Patchwork Object

Items

• Patch by Anne
  This patch is inspired by Joanna Southcott, the Devonshire prophetess. She grew from humble beginnings to having worldwide followers. She believed herself capable of supernatural powers and the ability to prophecy the Day of Judgement. At the age of 64 she believed herself to be pregnant with the new messiah who never appeared. She died not long after. Although in my opinion she was misguided in her beliefs you have to admire her tenacity and cunning? Southcott left a sealed wooden casket of her prophecies, with strict instructions to open it only at a time of national crisis and in the presence of all the bishops of the Church of England. The box is still sealed! Two patchwork quilts that she is reputed to have made remain in the museum in Exeter. They contain secret symbols and curses against the then King, George III. Her name is embroidered with her own hair. Sometime ago I saw @slowunravelling (Julie Bancroft) a call out for her External Partner Project: Earth scraps.’ After burying a bundle of cloth in the earth she was left with many scraps which she asked participants to create with. I thought this was a wonderful opportunity to include a project within a project. Like the prophecies in Southcott’s box this small fragment was buried, albeit in the earth, but it has at least revealed its secrets.
• Patch by Daisy
  I started doing tapestry work during the pandemic, partially in order to stop myself doom-scrolling in the evenings, but also because I was recovering from a serious accident at the time and was off-work, very stationary, and needed something to do with my hands while I listened to audiobooks. I really enjoyed it and kept doing it after the pandemic moved out of its acute phase and I became more mobile again, but for this project I wanted to try designing something myself, so I taught myself some free-hand embroidery stitches and bought a book of patterns. I was inspired to do so by hearing Jennie Batchelor talk about her Ladies Magazine website at your workshop! Not at Jennie's standard yet, but Austen-like embroidery is the thing I'll aim for next. Thanks for getting me back into this, and for giving me a reason to try something new!
• Patch by Tricia
  My patch has been inspired by the women who have helped me on this project. Though there are many more than I can name, some are: Jane D., who taught me how to dye with indigo; Ruth, who showed me how to wrap thread around the fabric to get the circular shapes and reassured me that there was no wrong way to do it; Julia, who coaxed me into putting the first stitch in the fabric and showed me how to sew a running stitch; Emma, whose instructions I followed on how to make a chain stitch; and all the ladies at Weave Wednesday, who shared their work with me and gave me confidence to continue. The Honiton lace thistle that is appliqued on the patch was inspired by Margaret Oliphant, the subject of a chapter of the book this project is enabling me to finish, and her character, Rose Lake, a Honiton lace designer whose favourite motif is the thistle. In her Autobiography, Oliphant wrote, “I acknowledge frankly that there is nothing in me – a fat, little, commonplace woman, rather tongue-tied—to impress anyone; and yet there is a sort of whimsical injury in it which makes me sorry for myself.” This is a sentiment that has often guided me on this project. I see in this statement a woman who considers herself and her work ordinary and commonplace because she writes popular stories of women’s lives and domestic life. She does not see herself as a literary genius, and she would not claim to be an artist, but she also recognises this as the injustice of a culture that does not value women’s work, women’s stories, and women’s lives as it should. This project has sought to highlight that work and those stories, and the response from the contributors has been astonishing to me, and I hope to everyone who views the patchwork project object.