Quilt number:

784CN

Owner:

Charlotte Nattey

Location:

ACT

Maker:

Edith Millington

Country/Place where quilt was made: 

IRELAND Cookstown

Date:

1901 - 1920

Description:

The quilt top combines various scarps of silk in an informal pattern of flowers made from individual silk petals with a large flower in the centre. There is crazy patchwork in between the flowers. The pieces are sewn on with feather stitch, blanket stitch and satin stitch. There is a 37cm ruffle on the two long sides. There is no padding and the backing is silk. 2140 x 1550mm

General Pattern:

Patchwork, Pieced Random

Quilt History:

The quilt was made by Edith Mary Millington at Lissan Rectory at Cookstown, Northern Ireland c.1920. It is thought to include parts of her wedding dress dyed and sewn in. It was made for her niece Mildred Millington born 1910. It is now owned by the maker's grand-daughter Charlotte Nattey.

Story of Quilt:

"This quilt is totally different from the one done by my grandmother and reflects both changing times and the obviously different character of mother and daughter. This quilt is obviously made by eye and not strict measurements - the stitches are randomly different as the mood took her. It is still very fresh in colour and must have been quite vibrant. I'm sure that it is again scraps of clothing that she utilised. I knew her as a child as a warm hearted interested woman with wonderful white hair. She married a country Rector in Northern Ireland and threw herself into community life. She was renowned for always doing things in a rush and maybe forgetting something in the process - this quilt reflects her personality very well. Life must have been pretty idyllic; no huge income was needed to have 3 or more 'staff' and those to run the farm that came with the Rectory. Food and produce was grown and stored and was used for church fetes etc. There was time for tennis and tea parties and the stories from both my aunt and father reflect an easy life style with time both to laugh and reflect. There was of course a lot of obligation and duty - no time off for holidays and Sunday school, Mothers' Institute, the Girls Friendly Society etc. all to be run." [Charlotte Nattey 6.4.97]

Contextual Images: