Will charity quilt achieve a princely sum?

A COLOURFUL quilt, locally stitched to celebrate the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, will be auctioned for charity by Moore Allen & Innocent in Cirencester.

The quilt, which is made up of 81 bow tie blocks – and is aptly named Tie-ing the Knot – will be sold in aid of the Royal Wedding Charitable Gift Fund, which William and Kate set up in lieu of wedding presents.

The quilt was stitched by 11 members of the Tetbury-based Cotswold Quilters during a Saturday sewing session.

Group member Gaye Alger said: “We wanted to do something for the royal wedding, and were deciding between a wall hanging or a table runner when the couple announced the launch of their charity fund in lieu of gifts.

“It was then that we decided to make a quilt, as the thing most likely to raise money for charity.”

The components of the 62-inch square quilt were laid out on the floor before team members sewed sections together. The quilt features 11 small bows, representing the 11 quilters, and comes in a matching quilted bag.

Auctioneers expect the piece to achieve between £100 and £200.

Anyone interested in quilting can join the Cotswold Quilters during one of their sessions, which are held at the Priory Nursing Home in Tetbury on the first Tuesday of the month, from 2pm, and the second Wednesday, from 7pm to 9pm.

The quilt is one of a number of home furnishing ideas to go under the hammer at the salerooms on Friday, July 1 from 10am.

For lovers of antique-looking furniture, there's a modern wake-style oval dining table in the 18th century manner, which is made from cherry wood, and which carries an estimate of £800 to £1,200 and a set of six complimentary stick back dining chairs, in the 18th century taste, also carrying a £500 to £800 estimate.

Funky 20th century furniture is represented by a 1960s copy of Marcel Breuer's 1925 design classic, the Wassilly chair. The chair was revolutionary in its use of bent tubular steel bars and canvas. A bid of £50 to £80 should secure the lot.

Bang up to date are a pair of cool wall lights by Liberty of London. Glass drops, individually blown by mouth by artisans in France, are back-lit to create a stunning effect. Each fitting is expected to achieve £50 to £80.

For the garden, a set of four stone cherubs representing the Four Seasons are the highlight of a stone ornament section, which also features pineapple finials, stone troughs and Cotswold stone staddle stones. A bid of £300 to £400 should secure the quartet.

Finally, for someone who fancies a restoration project, an early example of a piano, in what auctioneers optimistically refer to as 'barn-stored' condition, is expected to go for a song.

The early 19th century wood framed piano recalls a time when the instruments were in constant need of a good tuning, as the frame expanded and contracted depending on the weather.

Piano makers soon abandoned wood frames in favour of iron, making early examples like this one – by Muzio Clementi & Company, Makers to His Majesty and the Royal Family – a bit of a find.

Hand crafted in rosewood, good examples can make thousands of pounds. It says something about the condition of this one that the auctioneer would be happy with £100, but a bit of TLC could bring it back to something resembling its former glory.

The 'royal' quilt	… and a stitched note about its provenance on the reverse
A wake style table and six chairs, all in the 18th century manner	A 1960s copy of Marcel Breuer's 1925 design classic, the Wassilly chair
An early example of a piano by Muzio Clementi & Company	Four stone cherubs representing the Four Seasons
Cool wall lights by Liberty of London