Twelve Quilts of Christmas 2021 – #5

 

 

What sets this quilt apart is that there is no defining double rows of stitching to form a square or rectangle that you might normally see around the centre circle medallion in a Welsh quilt.  Instead the centre circle mingles with the adjacent motifs, lending a certain playfulness to the design without this usual expected structure.

 

I love the random row of spirals that just wander across the quilt (you can find them right above the lower row leaves).

 

Most Welsh quilts, such as this one, were made by professionals quilters.  Itinerant quilters would go from farm to farm in remote rural areas, and stay for two weeks to a month quilting, repairing and maybe evening sewing.  The farm provided all the materials: fabric, fill and frame.  In the villages the dressmaker was often the quilter as well, and only the fabric would be provided.  Quilting was a profession where widows could have an income as there were no pensions. 

 

During quilting survey projects almost 80% of the quilts surveyed in Wales had wool batting.  There were plenty of small woolen mills in Wales so it was easy to obtain fleece for quilts.  Sometimes a wool blanket was used for the batting, or another worn quilt.  Going through so many layers made good stitches hard to achieve.  The batting in this quilt is wool which helps accentuate the quilting.  The fabric for the front and back of this quilt is Welsh wool flannel.  It is not the type of fine flannel that we think of being used in a man’s suit, but a little coarser, more resembling homespun.  The quilting stitches measure 3 – 4 stitches to the inch and this is not surprising given the thickness that was being quilted through.