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gwen-edwards · 2 years

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Laughinghouse Crazy Quilt, Square 8

Part of a far larger project instigated and managed by weaver Rebecca Cengiz-Robbs, Reba, I volunteered to embroider a square. This square is one of 24, from an (as yet) unfinished Crazy Quilt project. The fabrics have been dated to the Crazy Quilt heyday, 1880s/1890s.

What is a Crazy Quilt?

There are many resources on this!

International Quilt Museum Crazy Quilts and Mad Women virtual pop-ip exhibition

World Quilts: The Crazy Quilt Story

"Arising in the last quarter of the Nineteenth Century, the high-style crazy quilt trend incorporated motifs from Japanese art and decor, English embroidery, and fairyland, among others. Like many textiles, however, the legacy of the crazy quilt is complicated."

Laughinghouse Crazy Quilt History, via Reba

Email to Shannon Downey January 29, 2021

"I just read the articles about Rita's Quilt. I too embroidered the central piece, the US map, and it is still hanging on my wall 50 years and many moves later! I'm writing because I have an unfinished, embroidered crazy quilt that I got at an estate sale. I know the house and family it came from but not sure who started it. It is a box of large squares in all kinds and colors of fabrics, and some of them are beautifully embroidered, but a lot of them need to be. I've had the box for about 30 years and it needs to be finished and loved. Would you be interested in it? Bonnie Robertson Elizabeth City, NC"

Rebecca Cengiz-Robbs spoke with Bonnie via telephone February 5, 2021,

Bonnie bought the quilt from her neighbour’s, Eliza Laughinghouse, estate sale 30 years ago. A newspaper in the box she sent is dated January 20, 1993.

Eliza was still living at the time of the estate sale. She was moving from her large home to a condo. Eliza had a flamboyant personality. She did not sew. Bonnie thinks maybe the quilt belonged to her mother or someone else in the family.

Bonnie has kept the quilt pieces for nearly 30 years. She is a sewer but not a quilter.

Her goal for this quilt is for it to be finished. As a group we can decide what to do with it - raffle it to donate to charity, donate it, etc. She does not expect it to be returned to her. All she wants is to see the finished quilt.

Further family notes, from Bonnie,

Eliza O’Hagan Laughinghouse Blades - born October 25,1909 died February 29, 2000. Bonnie bought the quilt from her estate sale in the late 1980s. Named after her paternal grandmother who died in 1919.

Mrs. Mary Cobb Laughinghouse (mother of Eliza, married to Ned Laughinghouse) - born June 12,1888 died June 7,1976. *assuming she was the quiltmaker*

Married Ned on January 13, 1909.

Maud Perry Cobb, mother of Mary Cobb Laughinghouse (grandmother of Eliza) - born 14th of January, 1866, died June 8, 1927 *Bonnie also thinks it is possible she started the quilt and stitched an L for Mary’s married name?

Square 8

I received Square 8, from Reba, in June 2021. Its about 50cm square. Its tacked together, holding the velvet together, and to the fabric on the back. The red velvet is worn in places, and has been sewn into pleat for a long period of time in the past - the fold lines are still visible.

I froze the square, inside a sealed plastic bag for a week before working on it. Reba had already done this before shipping, but better safe than sorry!

After taking some time to read and view the resources Reba had shared with us, I photographed my square, and made a "template" in powerpoint, so that I could start to think about designs.

After taking some time to read and view the resources Reba had shared with us, I photographed my square, and made a "template" in powerpoint, so that I could start to think about designs.

Reba had kindly shared a scanned copy of a book of "Crazy Quilt Stitches" by Dorothy Bond (I edited it so that it would be easy to print for those involved in the project), and I also found "Dictionary of Embroidery Stitches" by Mary Thomas useful.

Sewing With Gloves On

Is tricky! Things I found helped, a little, also in this video,

I shortened the finger length

thimbles on some fingers helped reduce the number of times I sewed the gloves to the velvet

elastic hair bands worn around the wrist, over the gloves, helped keep them taught

...the temptation to not wear gloves is huge! Video of me sewing in gloves. I found it quite tricky to hold and sew the square - too fragile to place in a hoop, and holding it "oven glove" style makes it very tricky to stitch French knots. After some time, my Dad made me a special wooden frame. I carefully sewed 50mm wide herringbone tape to the edges of the velvet square, and then carefully stapled the tape to the wooden frame. I was gifted a Lowery Workstand stand for my birthday, and I used this to hold the frame. My Dad made me extra pieces in English Oak, and an extra-wide base to counterbalance the large frame. This setup really helped to sew even stitches.

Final Square 8 Images

Thank you

Thank you to Reba, Shannon, Bonnie, and all the women involved in this project. Together. Together we can. Together we rise. Together we create. Together we grow. Together.

#CrazyQuilt #crazy quilt #Laughinghouse Crazy Quilt #LaughinghouseCrazyQuiltSquare8

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gwen-edwards · 3 years

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Experiments in hug telepathy

The second in a series of quilts, about absence and longing, made during the pandemic.

Materials: Denim quilt top and back, embroidered with old crochet yarn. Denim from Mark Pickles' Sewing Studio in Bath.

Techniques: Embroidery, hand quilting, hand bound.

Double-sided quilt, 99 x 150cm

Made: November 2020 – March 2021

The second in a series of quilts, about absence and longing, started during lockdown in 2020. During the strange time between UK lockdown 1 and 2, I really missed seeing my family. For this second quilt in the series I asked my parents, sister, and her children to send me paper templates of their arms. I used their templates, plus “my arms” and those of my husbands, to embroider these overlapping, entangled hugs. Putting the quilt together, I then hand quilted it, again using more hugs to hold it together – reaching through to hold each other, no matter what.

The paper templates, hanging in a corner of my workroom, resemble the templates of the legendary Fante Asafo Flag makers. Placing my hands on the top of those drawn by my family bring a special kind of magic.

Edges: Self-bound on short edges, denim binding on long edges. "Label" embroidered directly onto the quilt top.

Hanging method: cotton tabs replaced with matching denim tab-top - eeked out just enough of the remaining fabric, patching the last strap together!

This quilt was shown to friends and family, as part of "Quilts In The Garden", with my Mother-In-Law, Mary, in June 2021.

Quilt featured in,

- Brief mention and work in progress image (with paper templates): Curated Quilts printed journal, Covid Issue 15, April 2021

- Submitted to and exhibited at Festival of Quilts 2021, international judged competition, July 2021

- Submitted and selected for Bath Open Art Prize exhibition, October 2021

The quilt was the first exhibit seen on entering the Bath Open Art Prize 2021 exhibition, part of Fringe Arts Bath (FaB), at 44AD artspace, in the centre of Bath Spa, UK.

