Quilt No.984VD - Virginia DeFriest

Description:
One of a pair for twin beds. Frame quilt entirely in rectangles of squares radiating from small central rectangle. Alternating rows of plain and patterned cottons. All squares are on edge. Padding is cotton and backing is plain white muslin. 2220 x 1540 mm.
History:
The maker is unknown but it is thought the quilts were made in Arkansas USA. They were owned by Mr. and Mrs. Homer DeFriest and now by their daughter-in-law. Both quilts are still used and each is kept at the foot of the twin bed in the owner's home.
Story:
The quilts were given to the present owner and her husband in 1955 and went with them to the various countries in which James Ellis DeFriest worked: Kenya, Sierra Leone, New Zealand, Ghana and Australia.
Related Quilts:
Utilitarian quilt made from large pieces of wool, flannel and cotton. Machine construction and the padding is wool.
1570 x 152Omm
1570 x 152Omm
Hand sewn hexagons over paper templates in a pattern known as 'Grandmother's Flower Garden'. Materials are printed dress cottons, patterned and plain, mainly in pinks, blues and browns. The border and backing is grey linen and is machine stitched on. There is no padding. 2060 x 1579 mm.
Suffolk puff quilt with each puff approximately 4cm x 4cm. The puffs are small squares rather than the more usual circles. Materials are mainly cottons and satins in a wide variety of colours and patterns. The backing is striped flannelette and is hand stitched to the top.
1660 x 1140mm
1660 x 1140mm
This is one of two single bed quilts in a pattern the owner calls 'Martha Washington's Flower Garden'. Flowers are in six hexagons in a variety of prints with a plain coloured centre. The background is cream, and the backing is calico. 2500 x 1800 mm.
Cotton quilt, checks, plains and patterns. Machine construction. Rectangles stitched together in strips and then strips joined. The backing is a cotton print. There is no padding and no quilting.
2420 x 1220
2420 x 1220
Frame quilt pieced from square, rectangular and triangular pieces from plain and patterned cotton. The central motif of the rooster is appliqued in red cotton on white background with a border of red triangles. There is a white cotton backing.
2000 x 1925mm
2000 x 1925mm