2014-4 Welsh floral wholecloth
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This reversible wholecloth quilt with borders, which was probably made in the early years of the twentieth century, came from the Morriston area of Swansea. It belonged to the donor’s cousin’s grandmother – Mary Hannah Rees – and was later handed down through the generations. It is believed that the quilt came to Mary in 1912 when her son was born.
Each side of the quilt features cotton sateen floral furnishing fabrics in the central panel. One side is blue themed, and the other pink, so that the quilt could be used either way upon the birth of a baby. The fabric is the same pattern on both sides in the two different colour ways. The border is golden-brown on the girl’s side and a very faded blue on the boy’s side, possibly because it was most used when Mary’s son was born.
The quilt has two different waddings, one of which is possibly a quilt or blanket. There is a ridge where the two types of wadding meet. The fabric has been machine pieced, and then the three layers finely hand quilted in a cream coloured thread. The pattern consists of concentric circles all over, with diamonds between the outer circles. There are fans at the corners and quilted crosses between the circles in the borders. The edges are butted.
The donor wrote: “I know that my mother was always proud of it as a fine example of the Welsh style.”