Thursday, June 21, 2007

Appliqued blocks on the Wood Quilt



As requested, here are closeups of some of the blocks on the Wood quilt. The quilt is 217 cm long by 212 cm wide and comprises 56 blocks with appliqued fabrics on foundation square blocks of suiting weight fabrics. Family history has it made in 1865, but there is some doubt about this. Fabrics from children's dresses are reputedly also incorporated, but the young people in question look to be teenagers in a 1920's photograph. In any case, Mrs Wood was a remarkable needlewoman who used fabrics at hand to make a useful item for her home and showed a flair for design in her composition of this lovely hanging / quilt. There is quite a bit of conservation to be done, the first photograph shows just one area where the blocks have started to separate. There are also areas where the silk pieces have shattered and dissapeared altogether. The quilt has been displayed on a bed for many years since arriving in Australia from England, where it hung across the top of stairs to keep out drafts. Scroll down for the overall view of this remarkable textile.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

thank you for the extra photos. What a wonderful quilt, what really strikes me is the 'stitching' itself really doesn't have a pattern to it. Mostly stab stitches, would there be any chance children actually took part in the making of the quilt? It's just so different, but so beautiful. I love it!