WALKS OF LIFE
This year’s exhibition at The Festival of Quilts looks at the lives of the people behind the historic quilts on display – their backgrounds, their professions, their stories. See a beautiful mosaic patchwork quilt in bright pinks and greens made by a lighthouse Keepers wife in the 1880s; a star cotton patchwork coverlet with braided seams made by a soldier and policeman in the 1860s and a wool suiting sample coverlet made by a Tailoress from Edinburgh in the 1930s. Also featured is a stunning patchwork coverlet made from offcuts of Livery Uniforms, made by employees of Purves Tailoring firm in Allanton, Berwickshire as a wedding gift for the owners’ daughter.
There will be 10 quilts on show, ranging in date from the 1830s to the 1970s, so plenty to inspire you with different patchwork and quilting styles and fabrics spanning over 150 years.
There will also be an opportunity to view some pieces from our handling collection. These patchwork and quilted fragments allow you to get up close and examine historic pieces of textiles in detail, something not normally allowed with historic items.
The show will later travel to The Knitting & Stitching Shows in Harrogate (23 - 26 November 2017) and Edinburgh (26 - 29 April 2018).