Re: Quilts and Applique

[Robert and Tammy Jones <rissaroo@mindspring.com>]

Poster: Robert and Tammy Jones <rissaroo@mindspring.com>

While I wouldn't consider taking anyones' children, I do have a book
called, Patchwork Pilgrimage by Jill Liddell, which has 2 color photos of
patchwork before 1600.  One of these is a chasuble made of scraps of silk
in block designs that we still use today.  It was used by a priest in
England during the reformation (c 1540), when Catholics were often
persecuted.  When rolled up, the chasuble would look just like any other
piece of bedding.

Branwen Wallis
  


At 12:17 AM 2/2/99 -0500, Rowanwald Central wrote:
>
>Poster: "Rowanwald Central" <rownwald@gte.net>
>
>> My liege lady has recently taken a class in modern quilting.  Not only
>has
>> she very much enjoyed it, she has done quite a good job.  She asked me to
>> scout around for references of any sign of quilting in period.  I have
>> seen: quilted armor, monochromatic patterns done in quilting stitches on
>> late period (1450+) coverlets and table rugs, some applique in Ital. Renn
>> and Elizabethan times, and some Elizabethan embroidery that is done on a
>> stuffed and stitched surface in a very narrative style.  Am I warm? 
>Anyone
>> else have suggestions, experience?   amazon.com had approx 400 books on
>> quilting, but I saw not one on history prior to the American colonies. 
>So
>> these Scotch Irish landed on the shores of the Carolinas and just started
>> quilting, or what?  (that was humor)  Any assistance would be greatly
>> appreciated. 
>
>
>   The difficulty comes from terminology. "Quilting" - the sewing together
>of two or more layers of fabric, with or without decorative motifs, is
>found throughout history on clothing, armor (right Mistress Thjora?),
>bedcovers, and other household items. Any fabric surface is subject (sooner
>or later) to embroidery - the temptation is far too great for a
>needleworker to resist. Appliqued bedcovers can be found in our timeperiod
>(I have a photo of one such, dated to Sicily in the early 1400s - contact
>me for the article if you wish).
>   Now - the modern perception of quilting refers to what is more properly
>called "piecework" - the sewing together of pieces of fabric to form a
>design as a coverlet, which is then quilted to a filler and backing.
>Nowhere have I been able to find documentation for piecework before the
>colonization of America. The Smithsonian, in it's quilting display (years
>ago) billed it as "one of the true original American Art forms". So there
>we have what I know. Many of us would seriously consider trading in one of
>our children for European piecework within our period of study.
>
>Rosine of Rowanwald
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