Kimberly Jones loaned these Dresden Plate patches to the Project. Made out of material from old flour and sugar sacks she inherited from her great-grandmother. She writes of them.........
'My great gran had started a quilt
for my cousin. When she died I said I would finish it for my cousins 16th
birthday – then 18th, 21st, wedding, baby, second baby,
twins – forget it! Then decided to make a wall hanging. Made two blocks….they
looked awful. I didn’t have the skill or knowledge to make them look good so I
gave up. Also difficult to find flour/sugar/grain sack fabric to match in the
1990’s.
Now I have the skill to do it
– but although the fabric can be found the colours are too bright- I worry
about the original blocks falling apart.
They are the only thing I
have left which her hands held. So when I hold them it’s like holding her hand
again. I have an idea for
reworking growing within me – I’ll let it marinade.
I feel I have let her down by
not finishing them.'
Maggie Jackson let us borrow her landscape piece of the Rollright Stones, made in memory of her friend. Her husband was exhibiting in the Printmaking tent so the whole family came to see her piece on show.
'My old friend died that I
taught with from 1973 – 75 before I was married and moved from Oxon to Norwich.
She was my daughters ‘fairy’ godmother. When we visited her we always visited
the Rollright Stones. On Millennium night she spent the night there, so it
seemed appropriate to make a piece of work to remember Joan.
The piece of work was
emotionally charged and incorporated a lot of memories and strong attachment of
love. Initially I said I’d stopped
work on it because I wanted to look at the lichen. I knew despite spending a
lot of time on the work that if I finished it somehow my contact with Joan was
finished.
The work is unfinishable
because of the love and contact of 40 years. I have some wool that Joan spun
and dyed which I could use to incorporate into the piece but all I do is open
the packet and handle the contents and then return them to a special envelope.
I could so easily finish the work.'
Clare Woods grandmother started to knit a baby garment. She writes.....
'My Nan, Jean Slater, enjoyed
knitting. She made most of my baby clothes over 30 years ago. In 1970 she
decided to knit for me as I was expecting. Katy Woods was born on 19th
April that year. The cardigan was never finished.
My Nan suffers from vascular
dementia. We think she may have suffered a stroke that affected her ‘knitting
brain’. She never picked up her needles again.
I love the work my Nan
completed as it shows her love for me and Katy. The unfinished piece marks a
sudden deterioration of her illness. A little piece of my Nan ended and is
shown in her unfinished work.
I can’t discard it as I want
to show it to my daughter when she is older that my Nan’s good intention was
there. I don’t want to finish it as my Nan’s work would be concealed and hidden.
I have fond memories of my Nan
trying to teach me to knit when I was young. Her knitting reminds me of this.
It shows how knitting can pinpoint moments in people’s lives, and bring back
happy memories of years ago.'
In the Best of the Best tent we exhibited a set of applique panels which Gienia Bartlett had kindly lent us. They were to form part of her Accident Quilt begun in hospital following a seriously damaging car crash. They provoked a lot of interest and admiration both for the technical skill displayed and the courage and humour shown in the story which accomanied them.
'I had intended the quilt to
be shown at the International Quilt Show in 2009, but was gripped with fear as
my previous work was in the 2008 show and I never saw it. I had spent a few
days with my mum in Bath and was on my way to the quilt show when I had a
serious car crash, causing disabilities to my right arm and legs, which I have
permanently.
I did find it hard to get
going as I was on a strong cocktail of painkillers and struggled to
concentrate, feeling very demoralised, however, once I did start I was
determined to finish, working in short bursts due to pain and my mobility
issues, until the final construction, when I chickened out. I was scared of
putting the squares together as the effect was too powerful for me to handle.
I could not bear to throw it
away as it was a huge achievement, but it was too emotionally charged for me to
look at. I tried edging the pieces to hang them individually, but still cannot
bear to have them out, so they languish, parcelled up at the back of a high
cupboard. I have not looked at the sketchbook or the quilt pieces until now as
I am trying to move on with my life even though I am still emotionally and
physically fragile.
Now I have had the
opportunity to review my unfinished quilt I am amazed at the amount of work I
managed to produce with the determination and sheer bloodymindedness I managed
to find at such a dark time. I must thank my mum for the stubbornness gene. The
colours on my unfinishable definitely reflect how I felt at that time. If I did
one now it would be lighter and less oppressive, reflecting my thoughts on
family friends, college and my new life path. My outlook on life is definitely
brighter.
My unfinished is dedicated to
my husband, Richard, my children, Emma and Chris and to all my friends,
particularly Karen, Hafifa and Sellwood, who kept me going over my long
recovery. I could not be where I am today, without them.'
