Move over, Sherlock!

I have taken the plunge and washed the old hexagon quilt! To refresh memories, here is the quilt in its original state.

Here it is after I had replaced all the pieces which had been nibbled away! Since it is symmetrical, I tried to match the bottom left corner to the top right and used as many reproduction fabrics as I could.

Yesterday, when I had taken out all the papers from the back, and tacked along the edge to retain the shape. I dabbed at all the red patches with some damp tissue, to see if the dyes were likely to run. There was only one red Paisley patch which seemed suspect, but I washed the quilt carefully in lukewarm water in the bath, with 3 Colourcatchers! This is the colour of the water after I'd finished!

And here is the quilt now, all clean and fresh. There are still some stains on it, but that's to be expected, and I'm not about to start scrubbing at them! They're part of its history and badges of honour.

As to the papers, I spent some time examining them for clues to the address of the maker. There were lots of papers which had part of an address on one side, and nothing on the other, which I took to be envelopes. Here are some of them.

By taking information from all of them, the envelopes were sent to

Mrs Glass,

2, Charteris Road,

Finsbury Park,

London.

Now I need to check the 1891 census to see who was living at that address (apart from Mrs Glass) and find the possible maker of the quilt!