I bought this book a couple of years ago. Living in Amish country here in Lancaster;
I always wondered where the Amish learned the art of quilting.
Did they bring it with them when they came here to Pennsylvania? Or were they
influenced by their English neighbors. The Amish usually called all people (other than
themselves English)
*In researching the Welsh in Pennsylvania; I discovered that the settled
here about 1681 - by 1700, the numbered about 20,000. Most of them being
Quakers. They settled around the Philadelphia and southeastern Pa.
*By 1729 the county organized townships, two of which were Welsh -- Caernarvon and
Lampeter.
Brecknock
1740, Welsh place name
Caernarvon
1729, Welsh, Castle of Narfon
Lampeter
1729, Welsh, "Llanbadr," Church of St.Peter. Divided into East and West Lampeter in 1841
Six were English - Warwick, Lancaster, Martic, Sadsbury, Salisbury
and Hempflield.
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I was inspired by a recent discussion on Facebook by a group that I belong to "Celebrate Hand Quilting" - it was about quilted Welsh whole cloth quilts.
It was then that I took the book off
of the shelf and go through it again.
I love the quilts and the quilting
motifs in them. I decided to try one.
This is my first attempt at Welsh quilting - (a sample)
This one is one of my favorites!
The motif comes from the book "making Welsh Quilts" by Mary Jenkins and Clare Claridge.
I used my hand dyed cotton sateen fabric.
For the quilting I used Superior Threads
for hand quilting in a rusty orange color.
I love this thread; it slides right through
the sateen.
The back is very important also in Welsh
quilting.
Here I used muslin because I didn't
have enough of the sateen.
A quote from the book about stitches:
"..Welsh quilters of old did not pride themselves so much on being able to work a certain number of stitches per inch...
but on originality of design."
Each quilter designed there own motifs
and did not copy from one another.
Most used simple items for shapes from
their kitchen - dishes, glasses, cups, etc.
With enough practice; hopefully there is
a quilted whole cloth in my future.
I really enjoy hand quilting - it's
meditative and relaxing and best of
all I can sit out on my deck.
There is so much to learn about the
History of Quilting!
Here are some references:
The Amish Quilt
http://www.theamishquilt.com/history.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quilt
History of English quilts.....
Otherwise known as Durham quilts, North Country quilts have a long history in north-east England, dating back to the Industrial Revolution and beyond. North Country quilts are often "whole-cloth" quilts, that emphasize the quilting. Some are made of sateen fabrics, which further heighten the effect of the quilting.
Patchwork
http://www.quilthistory.com/ukquilts.htm
The earliest surviving dated patchwork bedcover is the 1718 silk coverlet discovered in 2000 and purchased by the Quilters' Guild of the British Isles The coverlet is pieced over papers, even the curved bits.
British Quilt Study Group.
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*http://www.lancasterhistory.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=64&Itemid=78
*http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/groups/4286/welsh/471948
*http://www.lancasterhistory.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=82&Itemid=76
Happy Quilting!
