I have often wondered what Fay Weldon was talking about when she writes abotu JAne Austen! This is the woman who added such touches to P&P1 edition as a "drowning-proof" hat for Mr Collins- something that I can find no substantiation for outside of the production.

I agree about the quilt- it is, in fact, superbly stitched, and pieced in a complicated pattern. If Ms Weldon means this quilt, then I'm afraid Ms Weldon has no idea of needlework whatsoever.
I don't know a great deal about its provenence, though, so I cannot actually answer your questions, sorry. But it's the kind of thing that will stick in my head and bother me for years......perhaps by the end of the decade, all will be clear? ;-)