Quilt sold at Christies' Auctions In the last post I showed four similar bedcovers with what I've been calling Unconfined Applique. I have many photos in the files of patchwork in the same style. American applique artists tend to confine their applique in a grid of blocks. While some British quiltmakers throw in an image wherever it fits. Similar quilt with hexagons and simple applique shapes. When Julie Silber and I were looking at the quilt at IQSCM she said her name for the style was Free-Form Applique. I had this photo of a quilt Julie, Linda Reuther and Pat Ferraro included in a catalog of quilts they did for the Oakland Museum in 1981. The center says in hexagons: Frances Asman Nocton Born July 19 1822 Nocton is a town in Lincolnshire, England. Frances Asman (1822-1890) married Samuel Dalton in 1843 and they came to the U.S. in 1851, bringing this bedcover and settling in Tabor, Iowa, where they raised six children. The central image is hard to see but there are birds and horses, and perhaps other animals scattered around the square in typical English fashion---truly Free-Form Applique. We might guess Frances made this quilt before her 1843 marriage at 21. I wouldn't be surprised to find these free-form appliques were projects begun as children. The consistent animal theme and light-heartedness in the designs seem to be aimed at a young audience. This coverlet with bible verses is in the collection of the Quilters Guild of Britain. A label attached to the front (upside down) reads "Cam Blue Coat School 1874" Blue Coat Schools are free schools, originally charity schools, and there is a Blue Coat School in the town of Cam in Gloucestershire. The school children may have done the applique on this piece. Horses seem to be a necessity in the bestiary. Kangaroos optional. Blue Coat boys in Bath in the 1890s Blue Coat girls in Nottingham 1840-1860 The Red Manor House coverlet, also in the Quilters Guild collection, has free form applique in the center, a manor house with large ducks and small cows. The borders include many more images confined in blocks. http://www.quiltmuseum.org.uk/collections/heritage/red-manor-house-apppliqu-coverlet.html Detail of blocks from a quilt sold at a Copake Auction in the U.S. Quilt documented by the New Jersey project, dated 1860 made by Margaret Howat in Galston, Scotland. Crib quilt by Nancy Horsfall from the collection of Gawthorpe Hall in England, dated 1834. At the top it says "Welcome Sweet Babe" Brigitte Giblin has done a pattern for that crib quilt. http://www.brigittegiblinquilts.com/product/nancy-horsfall-s-baby-s-crib-quilt-pattern/ Is there a name for this style in the United Kingdom?
