Pink and Black Star Quilt

Here is a quilt which was sold as a "cutter" quilt - the reason is that although the pink sateen is still in good condition, the plain black cotton is very worn and whiskered, to the extent that the wadding is clearly visible in many places. The quilt is partly hand pieced, the quilting is good and the quilting patterns are different to those usually seen for this pattern.

The quilt was bought from Christine at the Linen Cupboard. It comes from the Shotton family, from Wylam in Northumberland. The seller had it from her mother who was born in Wylam. The wadding is of cotton and the quilting thread is pink. The stitching is very neat and made by a competant quilter.

The reverse of this quilt echoes the front,having black and pink borders except that there is no central star. The edge of the quilt is hand sewn, and the borders are put together using the sewing machine. However, the central star is hand sewn and the quilter seems to have made hard work of it in the corners - or is it just so worn that it has pulled a bit? Anyhow, a lot of thread and stitching is showing at the inset corners. The other point is that the star has no sashing around it, so that the points of the star touch the next border - the star does not "float" like the other three quilts. The wadding is a thin cotton and the stitches are neat and small, about 16 stitches to the inch.

The quilting patterns are not the same as is seen in the other three quilts.
The centre has a daisy with a central circle and other circles drawn around coins. In the diamonds, there is a rose plus double outlining. In the squares - there is a four lobed flower with a simple twist on each lobe. Borders 1 & 2 - small and large twist. Border 3 - Chevrons and a "rose in a square" border pattern. Outer border 4 - Twist plus a trefoil filler.

This quilt must have been a very striking quilt in its day. It was carefully made by an expert quilter, and received many years of use on a bed.

Very faded Star Quilt

Here is a quilt from Tyne and Wear. It is so faded that it appears white. It must have been made with a coloured fabric originally, as why bother to piece white fabrics? The star and borders have a VERY faint "blush" so perhaps it was originally pink - a popular combination, pink and white. Evidently the edges were worn, as it has been rebound on two sides in a satiny ribbon at some point.

The quilting is in white thread so no clues there! The borders and the star are machine pieced. Quilting is 10 stitches to the inch and the quilting patterns seen are:
Centre - rose in a ring
Diamonds - rose and fern
Squares - infill plus a large rose in a ring plus ferns
Border 1 - small running feather border 2 - twist plus corner scroll Border 3 - Small floral scroll Border 4 - Twist Border 5 - large floral scroll

The fabrics are cotton sateen and the wadding is cotton. Interestingly, the repair binding has been put on with a machine zigzag, so must be a later addition. A missing part of the border quilting pattern shows that the quilt has been cut down where there was wear - this quilt has seen some long service on a bed!! The quilting is nicely done, however. Undoubtedly a nice quilt in its day, with pride of place.

Green and Bronze Star Quilt

The last room of the V & A exhibition was probably of the most interest to me; there was a good Sanderson Star quilt on display, draped over a quilting frame. I have always been impressed by this striking pattern and have four star quilts. One purpose of this blog was to spur me on to "do" something with the quilts. My idea with the star quilts was to compare the measurements and use some simple statistics to discover whether there was a common formula to this quilt. The pattern seems to often have been bought ready made and marked, as a quilt top - an early form of the "kit" format. The borders could be expected to vary a lot but was the centre star made to a common pattern and size? and were the quilting patterns also stitched according to a set style? I only have four quilts so in scientific terms a very small sample size - but of course one could measure other quilts and enlarge the database. The attraction is that this numerical evaluation is very similar to the scientific research that I did (and many, many student environmental/ecological research projects that I had to supervise and then mark).

Many of my quilts were inexpensive buys and what I term "study items". Indeed, they might be termed UGLY quilts. They are ertainly not beautiful designer items, but all have been bought for a reason. I mentioned earlier that the everyday quilts were used to destruction and not many survive in some cases. What was found on most people's beds? These star quilts seem to have been considered special - but as a utilitarian item many were still used hard. Viz the fact that of my four quilts, one is unused, one is very faded and rebound, one is worn and stained and the final one is very whiskered. All are north country quilts but again one from Durham, one from Northumberland, one from "Tyne and Wear" and the final one from Cleveland - so a bit of a geographical spread. I will try to do the measurements this weekend and then analyse the results and share them with you. As in an experiment, one can either prove or disprove the question - "are the quilts similar?" Even a "No" answer would be of interest. Or, perhaps it will be "yes, but..." That's the fun!

Here is the first quilt -it measures 80" x 93" and it is an unusual colour combination in cotton sateen of bronze and a lurid mint green. The colours do not show up well in the photos. The reverse is the bronze sateen. Cotton sateen was not maunfactured after 1936 so the colours and fabric suggest a 1930's date?? Any suggestions??

The quilt came from an auction in North Yorkshire but was one of five quilts from a house clearance in Barnard Castle in County Durham. Three of the quilts were used - this was one of two unused quilts. This is a "stamped" quilt and the blue pencil markings are still intact as the quilt has never been washed and appears unused.

The quilting patterns are:
Centre - rose in a ring plus small fern
Diamonds - rose plus feather or fern
Squares - diamond infill plus large rose
Border 1 - unknown fleur de lys scroll Border 2 - floral scroll Border 3 - Small twist Border 4 - large floral Scroll Border 5 Twist with central diamond
All the borders are "turned" with a different corner motif.
The quilting thread looks like sewing thread in a light brown colour. The quilting stitches are 8 to the inch, and not especially even, so perhaps not made by an experienced quilter. The wadding is thin cotton. Edges are machine sewn. The star and borders have been machine pieced.

I will be showing the other three quilts over subsequent posts.