Blog 523
And so the project continues! Lots of dogged determination
and wet afternoons in my playroom with Radio 4 have gone into this. More fabric
needed to be backed with a fusible, more strips were then cut and many more
squares were prepared. Overall, it’s an enjoyable process and, as it is my very
own method which I have fine-tuned over the years, what’s not to like!
It’s certainly beneficial to take pictures as I progress and
I cannot emphasise how essential it is in my work. The image is condensed through
the camera lens and things that need changing become very obvious.
At this stage I am pondering whether to do some extra rows
of dark squares along the bottom edge to give extra grounding to the image. And
I keep trialling the hollyhocks flowers which were left over from a previous
project, but I’m not sure that this background is right for them.
I have had a couple of blasts from the past over the last
month and I was delighted to hear from the people concerned. One blast came
from Elaine Holland and it concerned a group quilt which my students had made during
my early teaching days. I started to teach in 1985 and each year I encouraged my
classes to put time into a charity project; it was an opportunity to use their
newly learned skills for the benefit of others. One of the earliest quilts was
made in 1987 and we did it for Children In Need. It showed Pudsey Bear as a
farmer with all his animals and showcased many different techniques on the
quilt surface. I offered this quilt to the studios in Manchester to use as a
backdrop for the programme so that people could see it and bid on it, the quilt
going to the highest bidder. It didn’t quite happen that way but a raffle was
organised and it was won by Elaine. I didn’t have a clue where this quilt had
gone until she thoughtfully contacted me recently. She is now 81 years old and
says that she has always loved the quilt and treasured it over the years. It
will be passed on eventually to a niece who also adores it and will look after
it. I should also add that this quilt was responsible for me being invited to
the studio with some of my students on THE night and I was interviewed about
the quilt for all of 34 seconds; my moment of fame!!)
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