Posted by: Mary Hobbs

I started collecting materials from jumble sales in 1994. Old skirts, shirts, dresses, all cotton, also many pieces were my own from leftover dressmaking materials.

The pieces are cut into 6 sided hexagon shapes and the same number of cards which are slightly smaller. Each hexagon flower is made of 19 hexagons.

These are then joined together with the background colours. Altogether these are 56 flowers, and it is all hand sewn.

quilt
Mary Hobbs created this beautiful handmade quilt. Quilters will recognize the pattern as “The Grandmothers’ Flower Garden Bedspread.” This style first became popular a century ago and remains a timeless pattern. Downsizing to move to Canada, Mary had to leave behind most of her treasures, furniture and friends, and everything she had known. Having the quilt on Aylmer Ave. brings a little of Mary’s past to her present day, and is both an amazing accomplishment, and a great comfort in her current living situation.
Photo by Gary Diack.

I lived in Grays, Essex, England at the time and finally completed the bedspread, over a 20-year period, in my leisure time.

I moved over to Ottawa in 2015 to join my son and family and brought the bedspread with me. I now live on Aylmer at Colonel By Retirement Home in Ottawa near to my son and family, and eventually the quilt will be given to my granddaughter.

Mary Hobbs is a quilter and a resident of the Colonel By Retirement Residence.

Originally published in the April 2020 OSCAR.