains more information on these quilts, from http://www.jen-jones.com/. There will also be a DVD available soon, which will have photos of all three exhibitions, together with more detailed commentary on a few of the quilts.

Patchwork quilt from Ammanford, dated 1893.

Handkerchief quilt, Carmarthenshire about 1900.

Display which includes a pink and blue patchwork from the Lampeter area, 1920's.

A beautiful red and white strippy - it won a prize for May Thomas of Llanelli in 1901. This quilt was another that had to be sent off to a conservator for cleaning - Jen said that it was returned with a little packet containing the removed dirt and grime.

The Treaga family immigrated to Pennsylvania, so this quilt has definite American overtones although the quilting is pure Welsh.

Patchwork quilt with appliqued hearts.

Basket quilt, mid Wales.

Applique quilt made in 1890's by Catherine James.

Quilt Museum at Lampeter - 1

Having gone to Jen Jones' shop, I headed over to Jen Jones' Quilt Museum - this was much easier to find! Lampeter is a smallish town and the quilt museum is in the former Town Hall. It is easy to park and walk to the museum.

The Town Hall building renovation was meant to be a joint venture between the town council and Jen and her husband. But the council funding did not materialise and Jen and Roger had to make the brave decision to go ahead on their own. The numbers of visitors have been building up over three years - the lighting is now where they want it to be - and this third exhibition is just right in my opinion. "Less is More" but there seemed to be plenty of quilts hanging in the main room!

I include some photos but I am not including too much information. I would strongly encourage you to buy the catalog (available in English or Welsh) from www.jen-jones.com. There will also be a DVD available soon, which will have photos of all three exhibitions, together with more detailed commentary on a few of the quilts.

Jen Jones in front of an amazing blue and white quilt from Oakford - this quilt was sent off to the conservators for cleaning and looks amazing now.
I enjoyed meeting Jen and really enjoyed her talk to the BQSG group at Gregynog on Saturday evening.

A zany yellow and blue quilt from Rhuddlan near Llanybbder, which features on the cover of the catalog.

Another photo of the blue and white quilt.

A log cabin quilt from North Wales, where the quilting tradition seems to have been similar to the Cumbrian quilts, rather than the South Wales quilts we are accustomed to.

A Welsh strippy in blue and white, laid out on a bed form.

This was my favourite - a quilt from Pembrokeshire with spots!!

A lovely quilt from Merthyr Tydfil. A very early quilt.

Lovely quilting on a blue and white print quilt, probably from near Brecon.

I have more photos to share. Next year's exhibition at Lampeter will showcase the Amish-Welsh connection and will be in conjunction with the publication of Dorothy Osler's new book. This book is due to be available in December, and has been ten years in the making. Not only will there be quilts from Jen's collection in next year's show, but it will also feature a selection of Amish quilts from the American Museum's collection at Staverton Manor near Bath - should be a "must see" exhibition!!

15th July

Today is my birthday!! It is hard to believe that I am 55...I am glad to be living in such a beautiful area with people I love. And of course, I still very much enjoy the bellringing and quilting!!

Here is the catalog that I received yesterday - Jen Jones' exhibition Oh That Summer Would Last Forever...it cost £5 plus P & P and has some lovely photos. Jen's husband takes the photos and they show the quilting nicely. There are 11 double page spreads of quilts, and another dozen are shown as thumbnails. A good reference for later. Looking forward to seeing the forthcoming DVDs of the previous two exhibitions, which focused on Welsh flannel quilts and red paisley quilts.



The new Jen Jones catalog...

One of the quilts that appears in the show at the Jen Jones Quilt Centre in Lampeter, Wales.

I have nearly finished the pink and white quilt and am going to start machine quilting the bell quilt - more photos of those in the next few days.