#ExperimentsInHugTelepathy, the journey on IG

Instagram hashtags: #Hug2 #QuiltOfHugs #HugQuilt #HugTelepathy #ExperimentsInHugTelepathy

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gwen-edwards · 3 years

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Kindness is (also) contagious

Inspiration

- My local charity (thrift) shop @goldiescharityshop pointed out a pile of gorgeous fabrics, thanks Abby.

- The "Kindness Is A Universal Language" small quilt I made on the “Stitching Together Kindness” course run by @themakerie in January 2021 (England lockdown 3).

- New quilts by @entropies and @affirmationbillboards and their amazing #affirmationquilts

- Upcoming #KeynshamKindnessFestival , 28 September through to 2nd October 2021.

Fabric sources - Mostly from @goldiescharityshop

- Lacey top and batting (mattress cover) from @younglivesvscancer, both on Keynsham High Street.

- Black felt and bondaweb both by the metre (although bondaweb didn't really work on velvet!) from the ever amazing Mark Pickles' Sewing Studio in Bath.

- Perle cotton for quilting: old stash.

Techniques

- Large pieces of velvet for back and front: machine pieced with a walking foot. (That purple velvet was tricky to work with, kept curling under.)

- Lacey top, cut and then safety-pin appliqued (thanks for the technique @heidi.parkes !) to the velvet

- Lace - hand-stitched in some places

- Hand-quilted - big quilting stitches for a bold quilt!

- Self-bound edge.

Lettering

- Hand drawn on squared paper, cut out. "Jigsaw-puzzle" to optimise space, photographed.

- "also" hand-quilted in place.

- Counted how many of each letter needed. Letters inverted (turned-over) then drawn onto bondaweb in the optimised jigsaw-puzzle layout.

- Bondaweb ironed onto black velvet (kinda worked, sort-of).

- Hand-stitched to velvet.

Finished size: 124 x 152cm

This quilt is heavy!

Signed: on the front!

Shown in the window of local charity (thrift) store, Goldies in Keynsham 25th September - 8th October, as part of the 2021 Keynsham Kindness Festival, and also at an evening concert in St John The Baptist Church 2nd October 2021.

More images

- Instagram, @gwen_._edwards and #KindnessIsAlsoContagiousQuilt

#KindnessIsContagious #AlsoQuilt #KindnessIsAlsoContagiousQuilt #Quilt #Keynsham #KeynshamKindness #KeynshamStitchers #visiblehandpiecing #improvpiecing #safetypinapplique #applique #velvetquilt #patchwork #improvpatchwork #quiltersofinstagram #quilter #quilts #wordsonquilts #lettering

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gwen-edwards · 3 years

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Aching absence, hugs missed in the pandemic

September - October 2020

#Hug1 #QuiltOfHugs #HugQuilt #AchingAbsenceEchoesOfHugsMissed

The first in a series of quilts about hugs. This post provides an overview and links to other content related to this quilt.

The quilts in this series are,

Aching absence, hugs missed in the pandemic (this quilt post)

Experiments In Hug Telepathy #ExperimentsInHugTelepathy

May I Hug You? #MayIHugYou

(not yet made, still in my head) Hug Me

This quilt has appeared in,

Article in printed journal: Curated Quilts Covid Issue 15, April 2021

Exhibition: PAQA-South, 2021 International Juried Exhibit, ARTQUILTSgoing forward, an online exhibition of just 30 selected quilts

Shunya Mudra images used by @HeidiParkes / @handyogaclub

Video: IGTV quilt story

Video: IGTV on @CuratedQuilts with Christine Ricks

Video: Quilt Alliance #GoTellIt #SacredThreadsStoryShare

Exhibition: Quilt Alliance Quilters Take a Moment, September 17-18, 2021 #qtm2021

Video: Quilt Alliance TEXTILE TALKS Curating Virtual Quilt Exhibits curator @sonicstitches Laura Hopper talks about 3 quilts, including my quilt #AchingAbsenceEchoesOfHugsMissed, as part of her talk on curating virtual exhibitions.

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gwen-edwards · 3 years

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Adventures shared, together stitched - part two, exhibitions & publications

Click here to access a different blog post that shares the full details of how we made this quilt, and what each element signifies.

This blog post summarises where this quilt has been shown, spoken about and published.

Exhibitions & publications

1. March 2021: Selected for PAQA-South*'s 2021 International Juried Exhibit, “ART QUILTS going forward”, an online exhibition of just 30 selected quilts.

“In the spring of 2020, the world changed. Whether a dramatic shift or subtle alteration, everyone has been affected. What do you miss? How are you adjusting to present times? What is your vision of how we will live together going forward?”

* PAQA-South: the Professional Art Quilters Alliance – South (promoting innovative art quilts, art cloth and art garments).

Gwen writes, “My Mother-In-Law, Mary, lost her husband Martyn at the start of the UK’s first lockdown. During this time of profound grief and alone-ness we shielded her from the outside world.

Time warped around us, stretched and compressed as we waded through emotions together. The slow hand stitching of memories served as a distraction, distorting the past and the future, yet each stitch proved that time was passing, as we navigated placement, colour, method.

Each element captures a memory of things that the four of us had experienced together, commemorates an event, or embraces a shared adventure yet to come.”

2. April 2021: Selected for Gallery section of Curated Quilts Journal, Issue 15.

3. Curated Quilts IG Live / IGTV, 14 April 2021

Gwen talks with @ChristineRicks about this quilt, why she started quilting, and her #HugQuilt s.

IG account needed to watch this IGTV, this is the link.

4. BBC Radio Bristol, 30 April 2021

Click here to access the recording (you will need to register/log-in), and then wind it forward to 1 hour, 43 minutes, 40 seconds to hear Gwen spoke with Steve Yabsley (in her very best Bristol accent) about the making of the quilt.

5. Quilts In The Garden, 11 & 12 June 2021

Click on YouTube link to watch video of private "exhibition" in the Quilt Pavilion for small invited groups of friends & family.

6. Quilt story submitted to Quilt Alliance "Sacred Threads", June 2021

Video of the quilt's story recorded for Quilt Alliance's Sacred Threads StoryShare, "Go Tell It!". You can find all the "Go Tell It" videos here, they are wonderful!

youtube

7. Festival of Quilts, at NEC, UK 29 July - 1 August 2021

Entered into the "Two Person" category.

