Quilts Looking Good....

I went to Quilters Haven today - the girls have done a great job of hanging the quilts. Many of these are very large quilts so several are displayed on tables.

I was busy pinning labels to the quilts - and writing a blog for the QH website.

 The teaching area at QH is fairly large - so it easily accommodated the quilts I had chosen. There are three Welsh quilts and fifteen North Country quilts - I think that this was about the right number.

 One of the Welsh quilts - the one with the zany centre by Annie Davies - will be going to Llanidloes soon, as will some of the others.

 The Gardiner basket quilt from Cawcrook looks nice hanging next to Annie Walton's wedding strippy (East Woodton, Northumberland).

The textures of these quilts is wonderful...

....and you can see why they were a favourite wedding present.

I also received a draft copy of my article on the Minerva exhibition for Popular Patchwork and am very pleased with the way it has turned out. It will be in the July issue, available at the end of June.

Exhibition of Welsh and Durham Quilts

Just to announce that a selection of my quilts will be on show in the teaching area at Quilters Haven, Wickham Market in Suffolk  for the following dates:

Thursday 31st May, Friday 1st June and Saturday 2nd June - then again on Wednesday 6th June and Thursday 7th June. Closed Sunday, Monday and Tuesday due to Bank Holidays. Quilters Haven is open from 9 to 5 o'clock - call the shop on 01728 746275 to check, if you are coming any distance.

There will be a few Welsh quilts, but most will be Durham quilts......the quilts will be labelled.

Looking forward to seeing the quilts up, now that the sleeves have been sewn on!!

Pink and Gold Wholecloth with Star Centre

Here is another Durham quilt which I bought  recently. It is a stamped quilt, but has been cut down at some time - hence the low price. But, it has some nice quilting designs.

The central design is a striking star, with ferns and flat irons surrounding this. The stitching is nicely done. The right side is yellow and the reverse is pink - a popular combination.

The border on two sides is a flat iron with roses inside - I had not seen this pattern before.

Another look at the central star. In each star there is a rose and feather device- similar to the Sanderson Star pattern.

We can only guess at the corner pattern, as the quilt has been cut down to the extent that this is missing. There is part of a fern remaining.

The quilt does not seem worn, but the edges must have been tatty as these have been trimmed off and a bought bias tape sewn on. I have not traced these patterns but plan to do this as there is always a lot to discover when you look closely at the quilting designs.

Visit to the Foundling Museum.

On Sunday, it was once again off to the train station in Ipswich, this time to go to London and meet daughter Sophie and her partner Paul for lunch. We had a nice pub lunch (prices much higher in London than in Suffolk!)

After lunch, Sophie and I went to the Foundling Museum. The Foundling Hospital was founded in 1739 by Thomas Coram, who was shocked at the great number of abandoned ("exposed") babies he saw. Demand to take in infants was so great that a lottery system had to be instituted. The infants, if admitted (and many weren't) went to wet nurses, then when old enough, were returned to the hospital where they received food, training and medical care. Child mortality was high, but those that survived left to go into service or be apprenticed.

The interest today is that the hospital archives are extensive, as each infant was recorded in some detail. Often, an identifier (a token) was left with the infant in the hope that the infant might be reclaimed one day. These tokens were varied, but many are fabric items, which comprise the best collection of everyday fabrics extant.

 The hospital was associated with many famous patrons, including Handel.The current exhibition is about the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens, an early amusement park which featured promenades, dining (at inflated prices) and music - so not much change there, then.

 I also was able to buy two books - one on the tokens....

The other a catalogue of the Threads of Feeling Exhibition. This booklet shows many of the fabric tokens and is very interesting to read. The cover shows a red wool heart, a blue silk ribbon and a linen diaper cap, left with Foundling 10563 a girl admitted 22 November 1758.


Sadly, of the 18500  babies admitted to the hospital by 1800, only 152 were ever reclaimed by a parent.

 The present building dates from 1937 when the original building was demolished and the hospital moved to Berkhamstead. This ornate room was preserved and rebuilt. Sophie is examining a replica foundling uniform - there are many sets of dresses for the young visitors to try on.

 Tokens  left - coins or badges.

More tokens - these are larger ones in the form of necklaces and brooches.

A very interesting small museum with an excellent tea room, near to Russell Square. There was a concert going on with recorders, viola de gamba and harpsichord.

Afterwards, Sophie wanted to buy an 80's dress for a hen party (what about my closet, you might ask??) Anyhow, we set off for Brick Lane which has a huge market and several retro clothes stores. We went into "Beyond" which was large and very crowded. The clothing looked as if it had been bulk bought from Thrift shops in the USA as almost all had American tags in them. Luckily Sophie found a beautiful "prom" dress that fit wonderfully - with 15 minutes to spare before closing time - the best news was that there was a 50% sale, so the dress did not cost £24 but only £12. Success!!

BQSG Committee Meeting in York

On Friday, I went up to York to take part in the BQSG committee meeting. Our other two meetings are at FOQ and our autumn seminar.

I shall be going back to York next month for the Quilters Guild Treasurers Meeting.

First, the good news. The quilt museum has had a three year reprieve as the rent has been reduced by the owners, a buildings conservation trust. Perhaps some of the suggestions on making money made by members will be acted on. The signage certainly needs to be improved - some banners or bright flags? It is still hard to locate.

York has a new attraction, a wheel similar to the Eye in London.

York was very busy this visit, as it was race day at York race course. There were huge crowds of punters in the evening, the men in suits and macs, the women in tight dresses and 6" heels (how do they manage to walk in those?)All very merry as they had been drinking all day...

I stayed in the Abbeyfields Guest House which was very pleasant - I immediately changed my booking for next month's stay so that I could go back! The breakfast had to be seen to be believed, with home baked bread...

 Betty's tea rooms were doing a roaring business....its very spacious inside, so you don't have to queue for very long....

Of course the Minster still dominates the town.

We had a really good meeting and got a lot of work done. Afterwards, many of us shot off to the Quilt Museum; I had to buy a few items and look at the exhibits.....then off home on the evening train - two changes but home safely.
It felt good to get back to Ipswich and then Woodbridge.

Walk to Blaxhall

Last weekend we had a walk in the Suffolk countryside - from Blaxhall to Little Glemham and back. This church is Blaxhall church; it has a ring of six bells which is pretty typical for a smaller country church. The plant in the foreground is "Alexanders" or Smyrnium, an Umbellifer. It is a handsome plant, brought here by the Romans from the Mediterranean. At one time it was used as an herb or salad plant, as it is midway between celery and parsley.

Another view across the fields to Blaxhall Church.

The bluebells were just coming into flower and made a lovely carpet of blue.

And - a field with two donkeys....we are able to see all sorts of unusual livestock on our walks, and also some wildlife if we are lucky.

Red Paisley Fabric

I recently bought a throw to use for its turkey red fabric. I had previously planned to use  the printed panels for a backing, but now I don't think that I can bear to use them! Too special! So I think that this fabric, which is in fairly good condition, will have to do instead.

 I know that it is possible to buy reproduction fabrics, but I haven't seen a good turkey red for sale when I have been looking for it. And, this is less expensive than the modern imitation.

I did have to do some unpicking, though!

 There are about eight yards of fabric, all in the same pattern. The fabric is only 36" wide, however.

 In the middle was a very worn blanket, very shredded.

I have also bought some vintage cotton wadding from Christine at the Linen Cupboard. It has a slight skin on one side, just as mentioned in the books.

Once I finish my Hawaiian quilt, I want to get started on another wholecloth  the pattern will be the tricky part - what to choose? I do have some ideas...