Doris Öberg’s collection.
Doris Öberg was born in 1935 in Hortlax, Piteå. She had a great interest in needlework and always kept her hands busy with something while sitting on the sofa in the evenings. It could be embroidery, stocking knitting or some sewing.
During the last 30 years patchwork was the focus. Doris has held countless courses and she was involved in starting the association QuiltQuinnen in Älvsbyn.
In 1999, Doris made an inventory of the old patchwork in Älvsbyn. She found around 30 quilts, which were then exhibited. Many of the quilts were made from fabric scraps and had gone from being fine quilts, to end up as car covers in some outbuilding. Reuse and sustainability in all simplicity.
Doris had a special sense of color and form, and she was curious to learn new techniques. She began to sew patchwork quilts in different techniques for all doll beds and doll carriages that were left after the children in the house.When these were finished, she, the rest of the family, and her friends started looking for doll beds, doll cradles, doll carriages, among other things, at various flea markets. To these items Doris sewed mattresses, pillows, sheets with lace and ribbon.If she had an idea for a special bed, for example a witch bed or a pull-out sofa for Santa Claus, her husband Folke built it.
Doris also found inspiration in children’s books and from TV series. All this work, which she and her husband Folke have contributed to, has resulted in a collection of over 200 unique doll blankets with associated beds, cradles, carriages and more.
The collection is interesting from different points of view. It is a journey through a variety of sewing techniques, fabrics and imagery. It is also a journey through time from the oldest narrow oak doll bed, to dollhouse furniture from the 1960s and patterned doll carriages from the 1990s.
Doris had always wished to have an exhibition at the Norrbotten museum, but there was never enough time. There was always a new quilt to finish, a new idea to realize, and her collection kept growing and was never “finished”.
Doris passed away in 2020.
Elisabeth and Karin Öberg, daughters of Doris and Folke
