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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.













Wednesday 9 October 2013

1954 Wedding Quilt - Sunderland


Here is a nice wedding quilt - it was made, relatively late, in 1954. Quilting survived well in the Sunderland area, and the seller says that there were lots of quilters in the area at that time.....this quilt was made for Lillian Maguire's wedding, and her mother also had a quilt made for each of her three sisters. The fabric is a cotton sateen.



As you can see, the quilting patterns had become more simplified by this time; and the patterns are what I would describe as "club" patterns: simple, bold and large, covering the cloth well and not requiring a lot of close work. These quilts were well made but were turned out fairly quickly. Note the large bold feather pattern......


And the large twist, and "gowan" or daisy pattern....


Both sides of this quilt are the same, of a soft green colour. In good condition, but worn in places, with some snapped quilting lines where the stitching has disappeared. My friend Liz and I have several quilts from the Sunderland area; as well as having many quilters in this area, there also seem to have been many church and Women's Institute groups that made quilts.

1 comment:

  1. Hi Pippa, Thanks for this as the central motif is very similar but not exactly the same as a pink sateen quilt that I have. It also has the 'big' feathers but they are placed differently (in the corners) and it has a slightly different chain border. I bought it from someone in Dorset so it's good to know that the patterns are from the Sunderland area. I wonder if the quilters slightly adapted local patterns perhaps provided by the WI to make them their own?
    Looking forward to the weekend at York! Liz

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