Description:
Quilting frame comprised of four A-shaped legs, each made of a split ash pole that is wedged open by a piece of pine and nailed with wrought iron nails, all of which have rounded tops. The nails fit into mortices cut into 2 long parallel slats, which in turn support a second pair of parallel slats. All are fitted with a strip of canvas fabric to which the quilt may have been basted. Additionally, the quilt may have been securing ties threaded through holes in the wooden supports. Because of the way the supports are fitted, this was likely not a frame in which the quilter(s) would roll as they finished each section. The quilt frame came from the Attic of the Ashley-Boyden house on Conway Road, Rt. 116 in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Frames with four equal sides such as this example could easily accomodate eight quilters. Bed quilts were normally finished as quickly as possible - generally within one to three days. Speed was desirable because keeping a quilt laid out in its frame for an extended period of time in the already cramped quarters of most New England homes was very inconvenient. Cooperative quilting strengthened the bonds between neighbors and relatives, and offered companionship to the lonely. See also 2004.45.
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+82.185 |
