Patchwork Object

Items

• Patch by Rachel
  I have been a patchworker since late 1970's. A member of the Quilters Guild of the British Isles I have been a trustee of the Guild and also am a former chair of The British Quilt Study Group. My love of patchwork, its colours and shape of the different blocks and forms has, with my interest in the history of patchwork, merged with the social history attached to the making of quilts, garments and other items from fabric both recycled and new. I am fascinated by the difference in quilts over the years from the iconic 1718 quilt, the oldest dated quilt known in this country, with its intricate blocks and silk fabrics to the quilts depicted in Walter Langley's pictures showing Newlyn fisher girls with basic quilts made from salvaged fabric. so often the maker and the story of her life are unknown but then a letter or diary or family history will reveal information about the probable maker and we can reflect on how she obtained her fabrics, where her inspiration for both the pattern and quilt design came from and the conditions under which the quilt was made. Living in a former port town I have taken elements of the trade to make my patch. The background woollen cloth signifying the huge trade from the area of undyed woollen cloth shipped mainly to the Low Countries from Devon and parts of Somerset, the hexagon patch is the block particularly associated with English paper piecing and the patches have been made using fabric printed in historic Dutch patterns and colours.