What next?!

Mary would still very much like to share this quilt on BBC Points West!

#quilts #quiltersofinstagram #adventuressharedtogetherstitched #Youtube

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gwen-edwards · 3 years

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"May I hug you?"

As part of a series of quilts about hugs, this quilt has jumped the queue of ideas. The third #QuiltOfHugs to be made, this quilt came out of a conversation with my account-a-bil-abuddy, Sam Boot @threads_of_my_life. We were talking about imposter syndrome, and the fear of making (#SewingMalarkey). To address that head-on, I decided to make this quilt with the intention of putting it up for sale. I can't quite handle the words "and sell it", but it's one step closer!

11th April: The denim is in the washing machine for yet another wash (I don't want any dye eeking out onto the cream/peach tbc embroidered hug), and once dry, I will start!

Quilt top: denim, plus one fancy embroidered hug (something similar to #Hug2) with vintage crochet yarn in peach or cream.

Batting: recycled thermal curtain lining (used in Hug2, really nice).

Quilt back: amazing vintage '80s floral curtain.

Quilting: running stitch mirroring the hug shape, energetic lines rippling outwards, navy/purple probably (to show up on the reverse)... or cream/peach to show up on the top, hmm tbc.

Binding: self-binding, wrapping the floral fabric around to the front.

I'm using paper templates of my arms, to create a denim hug. The title in my head at the moment is "May I hug you?". I started work on this quilt over the weekend that England came out of its 3rd lockdown. We can now meet up with up to 6 people or 2 households, distanced, outside only.... but absolutely no hugging anyone outside your bubble. I am thinking ahead, to an unknown future time, when such restrictions are lifted. What will the psychological barriers to hugs be like then. Will we seek permission? May I? May I hug you?

In the past two years, I have gone from a (generic, let's not be specific here!) corporate experience where hugs, and physical contact was normal, often unwanted, usually without request. Then #MeToo became a global phenomenon, and awareness of unwanted contact was openly discussed. To a time when, now, particularly for those living alone, many people have had no physical contact with another human for one year now. And sometime in the future, when physical, friendly contact may resume? How will that interaction work? Will we hug everyone and anyone we can? How cautious will we be? How polite? May I hug you?

18th April: embroidery top finished. Started to hand quilt.

10th & 11th June 2021: shown, unfinished as part of "Quilts In The Garden".

youtube

#QuiltOfHugs #Hug3 #MayIHugYou?#Youtube

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gwen-edwards · 3 years

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Adventures shared, together stitched - part one

Gwen Edwards & Mary Brewer

58.5″ x 40″, March to October 2020

Techniques Front of quilt: needle-turn applique, hand embroidery, hand quilting. Back of quilt and self-binding: machine patchwork, hand embroidery. Quilt sleeves: one horizontal, one vertical, from Martyn’s patched shirts. Binding: stitched by hand.

Materials Quilt top: calico from Mark Pickles Sewing Studio, Bath. Applique, quilt back and binding: recycled fabric, many of Martyn’s shirts, and fabric from the stash. Batting: recycled, quilted cotton mattress top. Buttons: from Martyn's shirts.

Exhibitions & publications

April 2021: See separate blog post with full details! This is a small selection…..

March 2021: Selected for PAQA-South*'s 2021 International Juried Exhibit, “ART QUILTS going forward”, an online exhibition of just 30 selected quilts.

* PAQA-South: the Professional Art Quilters Alliance – South (promoting innovative art quilts, art cloth and art garments).

Gwen writes, “My Mother-In-Law, Mary, lost her husband Martyn at the start of the UK’s first lockdown. During this time of profound grief and alone-ness we shielded her from the outside world.

Each element captures a memory of things that the four of us had experienced together, commemorates an event, or embraces a shared adventure yet to come.”

April 2021: Selected for Gallery section of Curated Quilts Journal, Issue 15.

How we made the quilt

11th April 2020. Starting with a piece of calico, we cut it into 6 squares, so that we could work independently and more easily, and share each piece. Each piece of calico was machine stitched in blue thread to mark “the edge”, with plenty of seam allowance to stitch them back together again.

With my husband, Mary’s eldest son, Kev, we discussed which shared adventures we wanted to represent, and which animals and stories to include, and then started drawing and sketching.

With a table full of ideas, we then started to place them onto specific squares, with hearts in each corner.

We carefully selected which animal would appear on which square, adjusting the layout as they emerged from the cloth. Different fabric from the stash, or from Martyn’s shirts, was selected to best represent each animal.

Most animals and characters are needle-turn appliqued by hand.

As the project grew, the amount of embroidery did too, and some animals became quite complex! Old embroidery thread, old cottons from the stash, and old crochet floss combined to create a cacophony of stitch and fabric.

The characters, animals and items on the quilt top

Hearts: a heart in each corner. This one contains dried flowers from Martyn’s wreath.

Below: long blue basting stitches pass through the heart, with kantha quilting ongoing. The blue stitches along the edges mark the “edge”.

Mary hand appliqued all the hearts.

Blackbird singing

When Mary moved in with us at the start of UK Lockdown 1, a pair of blackbirds were attempting to nest in the honeysuckle next to the patio doors. They were very busy marking their territory, washing in the baths and chasing away other birds.

This blackbird is singing “Sing happy birthday twice” echoing the advice from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Prof Chris Witty, urging us to frequently wash our hands with soap for the time it takes to sing happy birthday, twice. (No messages at that stage about wearing a mask, or ventilation. We did not make our own masks until 3rd May.)

Mary stitched the blackbird, Gwen the WHO text.

Butterflies

The two butterflies were the first characters we applied. We didn’t use much patterned fabric after that! We stitched one each.

During lockdown, we bought a number of batches of captive-bred native caterpillars online from Devon Butterflies - they arrived in the post in a petri dish. We then transferred them into a netted cage, with a pot of stinging nettles to feed on. After about 2 to 3 weeks, they change and become a chrysalis, and then a few weeks later emerge as a butterfly. The magic of releasing them into the garden is almost indescribable.

Impossible shopping list

As the pandemic swept around the globe, we saw news reports from China, then Australia, that certain things became impossible to buy - the same thing happened here in the UK. Toilet paper seemed to be out of stock globally - despite Covid-19 having no impact on your stomach! Some things seemed more explainable - everyone was at home baking, so flour and yeast vanished, or were heavily (informally) rationed. As the pandemic progressed, and factories remained closed, other items, like bikes, became impossible to get hold of, as all stock in warehouses had shipped, and could not be replenished.

