Quilt No.784CN - Charlotte Nattey

Charlotte Nattey
Owner: 
Charlotte Nattey
Location: 
ACT
Maker
Maker: 
Edith Millington
Made in
IRELAND Cookstown
Date: 
1901 - 1920
Description: 
The quilt top combines various scarps of silk in an informal pattern of flowers made from individual silk petals with a large flower in the centre. There is crazy patchwork in between the flowers. The pieces are sewn on with feather stitch, blanket stitch and satin stitch. There is a 37cm ruffle on the two long sides. There is no padding and the backing is silk.
2140 x 1550mm
History: 

The quilt was made by Edith Mary Millington at Lissan Rectory at Cookstown, Northern Ireland c.1920. It is thought to include parts of her wedding dress dyed and sewn in. It was made for her neice Mildred Millington born 1910. It is now owned by the maker's grand-daughter Charlotte Nattey.

Story: 

"This quilt is totally different from the one done by my grandmother and reflects both changing times and the obviously different character of mother and daughter. This quilt is obviously made by eye and not strict measurements - the stitches are randomly different as the mood took her. It is still very fresh in colour and must have been quite vibrant. I'm sure that it is again scraps of clothing that she utilised.
I knew her as a child as a warm hearted interested woman with wonderful white hair.
She married a country Rector in Northern Ireland and threw herself into community life. She was renowned for always doing things in a rush and maybe forgetting something in the process - this quilt reflects her personality very well.
Life must have been pretty idyllic; no huge income was needed to have 3 or more 'staff' and those to run the farm that came with the Rectory. Food and produce was grown and stored and was used for church fetes etc. There was time for tennis and tea parties and the stories from both my aunt and father reflect an easy life style with time both to laugh and reflect. There was of course a lot of obligation and duty - no time off for holidays and Sunday school, Mothers' Institute, the Girls Friendly Society etc. all to be run."
[Charlotte Nattey 6.4.97]

Edith Mary Millington
Edith Mary Millington
Lissan Rectory, Northern Ireland
Lissan Rectory, Northern Ireland

Related Quilts:

National Trust of Australia (SA)
Randomly patched quilt in many different colours and fabrics. There are appliquéd shapes over many pieces including Suffolk Puffs, hearts, hexagons and other shapes. There is an embroidered inscription "A11 to S11 1829" which is thought to mean AN to SN 1829. There is no padding and the backing is white cotton.
2000 x 2200mm
National Trust of Australia (NSW)
Hand pieced and quilted quilt in silks, wool and cotton dress materials. The centre is a hexagon star in pink and yellow with black points. Most of the body of the quilt is pieced in Tumbling Blocks with an outer border of triangles. The backing is pieced from large rectangles of blue satin, rust-brown moire taffeta and brown-grey silk in a 'rectangle within a rectangle' pattern. The quilting is all over and finely done in yellow thread in a variety of patterns including snails, petalled flowers and hearts.
Red Cliffs Historical Society
Crazy patchwork quilt pieced from velvets, satins, braids, taffetas, cottons with some decorative stitching. A ruffle and the backing are in ruby red satin. There is a dacron type padding.
1620 x 1200mm
The Queensland Women's Historical Assoc.
Quilt top of plain, floral and printed cotton hexagons in a diamond pattern, separated by plain white hexagons. Hand written letters have been used as templates and some are still in position but the ink is faded and the writing now illegible. Tacking stitches are still in place.
3048 x 2210mm
Tess Davidson
Hand stitched quilt of suiting materials. Centre rectangle also suiting materials but arranged with a smaller scale, is edged with a cord of red fabric covering string. The outer red border has been renewed by the owner and closely matches the original. The backing is ticking. There is no padding.
2390 x 2110mm
Julie Bos
Allover pattern in woollen dress materials in blue, grey, navy, black and pink. Hand stitched. The owner suggests it was made in the 1950s or earlier. It is not used.
910 x 1250mm