Mary Frances Decker's Hooked Mats and Quilts

We called in on Mary Frances Decker of Joe Batt's Arm - Fogo Island - who pulled out some very old quilts from the attic for us to see. Mrs Decker has hooked mats and quilted since she was a child and is still making things to this day. Her work is wonderfully colourful, vibrant and full of character. Below are some of our favourites....

Above: A lovely quilt made recently; we thought it resembled a hooked mat!

Above: Mary's hooked mat- proudly placed at the sink where she does the washing up

Above: a 1940's 'Brick Pattern' quilt made by Mrs Decker's mother , Mini Penton, as a wedding gift. The material is dyed flour sack and still looks as colourful as the day it was made!

Above: a 'Strip Quilt'  hand-stippled by Mrs Decker; made some time during the late 1940's early 50's. It's extremely heavy and warm, even after all these years. The colours make it a beautiful and subtle quilt.

Diana Leyte - A lifetime Quilter

Mrs Leyte of Deep Bay - Fogo Island, has been hooking mats and making quilts since she was 8 years old. Still an avid maker she likes to burn the midnight oil making quilts and hooked mats for family and friends. Were were lucky enough to see one of her current projects  before she gave it away as a gift

 Above: a cheerful little quilt, the pattern is called Card Trick. Made from sheeting material and broadcloth

Above: on the way out we spotted this beauty on the washing line. A traditional Scrap Quilt - if larger pieces were good enough they were pieced together to form one big quilt. The material used is a mix of old curtains, flannelette and cotton bed sheets. What a treat to see!

Above: the hand that has hooked a thousand hooked mats! This tool is so worn, you can feel the indent in the wood were her fingers have worn it smooth. Image above: one of Mrs Leyte lovely hooked stamp mats, made with old t-shirts and worn clothes                                         

Margaret Freake shows us her Quilts of many colours

Margaret's quilt collection are a mix of the traditional Crazy Quilts and designs of her own making. They clearly all show her love and  appreciation of colour; each and every one is unique in it's  own way. She had so many for us to see, so here is a pick of the best and most colourful...

Above: a lovely Crazy Quilt complete with hand-stitching. This particular quilt is a mix of cotton and polyester made some time in the 80's

Above: a beautifully simple quilt with blue hues. Margaret makes it up as she goes along; I love the darker blue she has used to 'frame' the blocks 

 Above: a red Strip Quilt, again oh so simple, but oh so striking!

Above: a delightful Strip Quilt; no scrap is too small to be used - see the larger and smaller strips Margaret has incorporated

Ann Marie Newman's Family Treasures

These beauties are the family quilts of Ann Marie Newman - a quilter and mat hooker extraordinaire. When Ann Marie isn't  hooking her beautiful mats inspired by older mats pasted down through generations of her family, she is making quilts as gifts for her family and friends. These old quilts are so simple and lovely - you can see the love and care that went into them in every stitch...

Above: A traditional Dresden Plate Quilt - made with a mix of cotton and flour sacks. The maker of this quilt is unknown, but I feel it may of been made in 40's or 50's. 

Above: a Strip Quilt, not ordinary by any means! These two delightful creations were made by Ann Marie's Grandmother Lucy Hewitt. They bring tears to my eyes they are so playful - l love the colour combinations in them. They are a mix of cotton, crimp knit (a popular material in used in the 60's and 70's) polyester and silk. If you look closely you can see the repairs done to them, where larger fabric pieces have used to patch up worn places.

Above: Beauty in the imperfection.....it doesn't matter that it's not perfect; if anything this makes them even more charming because you get a sense of who made them

Millicent Dwyer's Magnificent Quilts

Millicent has an entire cupboard stuffed full with quilts - from her first project made as a girl to her more recent creations. She showed us a small selection dating from the 80's and 90's

Above: a quilt with a difference: Millicent likes to put her own spin on traditional patterns, adapted them to suit the materials available to her. This is a cotton mix, using scraps from clothes and curtains

Above: this Scrap Quilt is a riot of colour and texture. This quilt was hidden underneath another quilt; I suspect it was made sometime during the 90's

Above: a sneaky peek in to Millicent's sewing room, where all the magic happens. This lovely vintage piece caught my eye, no doubt it will soon be incorporated into one of her quilts soon!

Donna Rowe's Quilts 
The following collection of quilts are the beloved property of Fogo Island resident Donna Rowe and they are beautiful in every way. We gave them an airing on the washing line to see them in their their full glory.

Above: This decorative bedspread is a family heirloom - all hand embroidered with the most exquisite designs on to flour cloth; a material commonly found in the older quilts - it's an ingenious way of recycling this sturdy and versatile material. Note how the pieces are put together using the blue cotton strips, to form one big striking bedspread

Above: These three Crazy Quilts were all made by a family friend during the 1970's. It's really apparent that they are made by the same person, there is a 'signature' to them that unites them all. It is interesting too how the the decorative hand-stitching has only one colour; most Crazy Quilts use a mix of coloured embroidery threads 

An afternoon with Kay Cull
Looking inside Kay Cull's cupboards revealed some beautiful Crazy Quilts dating from the 50's to the 60's. The quilts from this era used a mix of cotton and polyester - mainly sourced from clothes. The Crazy Quilt is such an efficient way of using up these precious scraps - larger scraps are sewn next to smaller scraps,  resulting in an array of patterns and textures.

Above: this Crazy Quilt dates from 60's, it's a cotton and polyester mix, lovingly finished with herringbone hand-stitching

Above: gorgeous Crazy Quilt, dating from the 60/70's, it's a cotton polyester mix, note the use of 'Crimp-knit' a popular man-made material used in clothes during this era. Note the curves in the scraps, probably from a sleeve or pocket unpicked and used

Above: a detail of the hand-stitching - also see that the edges have been left raw and unturned - the wonders of polyester means that the fabric doesn't unravel - ever!