In our bubble, we raided Mary’s flats, and brought all “useful” items of food back to our home. “Luckily” Gwen had stockpiled ahead of yet another doomed Brexit deadline, so we already had a stash of toilet roll, rice, tinned tomatoes, yeast, flour and potatoes.

The impossible shopping list hand stitched by Gwen, onto old recycled curtain header tape. Added to throughout the project, as different things became hard to acquire.

Cherry blossom

The cherry blossom is particularly important to Mary, Kev and Gwen, and the last few days with Martyn.

Machine stitched and embroidered by Gwen.

Birds

These birds were inspired by the beautiful card, painted by Shefali Alvares, received when the four of us travelled to Reni Pani, Satpura. One of our favourite places in the world.

The blue bird was stitched by Gwen, the multi-coloured one by Mary.

Elephant

The four of us have seen elephants in India, Nepal and Kenya on different trips, together and apart.

Gwen stitched this elephant (they are the best, apart from giraffes, hares, and cats, obviously). This silk fabric is from some old Laura Ashley cushions.

Snow leopard

Kev has travelled to Ladakh to see snow leopards in the Himalaya. (The four of us have also seen them in a zoo, sadly.)

Mary stitched this cat.

Giraffe

All four of us have seen giraffes in Kenya, separately. They are Gwen’s favourite animals, so she stitched this one!

The fabric came from one of Martyn’s shirts, with plenty of embroidery over the top. The size of the giraffe meant that he was stitched over two squares of calico - and therefore these two squares were stitched back together when work on the giraffe started.

Langur monkeys

From a joint trip to Jamtara, and a jeep drive into Pench National Park where we spent a memorable time watching a troop of langur monkeys on a dusty track in the sunshine. Lots of mothers and babies, and plenty of squabbles.

Gwen stitched these monkeys, using one of Martyn’s shirts.

The boy, the mole the fox & the horse

The end of March and first few weeks of April were difficult. Isolated from friends and family, with the uncertainty and fear all around the world, we struggled in our bubble of 3 to make sense of what was going on around us.

The book “The boy, the mole, the fox and the horse”, by Charlie Mackesy, provided great solace and comfort.

These vignettes capture some of the sentiment and love that book gave us.

Designed and stitched by Mary. The fabric is all from the stash. Ribbons provided a bit of extra sparkle on the cake.

Hare

The most magical animal, and Gwen’s favourite. We’ve seen (different) hares in India and Kenya, and the UK. Stitched by Gwen.

Zoom: cloud-based app enabling people to have conversations over video. Used extensively during the pandemic, but hardly heard of before then. Famously used by the UK Cabinet for their early “working at home” meetings during the pandemic - then someone pointed out that it wasn’t secure. Used frequently for work (and then Microsoft Teams), and online creative workshops. “Zoomed-out”: the sensation of looking at your own image for far too long; 2021, and many (work) zoom calls happen with cameras off.

Hubble space telescope

Martyn worked for British Aerospace Space Systems as a project manager for part of the Hubble space telescope project, working with, amongst others, subcontractors Matra Marconi Space in Napoli, Italy.

Hubble was launched April 24th 1990, and marked its 30th birthday not long after Martyn passed away.

Mary designed and stitched this.

Tulip

Bright red tulips were in flower in Gwen’s garden when Mary moved in in March 2020.

Red, the colour of Bristol City Football Club, Martyn’s team for all his life, and for which he was a season ticket holder.

Pangolin

The one thing on this quilt which none of us have seen (so far!). The one animal Martyn wanted to see very much, and would ask about wherever he went.

Stitched by Gwen.

Tiger

The four of us have seen tigers in India, together, and on separate trips.

We had a very memorable close encounter with a tiger at Pench National Tiger Reserve, when Raghasthan (sp?), a huge male tiger walked behind our jeep and down to the water - Mary swore!

This fabric is from one of Martyn’s shirts. Stitched by Gwen.

Rhino

Of slightly dubious origin, this rhino represent all the different species we have seen in Nepal, Kenya and India, on separate trips.

The seersucker fabric is from one of Martyn’s shirts, stitched by Gwen.

Rainbow

At the start of the UK’s first lockdown, many children, adults and businesses put pictures of rainbows in their windows, supporting the NHS, and the “stay safe” message. Mary drew one for her bedroom window whilst she stayed with us, during the “shielding” period.

15th March 2020, Health Secretary Matt Hancock says that every UK resident over the age of 70 will be told "within the coming weeks" to self-isolate for "a very long time" to shield them from coronavirus. Shielding lasted for 20 weeks, until 1st August.

This rainbow is from fabric in the stash, stitched by Mary.

Hedgehogs

In May 2020, we started seeing hedgehog pooh in the garden, and set motion-triggered IR camera traps to try and catch them on video. In one clip, we watched a hedgehog rolling a slug - apparently they do this to remove the slime!

Fabric from one of Martyn’s shirts, stitched by Gwen.

Jungle cat

One evening in Satpura, on the return journey to Reni Pani, we stopped at a farmhouse to find Jungle Cats in the long grass, in the gloom of the evening light. We all saw them... except Martyn unfortunately.

Fabric from one of Martyn’s shirts, stitched by Gwen.

Timeline

The red wool line and stitched months, tries to illustrate how time went faster, slower and backwards during 2020. One day was like another, but was then so different. Is it the weekend, and what difference does that make? Some weeks, it was only the arrival of the bin men that marked the progress of time (they arrived every week and didn’t miss one, despite almost all the crews apparently catching it).

Inspired drawing seen on IG. originally drawn Liz and Mollie.

Stitched by Gwen.

SARS COV-2

A representation of the tiny virus which reeked/reeks so much chaos, loss, and pain.

Stitched by Gwen, on both sides of the quilt.

Buttons

Martyn’s buttons are stitched on both sides of the quilt. Kantha stitches (usually) radiate out from around the buttons, some forming squares, one a heart, most a circle. Connectedness, impact, ripples through time.

Quilt back

The back of the quilt is a patchwork of pieces from Martyn’s shirts, and other fabrics used in the quilt. Machined together by Gwen, in strips, using as much of the left over fabric as possible, even the tiny crumbs.

A big piece of cloth was made, from which the quilt back was cut.

Joining & basting

Once the quilt top was finished, we joined up the remaining 5 sections on the machine, carefully aligning the squares and adjusting the overall size.

