Monday 16 May 2011

Quilt

A double wedding ring quilt sounds like it should be associated with a wedding, doesn’t it?  Maybe this one was started with that intent but it turned up incomplete, in pieces, in a Hospice Shop in Warkworth where it was seen as a $20 bargain by my friend, Lisa.  

In trying to find out more about these quilts, I came across these words:  “Despite their history and popularity few people will take up double wedding ring quilt patterns because of their difficulty”….and…”If you have never made these types of patterns before then you may want to consult another quilter.” 

And Lisa thought she would finish it off one day?  Someone who once did a bit of patchwork at school?

Luckily, our friend Chris has a very talented quilting sister, so when she visited her family in Australia last year she took the bundle of pieces to see if Bev could complete the quilt.  Bev did an amazing job, you can’t detect where one quilter left off and the other took over.  Take a look at her account of completing the project here

Yesterday I joined Chris and Bev’s daughter, Lucy, to meet Lisa for lunch and present her with the finished article.

quiltdetail

For Lisa’s info:

The double wedding ring quilt patterns come with a bit of myth and mystery. The double wedding ring designs are not a new age spin created by the internet and computer programs. 

Instead the double wedding ring can actually be traced back to Roman times.

Double wedding ring quilt patterns have been popular all over the world. The wedding ring patterns are believed to have travelled with German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania in the 17th century. 

Traditionally the bride or a member of her family creates the double wedding ring quilt patterns.   Watch out, Lisa, that might be an omen.  

Heading down the road to meet up with my friends I had the opportunity to stop and take photos of the roadworks without holding up the workmen.  As you can see there isn’t a lot of excitement in my life.  If there was I probably wouldn’t be so fascinated with roadworks.  Mind you, I travel this road twice a day during the week, so I do have a vested interest.

I thought the tranquility of the creek looked at odds with the ugliness of the roadworks.

15May2011
 On the other side of the road the digger has left its scars. 

15May20111

I also noticed some jonquils flowering in a paddock, too far away for a photo.  Lots of flowers seem very confused by the unusually warm weather for May.  The jonquils shouldn’t be out for another six weeks or so. 

5 comments:

  1. That looks incredible. How many hours went into I wonder?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Pauline,

    Thanks for all that information about the history of the quilts. Very interesting indeed.
    Glad you all had a great day out.
    Happy days.
    Bev.xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a gorgeous quilt - and I love the white background because it makes everything stand out.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm always amazed by any quilt work. Not doing this myself, I marvel at the intricate and varied patterns.
    So wonderful that someone was able to finish this quilt and that it will keep someone warm for a long time.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Not so many centuries ago before television and easy travel to friends and entertainment and the internet - no if I start on this it'll end up a Wiki article! But you probably get my drift. One had to create one's own beauty and clothes too with little in the way of materials and money. So home production by way of knitting and sewing was more of a necessity than it is today. Today I am astounded by the patience of people who produce such things.

    As for the road I can truly understand why anyone in NZ traveling along such roads for the amount of time that you do becomes so interested. I think I'd become obsessed.

    Flowers and seasons: We had the driest and warmest April on record and now the plants which had been fooled into thinking a spring was here are suffering in the cold, wet, windy weather that is supposed to be out beautiful May.

    ReplyDelete

I love to know who's visiting. Leave me a sign!