Many thanks to Naomi Davies (fellow Cambridge Open Studios Member) of @naomidaviesart who asked me to rescue a much treasured family heirloom. All in secret mind you as she didn't want her daughter to know about it until her daughter’s 18th birthday.
The quilt is very vintage and rather falling apart from use. The top was added to during the 1940s with large pieces of dress and shirt fabric hand stitched on. My first task was to carefully unpick the wartime make-do and mend work. Some fabrics were disintegrating and many had lost their original colour. I did save some of the better pieces especially those with numbers marked on them.
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Eventually, I found the underneath quilt.......
Found a hole in the middle right through to the back.......
Curious blocks.....
More secret layers....
I was then faced with the dilemma of how to bring it all together. I considered stitching in the ditch or an all over design but in the end I thought it best to use an old technique of simply 'tying' the layers together with a thick cotton thread. In future, if it needs rescuing again, another person will be able to lift off the layer I made to do it all over again.
So here is the completed quilt which ought to keep a certain young lady quite warm and cosy at university next October. A great reminder of family, home and history.
To end, Naomi did post on Twitter and Face Book which elicited many, many lovely comments.
As usual...I will be opening my studio to the public for three weekends in July as part of the Cambridge Open Studios 2019 event. I'm studio 60 in the guide, 107 Perne Road, Cambridge, CB1 3SB 13-14 July, 20-21 July, 27-28 July. All welcome.
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