Then, we basted the back, batting (an old mattress topper) and quilt top together, on the floor in the front room, careful adzing them to line up. Once aligned, we pinned them together with curved safety pins, and then transferred the whole thing to the dining room table, where we tacked everything together with long blue basting stitches, just to be sure.

Quilting

We used Gütermann hand quilting thread, and hand quilting throughout.

We chose to avoid all the appliqued and embroidered areas.

The stitch density deliberately echoes Kantha - inspired by the book “Kantha, Recycled and Embroidered Textiles of Bengal” Mingei International Museum, Radius Books ISBN 9781942185192, recommended to Gwen by Ekta Kaul, on a stitched map course (IG flick-through).

Gwen, March 2021: “I love the texture we created with these kantha-style stitches. The folded quilt has a lovely #SoftBulk to it”.

#SoftBulk: see the recorded conversation between Heidi Parkes, Luke Haynes and Zak Foster, here.

Binding

The two images on the left show the quilt part-quilted. On the right, the binding is half way through. You can see we cut the batting down as we went.

Thanks to Heidi Parkes for sharing how she binds her quilts, on a “Wholecloth hand piecing and improv hand quilting course” Gwen attended online in September 2020.

Binding references: see also,

Heidi Parkes Scavenger Hunt Quilt, Step 10, Week 7: Frame it (Binding)

Corners: Heidi Parkes on IG video demo

Quilt sleeves

Remaining parts of the patchwork made for the back of the quilt were patched together to make the two x 4 inch hanging sleeves, ensuring it can be hung on a 2″ batten either vertically or horizontally. Thanks to Heidi Parkes for explaining the geometry and construction of the sleeves to Gwen!

The sleeve design was made more complex by,

adding two sleeves, so that quilt can be hung either vertically or horizontally . Where they overlap in one corner, both sleeves still work and a batten can still pass through in both directions.

the gap in the sleeves ensures that they can be hung from the same screws located in the same place on the wall, but with different lengths of batten (ie, length A = length B). The left hand side of sleeve B is sewn carefully, so that the stitches are fixed only to (not through) the red sleeve.

I used a piece of architrave for the batten.

Below: maquette of sleeve and batten, trying to work out “how it works”. The holes in the batten slide onto screws in the wall.

Below: Geometry of two sleeves, showing how they overlap. A and B are the same length, so that the quilt can be attached to the wall with a different batten but with screws on the wall in same position

References for quilt sleeves,

Heidi Parkes Scavenger Quilt, week 8, 09:20

Sew Easy Lesson: How to Add a Hanging Sleeve to your Quilt

Other items on the back of the quilt

Label

Designed and stitched by Gwen (plus, Mary stitched her name), on a piece of calico, using DMC embroidery floss, hand sewn onto the back of the quilt.

Black Lives Matter (BLM) square

In May 2020, across the USA initially, and then the rest of the world including the UK, protests against the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police in Minneapolis, brought thousands onto the streets, dancing, singing and marching in protest against police brutality. The “Black Lives Matters” movement used a black square as shorthand to represent their movement. This small square acknowledges this significant moment in time.

#SameSeaDifferentBoat square

In the summer of 2020 Gwen submitted a collagraph-printed and embroidered square to Sue Brown’s #SameSeaDifferentBoat quilt project. This second printed square was a spare that Sue sent to Gwen, as it has a printing error on the flower - included on the back of “Adventures Shared”.

A year when the ability to breathe was not taken for granted. Text inspired by the stress of lockdown, the @ChrisKenny.Art twig drawing, awareness of what you can and can’t control as illustrated by A Modern Day Ruth, and the tragedy of George Floyd’s murder, “I can’t breathe”.

#SameSeaDifferentBoat quilt: exhibited in Stroud 2020, Harley Gallery 2021 (and more to follow). A joint project between The yard:ARTspace, Littleheath Barn Studios and Hope & Elvis.

Cross-stitch pictures

Added after Christmas 2020, stitched by Sara Packer (my sister-in-law), and sent as Christmas cards to Mary, Kev & Gwen.

The last stitch

Mary, stitching the last hand stitch of the binding, and the quilt.

16th October 2020, it’s finished!

Thank you

Gwen “After seeing my #QuiltConReject2021 post on Instagram, I would like to express my thanks to Karen @capitolaquilter for reaching out and encouraging me to submit this quilt (and #Hugs1) to the PAQA-South exhibition. Also, thanks to Sam @threads_of_my_life my #accountabilabuddy for making sure I did. Thanks to Heidi Parkes for the encouragement and specific advice about binding and sleeves, and Ekta Kaul for being part of my journey.”

Mary, “Stitched with loving care in memory of Martyn. 16 April 1944 - 6 April 2020.”

Below: Kev, Gwen, Mary, Martyn, and our Jamtara guides, Pench 2017.

#quilt #quiltersofinstagram

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gwen-edwards · 4 years

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Denim bag, single strap - A4 how-to

This bag is sooooo useful for carrying books and things, and with just one strap its nice and simple to use.

Fully lined, with option for pocket and padded strap.

If you spot any errors in the how-to please let me know!

A4 how-to to download here.

#denimbag

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gwen-edwards · 5 years

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Crochet fluidity

29May2019: I went to see the enthralling Knotty Knits presentation by Dr Elisabetta Matsumoto at The Watershed.

References: event url, my tweet, NY Times article covering similar content.

It made me wonder why knitting results in more fluid and drapier fabric than crochet, and are there some crochet stitches which deliver fluidity? Why is crocheted lace so much more fluid than “normal” crochet which tends to be bulky and sturdy? Crochet garments tend to be either very hole-y, or very stiff - is there a crochet stitch that would create more easily wearable clothing, closer to the drape achieved by knitting?

Has this already been studied?

Above: my crocheted shawl, using mypicot.com peacock stitch 2063

Hypothesis: the density of knots (loops) is linked to drapieness, more knots/loops per square cm, less drapey.

Proposed method

With the same yarn, crochet the same stitch, in a standard sized “test” square. Density of stitches: Repeat, changing only the crochet hook size.

Impact of stitch type: choose one hook size and the same yarn, create a standard sized square using different stitches.

Count the density of knots (loops).

Which squares are stiffer/more or less fluid?

Points to resolve

How big should test-squares be?

Different stitches: Will be tricky to create squares of exactly same size, how to account for that?

Counting the density of knots (loops): If stitch passes through two loops in same stitch = 2? ie back loop and front loop of row below = 2, and just back loop = 1?

How can you measure the fluidity of fabric? Is there a standard method? What if you rolled the fabric squares, and the more turns within the spiral the drapier the fabric?

