CHAPTER III
Patchwork and Quilting in Old England
IN SEARCHING for the beginning of needlework in England, the first authentic date revealed relating directly to this subject is 709, when the Bishop of Sherborne writes of the skill Englishwomen had attained at that time in the use of the needle. Preserved in various museums are some examples of Anglo-Saxon embroidery of uncertain date, that are known to have been made before the Bishop of Sherborne’s time. Mention should also be made of the wonderful Bayeux Tapestry. This ancient piece is 227 feet long and twenty inches wide, and is of great historical interest, in that it illustrates events of English history from the accession of Edward the Confessor to the English defeat at Hastings by the Normans in 1066. There is some doubt as to whether this tapestry, which has the characteristic of typical appliqué—namely, the absence of shading—is actually of English workmanship, but it is unquestionably of Anglo-Saxon origin. It was first hung in Bayeux Cathedral in 1476.
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PUSS-IN-THE-CORNER
A beautifully quilted design made about 1855. Colours: a dull green calico having small red flowers and white
