The inspiration for this quilt came from a quilt purchased from Wilfred Fraser in 1972 which is now in the NS Museum collection.
My brother-in-law, Scott Robson (former Curator of Architecture and Furnishings at the NS Museum for many years, now retired), wrote the following about the quilt:
“The original quilt measures - binding to binding 156 cm x 161.5 cm (both ends were cut off). Each 'row' of the construction is about 10.5 cm, as Polly Greene’s booklet Basic Quilting presents it. Each triangle is about 6 cm on each side, and therefore so is each side of a hexagon. That measure of 6 is a convenient for a hexagon with 6 sides.
Some of the second backing remains; quite clear that what we have was removed from inside another quilt. Quilting on the second quilt was simple diagonal lines about 3.5 cm apart. Perhaps you'll be able to distinguish in photos.
The NS Museum bought the quilt from Wilfred Fraser, in Waternish, Guysborough Co., upriver from Sherbrooke. So as she searched for similar, Polly began to refer to it as the Waternish quilt, and then the Waternish Star (although no star is seen until that extra tone is introduced).”
This was all I had to go on. I drafted my own borders as I didnt want to make any half or quarter blocks to square it off.
I fell in love with this quilt almost 48 years ago when it was first in Polly Greene's booklet Basic Quilting, published by the Nova Scotia Museum. I began what I have called "My Life Project" soon after. I would cut out the bits of fabric and carry them with me in a small sewing bag whenever I was waiting for kids or was at a meeting. Sometimes, many months would go by when I didn't work on this at all. Then I would get it out and sew more hexagons. I didn’t have a master plan. I had no idea how big it was going to be or how I would finish the edges. I just knew when the time was right it would be done. I knew I wanted it to have a border but I did not want to be bothered with half or quarter hexagons so I had to draft those in between bits and figure out how to manage the corners. I was really lucky finding fabric which I thought was perfect for the border, a vine that I could fussy cut! I do have patience!
The quilt was pieced and then the hand quilting seemed to take forever. Again, I worked on it in fits and starts, sometimes putting it down for long periods as I worked on other quilts.
A small pillow sent to me from a very dear friend who lived in England and knew all about the Waternish Star quilt. The pillow is about 9” square, it is made of velvets and silks. The fabrics are showing their wear! It is English Paper Pieced over some paper which has writing on it. I wonder if it was once part of a largerpiece? So much I wish I knew.
My Waternish Star - The Details
My quilt is 75" x 80". It has 229 pieced hexagons. Each hexagon has 12 diamonds. There are 2748 diamonds, each drawn and cut out individually. There are 235 different fabrics in the quilt. No 2 hexagons are the same (with 1 exception!). Total number of pieces including the border is 3,582.
Polly’s book from the Nova Scotia Museum, it was republished in a smaller version which I believe is now out of print. Linda Eaton’s book, “Quilts in a Material” World is a gem!
Several years after it was finished I heard about a wonderful new book Quilts in a Material World - Quilts from the Winterthur Collection, written by Linda Eaton. The Wintherthur is a Museum in Pennsylvania which highlights the collection of Henry duPont. It was his childhood home and it holds his 90,000 piece collection of things including quilts! I ordered the book, and as I looked through it I was delighted to find 2 quilts very similar to the Waternish Star quilt! I have never found any documentation of this quilt anywhere in books or online and I have looked! It is similar to “Seven Sisters” but that pattern uses 7 pieced hexagons and there is no triangle in between.
Made to commemorate the marriage of Sarah Williams to Samuel Emlen in 1851, collection of the Winterthur Museum
The Elizabeth Webster quilt, collection of the Winterthur Museum.
I immediately got in touch with the author via email and this is what she wrote about the 2 quilts:
“I thought that it was particularly interesting that two related quilts were so very similar (to say nothing of the fact that they both came to Winterthur quite separately and unrelated but that Elizabeth Webster's name is on both) that I would not be at all surprised if other similar pieces made by Quakers within Philadelphia itself or even the Philadelphia Annual Meeting (of the Society of Friends) exist somewhere (and of course Godey's was a Philadelphia-based publication). But the design would, of course, not be exclusive to them. Katherine Hunt has written an article with more detail about our quilts - it is in the Winterthur Portfolio, volume 41 (2007), pages 43-52. This is an academic journal that should be available at a good university library - it is also available through the database JSTOR but sadly that volume is not yet on-line.”
I had sent images of my "Waternish Star" to Linda, which she loved. I have not gone any further with researching Godey's Lady's Book to see if the pattern is there. I kind of like the story the way it is!
Over the years I have taught this pattern and have seen several finished quilts and several that are biening made. My friend Isabel is making this one -
Isabel’s Waternish Star, hand pieced, a work in progress!
My “Waternish Star” will always be my favourite quilt, it won an Honourable Mention at the 2008 Quilt Canada National Juried Show and the Best in Show Award at the Mahone Bay Quilters Guild quilt show. I am still so proud of that ribbon!