#crochet

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gwen-edwards · 5 years

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Bento bags - pinked, hemmed, serged and double-sided options - with A4 handout

These bags are easy to make, lightweight, and a good alternative to plastic bags in supermarkets. They also make handy project bags, and can be made any size, as long as you keep the width/length ratio the same. I’ve put together a simple A4 handout, download it here*, plus more info and guidance below.

UPDATE: I’ve added options for hemming, and also a double-sided/lined bag, download it here - I much prefer the double-sided/lined version, plus its also really handy for keeping sewing project stuff together.

I would love to see photos of how your bags turn out and what you use them for!

Why make a pinked bento bag?

Our local supermarket keeps announcing it is switching to paper bags, but I only ever see these flimsy plastic bags.

Adverts on social media keep encouraging me to buy synthetic fabric drawstring bags, but with a sewing machine and a stash of fabric there is an alternative: fabric bento bags.

These easy bento bags are lightweight and fast to make, with the minimum number of seams thanks to pinking shears which give the characteristic zig-zag “pinked” edge.

But don’t the edges fray? The bag on the right has been washed 3 times.

And if you want neater edges? See other options in Note 1.

Don’t they make the apples cost more? The bag in these pictures (X=20cm) fits 3 apples, and at 8g, with apples costing £2.20/kg they will add 1.76 pence.

OK, so how do you make them?

You will need: clean fabric, iron & ironing board, ruler, pen/some way of marking fabric, sewing machine (although you could sew these by hand), pinking shears.

Step 1: iron and cut the fabric. The length needs to be 3x longer than the width. How precise does this need to be? See Note 2.

Step 2: move the fabric onto an ironing board, wrong side up, and then fold the corners so that it looks like this...

.... and iron the folds in place.

Step 3: now fold A to A, B to B....

... like this.....

...so you will end up with this....

Step 4: carefully pin the seams together, A-A and B-B

Step 5: And then sew the seams.

How precise does this folding, pinning and sewing need to be? See Note 2.

Step 6: keeping the bag inside out, lie it out flat, and sew a line across each square corner...

Step 7: ....and then use the pinking shears to chop them off. This helps more stuff to fit inside the bottom of the bag.

Step 8: Turn the bag the right way around, ta dah!

Hope that was useful! Please share any corrections or tips, feedback welcome!

Note 1. Alternative methods that will give you a neater edge, Options 2 and 3 are included in the pdf download, and Option 5 is easy!

Option 2. Add a seam allowance, and then sew a small seam around every edge before you start.

Option 3. Double-sided/lined bento bag: see pdf.

Option 4. With serged edges (I’ve not tried this),

https://ramonaclothing.wordpress.com/2013/08/02/tutorial-for-making-an-azuma-bento-bag/

Option 5. Use a non-fraying fabric! I had some of this luminous yellow sports stuff in my stash, its very lightweight, doesn't fray and isn’t going to get lost at the bottom of a handbag! Cut with straight scissors. Easy.

Note 2. How precise do you have to be in your cutting, folding and sewing?

I was experimenting with small seams, and ended up with a very wonky bag, oops. But it works just fine, and I don’t think the apples will mind!

(If you want to seam your bag, rather than have a pinked edge, don’t forget to add a seam allowance all the way around before you cut! I’ve just added this info the pdf download, see Option 2.)

A double-sided bag (first attempt, oops, forgot to add the seam allowance, so its a little wonky!),

#bentobag #pinkedbentobag #origamibag

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gwen-edwards · 5 years

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Baghrol Basa, the house of the fishing cat

Traveling with my husband, Kev, our very first encounter with a fishing cat, Prionailurus viverrinus, was back in 2012. We were on holiday in the Terai of eastern Nepal, visiting the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, staying amongst the rural villages and fishing pools alongside the Koshi river. With the permission of staff, we put a camera trap (a motion-triggered, infra-red camera) in the grounds of Koshi Camp, to discover what wildlife was walking through the grounds at night. Before breakfast Kev would recover the SD card from the camera, and we would review the files - you quickly become an expert in reviewing images and videos of grass gently swaying in the breeze, insects flying around, rain drops, the distant rear view of a rat disappearing into the gloom.... and then occasionally you find a file of something amazing. As well as a Malayan Porcupine, Jungle Cat, and Small Indian Civet, we were lucky enough to catch a fishing cat on the camera trap. As we showed the video to the camp naturalists their reaction was immediate, and their very vocal delight brought all the staff out of the kitchen and from across the camp - we set the video to loop, and the excited chatter amongst the staff confirmed the elusiveness of this quirky feline, and whetted our appetite to get a glimpse of the cat in the flesh.

youtube

Roll forward to 2018, and we start to hear about a new location in the east of India, in a small family-run homestead, with a good density of fishing cats and potential for sightings at night in a quiet electric tuk-tuk (a toctoc!) So in spring 2019, we found ourselves traveling to Kolkotta in West Bengal, as part of a trip to 3 different parts of India. To reach the fishing cats, we traveled from Delhi via a 1.5 hour internal flight to Kolkotta, and then a 1 or 2-hour journey west, on good roads in a comfortable car with a good driver - very easy!

A little traffic in Kolkotta gave us the chance to watch these two chaps climbing ladders to adjust the street lamps!

Nivedita bridge over the Hoooghly river, Kolkotta,

Out of Kolkotta, and we traveled through almost continuous villages. This quick snap through the window shows a street scene: the white “signs” on the left are full of LEDs ready for festival celebrations in the evening.

As the tarmac from Kolkotta ended, and the rural village lanes became narrower, we met our naturalist, Arajit, and driver and guide, Prashanta, to begin the final leg of our journey. We transferred into the Baghrol Basa electric toctoc, and began to wiggle the short distance along the concrete pathways between homes and ponds, squeeze past children and cycles, and on to our accommodation for the next 3 days.

Nestled in amongst the tight network of fishing ponds and dwellings in the Kalbansh village of Amta, Howrah, lies Baghrol Basa, the “Fishing Cat House”. The Basa was built in the 17th century and has been beautifully renovated and carefully decorated, maintaining it’s cosy nature by only catering for up to 5 guests in 2 rooms, who enjoy the home of the wonderfully hospitable Ghosh family.

Fishing cats are nocturnal and our schedule was focussed on post-dinner excursions, so we unpacked and relaxed in our section of the house; the bedroom had a very large old four-poster bed, air-conditioning, a veranda with views to both sides of the garden, and a private bathroom. Acclimatizing to our surroundings and listening to a combination of the local birdlife and very loud music - we had arrived during a local festival full of music and celebrations!

