In the many years that we have enjoyed the work of the Sew ‘n Sews Quilting Group, it never ceases to astonish me that the skills shown never diminish as the makers change. One of the good things about being at the Museum almost constantly is that you get to walk through the Quilting Exhibition sometimes ten times a day! Recently I have decided to occasionally speak to either the makers or some of the many visitors whose conversations alert you to the fact that they are also quilters though not from ‘our’ group! I had a conversation the other day with a group of ladies who were deeply engrossed in both the design and construction of what seemed to me to be a very small quilt: put your hands up if, like me, you rather naively thought that quilts were made to go on beds, because if you do, you will be as gobsmacked as I was to be told that the going-on-the bed has nothing to do with the average quilters’ production! From conversations they appear to have been created either simply to show off the versatility and skill of the makers, or to pit themselves against the envisaged difficulties of a new pattern introduced to the group, either through visiting another exhibition or from something that they had learned at an instruction class or at some other quilting group. And if like me, having been enlightened, you go back and look at our current exhibition, in this light, you will see that they are not just bed covers, but in many cases quite astonishingly beautiful works of art!
We have succeeded over the years in acquiring several examples, but I warn you: I have not yet learned the secret of how to persuade most makers to either gift or even sell the Museum what I consider to be particularly wonderful examples!
