Monday, 18 August 2014

1718 Silk Patchwork Coverlet

Back in May this year I was asked by the National Quilt Museum in York (to whom I supply my ceramic quilt bowls) if I would be interested in making a series of pieces based on one of their exhibits, the 1718 Silk Patchwork Coverlet.  For those who don't know, this is the oldest dated quilt in the country and the Museum are mounting an exhibition around it in September.
The 1718 Coverlet
I took one look at the image of the Coverlet and immediately replied YES!  I mean - just look at it!  How could you not get involved in something as crazy and beautiful as that?

 There is a book entitled The 1718 Coverlet, by Susan Briscoe, (foreword by Kaffe Fassett),  which has just been published, which researches the background to the piece and gives full patterns and instructions on how to make the 69  blocks from this. 

I got in touch with Susan, pre-publication,  to see if she could help with close-ups of the blocks I wanted to use so that I could work from them.  She was incredibly generous and helpful and sent me all the images I asked for -  like this one:

image of original panel from 1718 Coverlet courtesy of Susan Briscoe
and this one:
image of original panel from 1718 Coverlet courtesy of Susan Briscoe
Once I had these close-ups, I was able to work in detail on the ceramics and produce in total 20 pieces which will be dispatched to the museum in the next few weeks, in time for their Exhibition.  Below is just one of the series - I will bore you rigid show you more in the next few blogs and go into detail about the making process.

Ceramic Bowl based on the 1718 Coverlet.  www.catherinedanielceramics.com

All the pieces have my trade-mark mixed media threaded bits and attached buttons, and I added my own border to frame the block.  It's very much my own interpretation, rather than an exact replica, but I am pleased with the results.

 I had the most fun making these.  It has been both fascinating and fulfilling to interpret images from this historic quilt onto ceramic bowls.  Do go to the Exhibition in York if you can (5 Sept to 13 Dec) and they're doing all sorts of workshops, etc around this for you clever quilters! 

More to come next time!

x Cathy
Posted by at
Labels:

14 comments:

  1. Rachel18 August 2014 at 15:24

    What a great project - and how inspired of someone at the Quilt Museum to have asked you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wonky Patchwork18 August 2014 at 16:07

    What an amazing quilt and how lovely to be involved with something like that. This bowl looks great and I'm looking forward to seeing the others.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Claire18 August 2014 at 17:32

    Must get that book and make that quilt. Won't get to see it as I live on the Kent coast, but the bowl looks amazing and I can't wait to see the others.

    ReplyDelete
  4. gillyflower18 August 2014 at 22:01

    How very exciting for you to be involved in this, and to have the pleasure of producing these wonderful bowls with such an historic connection. Will try to make it up to York for a long weekend to see them all.
    The two bowls (one on your FB page) are beautiful! Well done Cathy!
    Gill xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lesley19 August 2014 at 00:57

    Your ceramic quilt bowl is stunning! I love how you combine your love and appreciation of quilting with your love and skill in ceramics...awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Rose19 August 2014 at 08:16

    Cathy, what a fabulous opportunity! And how beautifully you have interpreted the design. Planning a trip to York to see all this quilty goodness!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Lin19 August 2014 at 09:44

    What a fantastic commission! And I love your bowl - but how could you fail to make something beautiful with that lovely quilt to inspire you. Well done - I for one am looking forward to seeing the rest of your pieces. xx

    ReplyDelete
  8. Penny19 August 2014 at 10:30

    What a stunning piece Cathy! I am very excited as I will be visiting the Quilt Museum in October, and will hopefully see your beautiful work as well as all the quilts! X

    ReplyDelete
  9. kateuk19 August 2014 at 12:26

    Brilliant! And have you heard of the Billings coverlet? That is even MORE amazing...though the colours in this quilt always astound me. Hoping to get up there for the show!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Amy at love made my home20 August 2014 at 10:16

    This is such a beautiful piece Cathy, I am sure that all of the bowls that you have made will be snapped up very quickly as they make a wonderful souvenir of peoples visit to the museum. It is an amazing quilt isn't it, I was surprised to see how many different sorts of blocks there were and how they contained so many pictures. Wonderful! I look forward to seeing more of your pieces and I won't be bored at all!!! xx

    ReplyDelete
  11. Erica Spinks20 August 2014 at 10:54

    Hello from Sydney, Cathy! I'm so glad I have discovered your blog. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Judy 21 August 2014 at 14:39

    Thanks so much for sharing about that quilt! I didn't know about it and I love reading about antique quilts. One of the aspects of quilting that I love is knowing that we stand with a long line of women who have created quilts over the years. I like your interpretation and I'm sure that it will be a huge hit!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Annie Cholewa22 August 2014 at 19:11

    The quilt is amazing isn't it, and I really like your take on it :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Gina24 August 2014 at 09:11

    What an exciting commission. Fabulous quilt and just love your interpretation.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by, and I always try to visit your blog in return. If you enjoyed your visit, there's more on our Facebook Page. Click on the tab just below the header picture to whiz over there!

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)