Before dinner, as we sorted out our kit and cameras on the large veranda, Arajit came excitedly rushing to our door, “come, come, quickly….bring camera”. Rushing down the stairs with SLR in one hand, torch in the other we were guided quietly through the local lanes, through some bamboo and along the edge of a nearby pond, where Prashanta had spotted the cat.

Arajit carefully strobed his torch along the pond, and there in full view was a crouched fishing cat! With it paws tips precisely poised on the lip of the water's edge, it remained motionless, transfixed by movement and shadows in the dark water.

With camera burring, the female cat, known to Arajit and Prashanta, moved slowly along the bank, pausing for a lovely full body pose, and then slinking away over the ridge to try her luck in the next ‘house pond’ ….what a start!

We headed back to the house excitedly chatting about this amazing first sighting, and enjoyed a wonderful evening meal of local fish and delicious local fresh vegetables. Nine pm arrived, and it was time to start our first toctoc safari, accompanied by very loud music from multiple sound systems in different villages!

That night we saw two further fishing cats; we watched one walking along the edge of a pool hunting, and as we sat quietly watching the second we could hear it crunching fish bones! Both cats seemed unconcerned with the musical goings-on around us. The electric toctoc ensured we could stealthily approach each of the 50+ neighbourhood ponds as we toured around the local villages steadily scouring water edges for that distinctive green ‘eye shine’.

Midnight, and we headed back to the homestead at the end of the night's wildlife adventure. We passed a large temporary bamboo theatre, where a performance was underway (microphones hanging from the ceiling across the stage, and a huge PA system), and narrow lanes filled with street food vendors. Around the corner, and two local chaps spoke with Arajit who translated the conversation for us - they suggested we should video them and sell it to National Geographic as they were wildlife!

Like most dwellings in the village, Baghrol Basa is surrounded by pools, and of the three house-pools, one has a purpose-built hide.

Relaxed mornings and afternoons can be spent enjoying the flower and bird-filled garden, reading a book or watching the world go by.

As we relaxed the following morning by the pool reviewing pictures and writing up last night’s adventures, we were soon interrupted by the crackle of dry leaves……something large was approaching the pond through the undergrowth. An unmistakable forked tongued reptile confidently emerged; sensing the air, and expertly entering the water, it headed directly towards the fish discarded by fishermen earlier that morning.

We’ve seen quite a few monitor lizards, they’re not uncommon, but this one was huge! From our shady spot on the water’s edge amongst the palms and ferns, with freshly cleaned cameras, we admired the prehistoric scene before us.

As with most things wildlife-related, the action arrives from multiple directions, simultaneously - with the giant lizard now on the other side of the pool bathing in the sun and warming up its digestive organs, the leaves rustled again and a wonderful Ruddy mongoose playfully bounced onto a nearby tree, nose in the air, perhaps realizing it had missed its opportunity for a cheeky breakfast ‘freebie’.

The following nights' safaris were significantly more canine than feline; one evening we saw about 15 Golden Jackals, with the highlight undoubtedly being a close-up view of a melanistic variant. A brief Jungle cat sighting helped to balance the feline/canine ratio. Roaming silently at night in the toctoc also produced a good array of nocturnal bird life, with great views of barn owls, fishing owl and nightjar.

The Baghrol Basa gardens provided good sightings of blue-throated and brown-headed barbets, white-breasted and stork-billed kingfishers, black hooded oriole's, little cormorants, and rufous-bellied woodpecker.

We enjoyed beautiful afternoon guided walks through the local farmland across small paddy fields of mustard seeds, potatoes, gourds, wheat, rice stubble, with the occasional cows and families of goats - we saw tiny drongo nests, white-breasted kingfishers, Asian palm swifts, cattle egrets, hoopoe, shikra, spotted owlets, lapwings, open-billed storks flying overhead, and later, nightjars.

One evening we watched as thousands upon thousands of birds (grey wagtails and yellow throated sparrows aka chestnut-shouldered petronias) flew down and roosted in the massive elephant grass beds - the sky was alive with birds and the grasses swayed heavily with their weight as they settled, rose and settled once again. As dusk changed to the darkness of evening we walked back to the village listening to jackals howling and stopped to watch a pair of huge brown fish owls fly overhead.

One afternoon we walked to a large local colony of flying foxes, roosting at the tops of trees, and occasionally flying overhead, in small pterodactyl-like groups. We watched one mother nursing her young, gently flapping her wings to cool them both.

The food at the homestay was plentiful and delicious - the local vegetables and prawn curry were particularly wonderful! The house is painted beautifully, there are fantastic and thoughtful details wherever you look. On our last night, we were treated to a dance performance by the local women and children, who are taught by Aritri in the house, magical!

A stay at Baghrol Basa is a wonderful alternative to the traditional Indian, big-park safari. It’s very intimate and relaxed, the family and children make you feel very welcome! If you’re a bit ‘tigered-out’, then it’s a wonderful chance to diversify your cat sightings and experience wildlife and daily life in an Indian village.

Next: we traveled back to Kolkotta over the Howrah bridge over the Hooghly river, and on to the Sunderbans......

All photos and videos: credit and copyright Kev Brewer, Gwen Edwards.

Mosquitoes and insects: we visited in early March 2019, and despite the large number of ponds and pools, and there were a few mosquitoes, the insects didn’t bother us. There were no reports of malaria. There was a mosquito net in the bedroom, but we didn’t use it. Close the shutters and windows before dusk, and if you wish, Arajit will use natural smoke to deter any bothersome insects.

Top tips: Practice taking photos after dusk / in the dark before you travel, so that you can confidently take photos when you’re there. Take good binoculars - even in very low light levels, they’ll enable you to see in the dark. Pack earplugs, a small torch is always useful.

Bagral Basa: Arajit Das (naturalist and guide), Prashanta Deyasi (driver and guide), discover more https://baghrolbasa.com/.

Trip to Bagral Basa: organised by the ever brilliant Allan and Kirsty at www.wildlifetrails.co.uk (who can also arrange your flights and transfers), as part of our 2019 trip which also included more amazing adventures in the Sunderbans and Satpura.

#fishing cat #fishingcat #wildlife trails #india #prionailurus viverrinus #baghrol basa #forest dwellers

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gwen-edwards · 9 years

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epic machinery

I have finally learnt how to use my new sewing machine! As bits of tech go, these are fairly un-intuitive beasties and in need of a UI overhaul, but thanks to the marvellous, very patient, and super-knowledgeable Sylvia (a tailor, not a tailoress) at Husqvarna Studios, in Bath I now know a little more about the mysterious ways of this one, and I learnt some amazing things!

