Rajput Ralli or Patchwork Quilt, with Trade-Cloth Backing

Hundreds of triangles in coral, saffron, green and white, all pointing somewhere different.

This ralli, or patchwork quilt, with trade-cloth backing is Rajput, from Sindh, Pakistan, and dates to the 20th century, in quilted cotton. Rallis are made by women across Sindh and neighboring regions, pieced from cotton scraps and stitched in long running lines, and they serve as bedding, padding and gifts. The center is a dense grid of small squares, each split into triangles, so pinwheels and hourglasses seem to appear and vanish across the field. Stripes of yellow, coral and green frame it. A dark, scalloped edge runs around the outside. It is 79 inches wide and 49 long.

Busy, in the way a good party is busy.