Mikado quilt photo by James Cummings

Above, you see a portion of a piece of Mikado cheater cloth produced by the Cocheco Mills in Dover, NH in the late nineteenth century. After I bought a Crazy Quilt with this image, and those of many other characters in Gilbert and Sullivan’s musical production, I decided to investigate the story and any ephemera I could find regarding it.

What fun to watch the show on DVD, from the comfort of my own living room and to acquaint myself with the plot of the tale. In the November issue of , just now distributed, I have an article that summarizes the story, shows the entire Crazy Quilt and individual components. This subject was an enchanting one to research. As usual, the magazine is available from Borders, Barnes & Nobles, some grocery stores, Walmart, some quilt shops and from the company itself.

Two examples of the Cocheco Cloth have been located, one in the private sector, and one in a museum. In addition, two quilts with “Mikado” fabrics have been spotted in museums. Yet another quilt, that is rendered in Redwork, features an embroidered block based on the popular operetta.

I hope that you can round up a copy of the article. I believe it contributes quite a lot to the study of quilt history, as well as material artifacts.

Patricia Cummings, quilt historian

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