Margaret Mew’s Medallion Quilts

By Betsi Beem

I just love the learning curve that I am on as a novice quilter and part of the CQW family. I saw that there is an upcoming ‘Medallion Class’ being taught by Margaret Mew from 3 – 4 July as part of the Winter Escape Series of classes. 

So I asked, “What is a Medallion Class?”

The ever-effervescent Annette taught me that it is a quilt that has a focal center that is surrounded by multiple borders.

The center can be anything, patchwork, applique, or even a piece of printed fabric. The borders can be anything from saw tooth, hour glass, applique or peony’s and Ohio Stars. I just love the variety in the Banyan Tree (left image).

Annette suggested that I leaf through Margaret Mew’s recent book, Quilts from the Colonies, published by Quiltmania.

WOW!

What a beautiful collection of quilts. Margaret’s beautifully written book describes her early passion for antiques and foray into sewing and fabrics. Antique quilts from the early American colonies and New Zealand inspired the quilts that she has designed, and her enthusiasm for restoration fabrics echoes throughout the book. What is so much fun about this book is that each quilt is introduced with a bit of history of where the inspiration for the quilt came from, often citing the original quilt and maker (like Abigail May Alcott’s quilt – Louisa May Alcott’s mother!).

The Medallions range from beautiful appliques – my favourite is Miss Hitchens’ Whimsy inspired quilt stitched by her in the first quarter of the 19th Century and held in the Te Aroha museum.

But Providence has certainly caught my eye as well.

Margaret’s expertise in medallion quilts is clear from her beautifully published book and Quilt Station website and her classes are fantastic at CQW.