I bought this lovely machine earlier in the year, to replace a really old (1960's?) one I was given years ago; this one day course was included as part of the purchase.

Mystery 1: the green dial at the top is nothing to do with the green panel it sits in (the dial is for stitch width, obviously). The middle dial is to select the stitches in the top half of the green panel above. And the dial at the bottom is both stitch length, and the (+ -) part is used to select the lower half of the stitches in the green panel at the top (in combination with the middle dial). Hmm. Design revisions in that layout possible. In the meantime, a quick scribble with a pencil on the machine will have to do.

Mystery 2: tension. Cracked it! I have been putting the bobbin in the wrong way around! Duh. The little picture helps, if you look really carefully - read the instructions darlings!

Amazing Thing 1: stitching in circles! A flat headed drawing pin and electrical tape, fixed to the handy central line on the machine bed, push your fabric over the pin, and let your machine do as it wishes....

...and then you get this!

Amazing Thing 2: elastic! And not just elastic ordinaire (stretch as you stitch, in even sections, keep tension on both ends of elastic), oh no, look at this.....cut a length of shirring elastic, find the mid point, and put the loop around the back of magic Foot C (stitch 9, width 5, buttonhole length) - stretch it afterwards!

Amazing Thing 3: magic Stitch & Tear (this stuff, or from any good sewing shop). Put it under your delicate fabric, stitch over the top, tear it off! No need for an embroidery hoop to keep everything under tension. So with magic Stitch & Tear + a winged needle (makes these fab little holes) + lace + seam ripper, you can do this (this is the wrong side, see the tiny bits of Stitch & Tear I didn't remove in my haste?)....

Other Amazing Things: the buttonhole foot, what an amazingly Heath-Robinson, ingenious mechanical solution. Log cabin quilting (too easy, and worryingly addictive).

Things to wear: the right shoes! An extra layer, as you are sitting still a lot.

Things to take: your machine + all the feet! Plus your instruction book, all the cables, little scissors and sharp fabric scissors, pin cushion, notebook and pen.

Lunch: take your own, or there is a cafe 2 doors up, and Green Park Station is just down the road.

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gwen-edwards · 10 years

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crochet project #1

I struggle to sit and do nothing, and hours waiting at airports or squashed on small planes drives me slowly insane! So I have started to crochet......

1. Never having crocheted a granny square before, I started with the Crochet Along Beyond The Granny twelve squares from the marvelous Shelley Husband of Spincushions. Fantastically written and easy to follow tutorials - loved the Popcorn square!

2. Then her Garden Gate square

3. Feeling brave, I adapted Joyce Lewis' Croco-Dahlia square, so that it was roughly the same size as the others. [Towards the end, Row 10, I did half trebles instead of trebles (UK terms), and then Row 12 I did double crochet instead of half trebles.] These are bonkers, and keep you out of trouble for quite some time.

Top to bottom, left to right: Beyond The Granny (1-12), Garden Gate (13), Croco-Dahlia (14) - all in need of blocking!

I'm not too sure at the moment what all of these squares will all become; I've made three of each design but it doesn't currently feel as if this is "enough" for whatever it will be.

Right now its a slightly wonky tower in need of blocking!

What's next? Well, I've already downloaded these patterns ready for,

- Donna Kay Lacey's Forever Lace

- Spincushions' Pinkie

And I am looking out for more designs, but first I NEED to get some more yarn!

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gwen-edwards · 10 years

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Colour Overload

The Kaffe Exhibition at American Museum in Britain, just outside Bath, has been on my "must go there" list for a months, and having missed the Folk Art exhibition at The Tate, I was keen not to miss this one. Wow, I am so pleased I made it, just amazing, and so full of energy!

The museum's opening hours are a little odd (12-5, every day, not open Mondays), and I didn't help myself by getting there at 3. Oops.

£9 lighter, and armed with my free map and receipt I headed straight to the exhibition space, zipping past the front door....

.... and on towards the exhibition space. The huge yew tree has been decorated with lights and pom poms, and looks quite mad.

But its just a warm up for the senses compared with what lies beyond. Ready? Brace yourself.

And then, it gets even more bonkers.....

Through the distorting and slightly dis-orientating mirrored corridor,

And, then you are in. I found I had to stand there for a moment and re-adjust the filters, its quite over whelming! (I would advise against going here if you have a migraine, or think you might be susceptible that day.)

There was a good balance of "knitted stuff" (doesn't really do much for me), crocheted hats, quilts, embroidery and tapestry. I found I wanted to go around a few times and re-visit pieces. There were small groups of ladies discussing how things were made - it was really enjoyable to try to work out how things had been created, and it would have been nice to see the reverse of things. A few pieces weren't completely flat so you could put your head against the wall and peek - it was re-assuring to see that the backs weren't perfect!

I took a lot of images, so here are some of my favourites.....

Silk patchwork quilt, with long sashiko stitches,

The most bonkers of the lot, used in the promotional material,

A Paul Smith-esque quilt, which on closer inspection is not quite as complex as I first thought. Striped material, placed to create rectangles. Various sections of the sides cut and replaced to create the offset stripe - this causes some section of a diagonal to be pattern matched, but not the whole diagonal. Clever and simple.

Amazing.

After a while I found I needed to see something less vibrant.

The folk section of the museum has some fab stuff, and this imperious Mohawk ship's mast head was my favourite. He is colossal, about 5' tall.

The main house has some incredible furniture, and very knowledgeable staff - thanks to them I now know where "sleep tight" comes from! The solid mahogany French furniture from the bedroom of a plantation owner's eldest daughter is stunning.

At the top of the house is a room full of American quilts and rugs and other textiles, and they give amazing insights, over about 300 years, into different communities and what drove them to sew.

In various rooms of the house there are simple, beautiful, evocative line drawings of the rooms and contents, drawn by Kaffe before he went to Scotland. It was during his time up there that he bought some wool for the first time, and on the train journey home a fellow traveller taught him how to knit, and after that he switched his career to textiles. The contrast between simple black and white line drawings and the bonkers quilts is absolute!

With time running out, I took a quick turn in the garden. Stunning views!

I'll be back.....

Things to take: camera! (as I found to my cost, don't rely on your phone, I had to return to the car to charge it up, as it died just as I spotted the Mohawk). You can photograph everything as long as you don't use flash.

Also look at: this link, as they do a lot of workshops, plus stuff for kids.

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