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Thanks for visiting ! Please leave me comments, I love to read what you might think about the boutis (which is also known as "Broderie de Marseille"), please share with me what you have seen, what you love, how-tos, good museums to visit, pattern origins, and so on ..... you get the idea !

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Birthday Petassoun

I have an early birthday present !  A beautiful broderie de marseille petassoun has come to live at my house.  Here are a few pictures to give you an idea.
 A petassoun is  a small lap quilt used to protect a mother's clothes from any newborn "accidents".  The everyday ones were probably used up, and I have seen quilted examples that were very worn.  These very beautiful ones were reserved for important occasions such as baptisms. 





This one is quite fine.  Most are finished with a tape on the reverse side of the scallops.  Sometimes a straight edge is finished with a knife edge hem.  There are regional variations, and the Marseille pieces are stuffed very well, probably because there was easier access to cotton goods, which would have been harder in small villages further away.
Several different sized pieces were made for important family occasions, always happy affairs like weddings and baptisms.  Each event was represented by certain symbols with different significance.
In this way, the women stitching were able to transmit the story of their family and their personal history.
I adore this work, I love making these pieces, buying them sometimes when I am really lucky,  reading and learning  about them and showing others.  I think I'm hooked !

8 comments:

Angelikas quilts and knits said...

Das ist ein tolles Geschenk, aber ganz schön früh, oder ? ;-)
Das Tuch ist wunderschön, und ich kann kaum glauben, dass jemand so etwas schönes als Spuktuch benutzt.

Liebe Grüße
Angelika

Janet said...

I love it , Heather. What do these motif's mean? Does that tell you something about the family that made it? I hope you do make one, too.
Janet

Donna in SW PA said...

Congrats!!! And happy Birthday. Love it!!!

Lou said...

C'est en effet un cadeau un peu en avance :) il est très beau !!!

hiromi said...

It's really beautiful! I imagine that what kind of special occasion the family had when it was made. Fantastic!

Marie du Gard said...

Bonjour Heather, Magnifique ce pétassoun pour cadeau d'anniversaire.
Tu es très gâtée. Par avance je te souhaite donc Bon Anniversaire.
Bonne journée. Bises

Marie du Gard said...

Bonjour Heather, Magnifique ce pétassoun pour cadeau d'anniversaire.
Tu es très gâtée. Par avance je te souhaite donc Bon Anniversaire.
Bonne journée. Bises

Nini Petits Boutis said...

Il est vraiment superbe!
Tu as été bien gâtée.
Bisous