Patchwork Object

Items

• The Paisley shawl
  The Paisley shawl This fine printed wool fabric is, I believe, part of a Paisley shawl probably made in 19th century Scotland. Such shawls, inspired by Indian patterns, were popular until the 1870s when they went out of fashion. This one may have belonged to my great-grandmother. Someone, perhaps my mother or grandmother, later made it into a skirt, which, faded, motheaten and darned, found its way into my childhood dressing-up box. Other pieces of the same fabric were in my mother's drawer full of scrap materials, and show by comparison how much the skirt had faded, especially the green dye. It must have been much loved and worn. I would have liked to wear it too, and attempted some more repairs, but eventually had to admit defeat; there was too much moth damage. But I kept it; I never throw away any fabrics, even tiny scraps. I now live on Dartmoor and make art in various media, based on observations of the landscape. From oil pastel sketches done outdoors on coloured paper I have developed some textile pieces using applique and embroidery. The old paisley fabric, with its rich but subtle colours and fern-like patterns, proved perfect for evoking the effect of rain-soaked dead bracken in autumn and winter. In my family, sewing skills have been passed down the female line, along with fabrics, buttons, lace and threads. I have a daughter-in-law and a granddaughter who like to sew creatively, so I hope they may find a use for some of the stuff I leave behind. Fabrics can link generations and go through the metamorphoses of different uses. They are patient, and can lie in a drawer for many years until suddenly they are just what you want.
• The Patchwork Quilt Kit
  The Patchwork Quilt Kit When I was a child my mother had a large drawer full of fabric scraps: offcuts from sewing projects, outgrown and worn out garments. I loved rummaging through the drawer, finding bits which my mother would help me make into dolls' clothes, teaching me to sew in the process. When I was about twelve I got more ambitious, and decided to make my parents a patchwork quilt for Christmas. I raided the drawer and cut out a lot of hexagons from assorted fabrics, spread them out on the floor and planned a pattern. I told my school sewing teacher about my project, and she explained how I would have to tack all the hexagons onto paper and sew them together by hand. Clearly that would take years! I listened politely, but had no intention of doing it like that; I was sure I could make the quilt much quicker on our old Singer sewing machine. But having stitched together the first row of hexagons I ran out of time, and presented my parents with a 'Do-it-yourself Patchwork Quilt Kit' for Christmas, arranged in a box with my design and instructions. They recieved it graciously, but somehow it never got made, and I still have the hexagons. This piece is made from some of them (the original hexagons were much bigger). For me this works as a time capsule, as I know that all these fabrics were in my mother's drawer in the mid 1960s. Many of them I remember as dresses worn by myself or my mother. I used paper hexagons cut from old letters, with the handwriting of my mother, grandmother, brother, friends and relations. Antique patchwork quilts often include pieces of old letters; paper was a valuable resource, not to be wasted. I used thread from old wooden cotton reels, and have deliberately left in the tacking. My parents always encouraged me to be creative; homemade gifts were always valued, even if incomplete (I once gave my father a single slipper!) In our family making, mending and recycling were a way of life.