Quilt No.778SI - Stavroula Ioannou

Stavroula Ioannou
Owner: 
Stavroula Ioannou
Location: 
NSW Sydney
Maker
Maker: 
Unknown
Made in
CYPRUS
Date: 
1941 - 1970
Description: 
Rose pink satin wholecloth quilt with lighter pink cotton backing. Hand quilting forms large diamond pattern in the centre with a border of parallel lines.
2000 x 1800mm
History: 

Made by a local quiltmaker (name unknown) on the island of Cyprus in 1959. Sent to Australia shortly after. Always owned by Stavroula Ioannou.

Story: 

"Stavroula's Two Quilts
Unlike many other migrants of the time, Stavroula came to Australia by air in 1959, but her two paplomata (quilts) arrived a little later by boat. Stavroula's mother, Efpraxia, anxious that her daughter's prika (dowry) be complete in true Greek tradition even in faraway Australia, purchased the locally-grown raw cotton and the satin and cotton fabrics, and then arranged for the local 'paplomatas' (quiltmaker) to come to their house, in their village of Evrychou, in the district of Lefkosia.
Although she was not in Cyprus when her own quilts were made, Stavroula remembers the 'paplomatas' coming to their house at other times; she recalls how he would assemble the 'paploma' - laying out one layer of fabric, turning the edges like a wide hem, fluffing up the raw cotton with a 'doxari'. 'it's like a large boomerang with a string across it; he would hit it with another piece of wood and the cotton would all fluff up, it seemed to fill the whole house. He would then spread the raw cotton evenly, place the other layer of fabric over and stitch around the edges first, to hold everything in place; then go to the centre, using a very large needle, to begin quilting the pattern. Everyone designs and stitches differently,' she muses.
The island of Cyprus, now an independent republic, has a long and troubled, political history. In those days high school education was not an option for most Cypriot families, so from age eleven, while her parents ran a mixed business Stavroula worked in the family-owned fields (horafia) where they grew olives, grapes, apples, potatoes and other vegetables. The family was certainly not poor, but with four daughters and three sons, her parents had considerable financial responsibilities, particularly with the girls who each needed a dowry, which often included a house, in order to get married.
Stavroula came to Australia and joined her brother and sister in Newtown, Sydney. She began work as a dressmaker and in 1961 married Phoebus, who also had come from Cyprus; they lived in Woollahra. After 16 years they moved to their present house in Bellevue Hill, where to this day the floral quilt is their main bedcover; and the pink satin quilt is often called into service when visitors arrive. Originating in the ancient 'Island of Aphrodite', these two quilts are fulfilling their destiny of usefulness and decoration, in an even more ancient 'antipodes' land!
Stavroula and Phoebus have two sons, John, a secondary maths teacher, and Kim, a nuclear medicine technologist. He and his wife Stamatina have two children, Ilia and Phoebus."
[Written by Lula Saunders; adapted from interview 2/1/01 for the National Quilt Register]

Stavroula Ioannou with the quilt
Stavroula Ioannou with the quilt
Stavroula going to the fields, Cyprus 1950s
Stavroula going to the fields, Cyprus 1950s
Stavroula (right) and her sister Chrystala, Cyprus 1959
Stavroula (right) and her sister Chrystala, Cyprus 1959

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.
Mary and Max Robertson
Traditional Wagga rug made from 3 wheat bags joined along the long side by sewing with bag needle and twine. Machined twill cover was put on later in the 1960s. Originally no padding but now the bags are the padding. One of a pair(identical).
1790 x 1160mm
Nancy Stinson
The padding consists of layers of pieced used clothing including; part of machine knitted child's wool dress (Nancy had this when she was 3 or 4); part of father's cardigan; parts of 'neck to knee' bathers in light green and dark green wool. The padding is all hand pieced and machined around the edge. There have been 2 wholecloth cotton covers to this quilt. It is one of a pair.
1870 x 1020mm
Maria Kirke
Wholecloth quilt made from deep pink satin. The quilting pattern is a centre circle with a stylised flower surrounded by crescent shapes. This is set in a square and there is a fan design in each corner. Parallel lines create a border. There is a frill on all sides of the quilt. The padding is raw cotton.
2000 x 1770 mm
E Shuttle
Wholecloth quilt made from orange cotton cretonne for back and front. Padding is made from old blankets stitched together. The quilt weighs 16 lb.
1423 x 1118mm