Jane Austen quilt inspires Utahn

It is the most famous quilt in England, maybe even the world. Certainly, if you are a Jane Austen fan — and a quilter yourself — it's something you would want to see for yourself.

So, when Elaine Carlson arrived at the Jane Austen Museum at Chawton, Hampshire, England, the first words out of her mouth were not "Are you open?" or "How much does it cost?" or not even "I'm thrilled to be at Jane Austen's home." No, her first words were, "Where is the quilt?"

"The sweet woman's face just fell. 'Oh, dear,' she said. 'It's not here. It's been taken away for cleaning and conservation.' I was so disappointed," said Carlson. "But my sweet husband said he would bring me back someday."

It took four more years, but Carlson finally made it back to Chawton and finally got to see the quilt.

The large — 97-inch-by-105-inch — patchwork coverlet features a center diamond-shaped panel surrounded by a latticework of smaller diamond shapes and is said to have been made by Austen, her mother, and her sister Cassandra, between 1810 and 1812. It was likely made while they lived together at the Chawton house provided for them by Jane Austen's brother. That was where Jane did much of her writing and where the women would have gathered in the evenings to read, converse and sew, the typical occupations of genteel, unmarried ladies of the day.

"Records show Jane was a wonderful needleworker," explained Carlson, in a brief history of the Austen quilt and the history of quilting in the British Isles that she presented at the Utah Quilt Guild's Annual Quilt Festival, held recently at the Davis Conference Center.

Although the exact history of Austen's quilt has not been recorded, on May 31, 1811, she wrote to her sister, who was traveling at the time, "Have you remembered to collect pieces for the patchwork? We are now at a standstill." That letter could have referred to this project, said Carlson.

Austen died in 1817 and was buried in the Winchester Cathedral. In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in her work, fueled in part by a series of movies and television productions.

"I always liked her books, and I loved the BBC production of 'Pride and Prejudice' — the one with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy," said Carlson. About that time, Carlson had a serious family crisis, and she coped "by escaping into Jane Austen's world. That really got me through it. My sister once asked me if Jane Austen was my idol. 'No,' I told her, 'she's my friend.' "