Geometric Welsh Central Bow Tie Quilt, Salem New Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, c. 1880, 68” x 87”, Maker unknown, From the collection of Jen Jones, Collection no. cq082
“Its stark simplicity is simply breathtaking.” Do we really need to say more? The addition of phenomenal quilting designs seals the deal.
Stunning large geometrics like this one are typical of Welsh flannel quilts. It is backed with mustard wool flannel and has a typical edge finish sometimes referred to as knife edge, tucked in or butted. This method turns in both the top and the back to finish the edge and then the edge is quilted.
From the exhibition notes:
“When Jen found this quilt, it had been bin bagged and relegated to a cow shed, considered to be a ‘heavy old thing.’ Luckily no harm had befallen it. Having once overheard it being compared to one by two exhibition viewers, we tongue-in-cheek refer to it as our ‘Rothko’. But in all seriousness, these bold geometrics can be referred to as abstract art.”
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.
The primary motif used in the stitching patterns in this quilt are leaves, but if you look closely some of the leaves in one of the borders have been “bent” slightly to form tulips. Do you see the different fill lines used in the leaves.
Jen likes the sophistication of the stitching patterns in this quilt and I couldn’t agree more. I appreciate how instead of fans in the corners of the central rectangle, that the quilter instead used leaves on an angle and then filled with a loose spiral in the corner. Delightful.
Jen also thinks the centre piecing represents the face of a cat! Now I can’t un-see that. Sorry if you can’t either now!
From the museum website: “This is a diamond in a square style quilt in buff and crimson with some very fine quilting. It was bought for the collection from a dealer who had acquired the quilt in Haverfordwest, south-west Wales.
The quilt measures 2356 x 2135 mm, and is made of worsted wool on the front, and linen on the reverse. Philip Sykas studied the quilt in September 2009 and explained that the worsted wool fabric was commonly used in women’s petticoats in the 18th century. However, this is a 19th century quilt because it is quilted with cotton thread. It was probably made between 1830 – 1850. The wadding is a thin layer of carded wool between two layers of worsted fabric.
The quilting in cream cotton thread features flowers, spirals, starfish and cables. The cable borders are typical Pembrokeshire designs. A tracing of the quilting has been made by three volunteers – it took two whole days to trace the entire design.”
It is so interesting … I never noticed the maritime motifs. My eyes just went right to the urns and those amazing tulips in the corners of the central area. The eye sees what the eye wants to see!
Well you know of course I was going to include one with small pieces!
This quilt is a fabulous example of how the quilting ignores the piecing. The centre circle medallion of quilting falls off the central piecing on the right, but barely falls off on the left. The second border in from the outside straddles three rounds of the medallion piecing
The quilting in the central medallion is made up of four leaves with centre fill and then surrounded by two rounds of design: a round of buds and leaves and a round of snails. The plain reverse side of the quilt lets us have a really good look at all the elements in this quilting design.
I love the little snails with squiggly tails. Do you see them?
A quiltmaker, fabric designer, teacher, and speaker, Mary Elizabeth is also co-author of two best-selling books, “Small Blocks, Stunning Quilts” and “Small Pieces, Spectacular Quilts“. She has been a featured guest on The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims. And her work has been shown at international quilt shows and featured in many international quilting publications.
Mary Elizabeth believes in “Quilting With Abandon”, stretching traditional boundaries and creating quilts with a subtle salute to the past. She is enthusiastic about our quilting heritage and the lessons to be learned from the antique quilts she studies and collects. Her recent work examines the interpretation of traditional quilt designs through “gestured appliquéd lines” and the quilting stitch.
