QUILTS & FABRIC: PAST & PRESENT


Thursday, February 5, 2015

Willow Bough in The Best of Morris

Maybe my favorite Morris print is the Willow Bough,
which we've colored in six ways for my new Best of Morris line from Moda.


Willow Bough was designed by William Morris himself in 1887. The pattern may be the signature Morris print in its combination of simplicity and complexity.


Willow Bough wallpaper sample in the collection of the 
Victoria an Albert Museum

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O248728/willow-bough-wallpaper-morris-william/

Linda Parry catalogs the pattern as initially an 1887 woodblock-printed wall paper and then re-cut for a 36" wide fabric repeat in 1895.

Jane Morris's bedroom at the Red House
is papered and draped in Willow Bough
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/red-house/

Willough Bough was in the first Moda reproduction
A Morris Garden in 2008
We've added red, brown and darker blues to the
new line.



Every year the William Morris Society of Canada bakes a cake for "Dear William's" birthday. In 2011 they chose Willow Bough for the theme. See some other cakes here:
http://www.wmsc.ca/2014/03/wmsc-likes-its-cake.html


Pam Cave used several of my Morris collections to make her
sawtooth block sampler here. In the center lower row a Willow Bough from
that first line.

She writes: I have spent quite a few years making the blocks - 99 of them. And finally this past November I put all the blocks together. Unfortunately after I put it together I discovered I had to take the quilt apart and re-square up the blocks and reassemble it. Eek! But that is now completed.


It is just a top at this point. And not yet completed - as I have a border yet to put on.
...I really love this quilt so I felt it was worth the effort.


 She says she'll send pictures when she gets the border put on. But what to choose?

6 comments:

  1. Lovely quilt and very good use of fabric.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That really does look beautiful in the quilt and I love that cake.

    Debbie

    ReplyDelete
  3. oh I love that green on green. Of course green is my favorite color. My husband says that is because I love money too much. Funny since we don't have much of it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Such a privilege to have my quilt shown on your blog! I had it out last night looking at the border fabric I had chosen a couple years back. Hmmm - not right! Ah quilting is a process! It was the light blue with the irises from the Morris Workshop line. I've decided I need a dark indigo border. I think the new Honeysuckle in Indigo would be perfect! Or maybe the Willow Bough in Indigo. I guess I will be shopping ;))

    ReplyDelete
  5. I can imagine "Willow Bough" as wallpaper. The colorways for your fabric line are wonderful.

    ReplyDelete