Quilt No.1039JZ - Jenny Gianoula Zounis

"This quilt has the distinction of being made by a man - Mr. Stamatis Spahis who was born in about 1935 in Greece. He came to Australia before his marriage in 1964. At the time of his wedding he was an apprentice mattress maker and his brother had taught him in Greece how to make quilts.
Mr. Spahis' bride had only recently migrated from Greece. Her brother had brought her to Australia and also wanted to get married but was obligated by Greek tradition to see that his sister was married first. However, the young couple suffered from a shortage of money so her brother's (Manuel Papadimitridor) father-in-law to be, Nikita Zounis, offered to pay for a double wedding. This happened to be the second time that Nikita Zounis had done the same thing under similar circumstances. And, as Greeks don't do things by halves there were about 300 guests at both double weddings. As a thank you to his brother in law's father in law for paying for the wedding, Mr. Spahis made him the quilt.
At the time Mr. Spahis would have been about 29 or 30 years old. It is apparent that great care was taken by Mr. Spahis as the quilting thread is blue on the blue side and pink on the pink side. The present owner of the quilt says it is the custom to sew a sheet to the border of a quilt to keep it clean. The sheet could then be easily washed." [Mrs. Jenny Zounis]