Quilt No.802MP - Maria Politis

Maria Politis
Owner: 
Maria Politis
Location: 
ACT
Maker
Maker: 
Unknown
Made in
GREECE Lefkada
Date: 
1941 - 1970
Description: 
Wholecloth quilt made of deep cherry red satin with backing of sky blue satin. The padding is cotton wadding. It is hand quilted and the pattern is an all over one of four leafed clovers with a border of crescent shapes within straight parallel lines.
2000 x 1700mm
History: 

The quilt was made on the Greek island of Lefkada in 1965 by a quiltmaker whose name is not known. It was ordered by Evangelea Politis as a gift for her daughter-in-law in Australia. It is not used now.

Story: 

"Maria's Paploma
This lovely satin quilt originated in Lefkada, one of the beautiful Ionian islands on the western side of Greece. In 1965, Evangelea Politis, had it specially made as a gift for her daughter-in-law Maria, in faraway Australia.
Almost directly in line with Lefkada, on the eastern side of Greece, is the island of Mytilini (Lesvos) and the village of Aghia Paraskevi, which Maria Politis left in 1960, to join her brother Andoni who had come to Australia three years earlier. There were five children in Maria's family, growing up during the 'pinna' (hunger or famine), the time of the WW2 German occupation. These were times of great hardship and starvation, and families all over Greece were struggling to survive. Maria's father, Costas Mimelli, planted tobacco, a longtime staple crop in Greece. Maria remembers, as a nine-year old, working in the fields with her sister Eleni. She worked with her father for many years before migrating to Australia.
Maria met and married her husband Aleko in Broken Hill, NSW, where they had several good friends who had also come from Mytilini. After a few years they moved to Canberra where they worked hard and gave their children Theodoros and Raylene, a good education. Maria, a widow now for many years is grateful for her supportive, close-knit family. Her 'paploma', still in its original, excellent, condition remains as a symbol of a life interwoven with sadness as well as happiness."
[Written by Lula Saunders: adapted from interview 10.1.01 for the National Quilt Register]

Maria Politis, 2001
Maria Politis, 2001
Maria Politis' family home Aghia Paraskevi, 1986
Maria Politis' family home Aghia Paraskevi, 1986
Aghia Paraskevi, Mytilini, 1986
Aghia Paraskevi, Mytilini, 1986

Related Quilts:

Yvonne Hamdorf
Wholecloth pram quilt with a top of pink cotton sateen, and the reverse is a more finely woven, ivory, fabric. All over quilting design as main feature, with stylised hearts, leaves and cross hatching. The padding is cotton batting. 870 x 660 mm.
John Tomkin
Hand stitched, cotton, appliquéd, quilt in a flower pattern on a plain background. Colours are shades of green, apricot and browns. This quilt was known as a 'Bride's Quilt'. Padding is thought to be layers of white fabric raised almost like a wadding. The backing is cotton material. 2470 x 2020 mm.
Denise Frahn
Wholecloth quilt, machine sewn, made from cotton chintz with a pale green background and a floral pattern of bunches of pink roses and blue flowers, reversible. The centre is stitched in a diamond pattern with two outside borders, then filled with feathers, using a broom handle to force the feathers through. Cover made from 36" fabric, the pattern matched exactly. Excellent condition. Feather filling was collected by the makers from backyard poultry, geese, ducks, fowls. Called an eiderdown.
1830 x 1480mm
Maria Alexakis
Wholecloth quilt. Quilting pattern is a large 'feathered thistle' with thick stem, as the main design feature. The border is a combination of straight and curved parallel lines. Burgundy sateen with damask weave. All quilting is handstitched. Padding is cotton wadding and backing is tomato red cotton. 2150 x 1820 mm.
Effie Kalenderidis
Wholecloth quilt made from blue satin with turquoise blue cotton backing. The padding is cotton wadding. The quilting pattern is a large central motif of a daisy with a fan design in each corner. The in fill pattern is of curved and straight parallel lines and the border straight parallel lines. It is all hand quilted.
2000 x 1660mm
Ida Blenkiron
Wholecloth quilt made from turquoise and red plaid brushed cotton, with a filling of a marcella bedspread with cut up pieces of knitted and crocheted garments stitched on top by hand and machine. Garment pieces are pink, red, yellow, black and pastels. Sleeves, collar and pockets can be clearly seen. Backing is an old blanket.