Today's Quilter - UK (2020-01)

OLD TRADITIONS l memory quilts

DEB MCGUIRE OFFERS SOME SUGGESTIONS

FOR STITCHING VALUABLE MEMORIES

INTO YOUR QUILT DESIGNS

Whenwelookat oldquilts,theones

thattendto engageusarethosethat

‘talk’to us.Perhapsbecausetheyare

conveyinganimportantmessage,

oeringtantalisinghintsaboutclosely-

keptsecrets,orinformingusabout

themaker’slife.So,whencreatinga

memoryquilt,it’svitalto incorporate

personalelementsthatwillhelpto reveal

your story to future generations.

1

Oldclothingis a simplewayto addan

essenceof someonespecialto a quilt.

Aslongas thefabricis basicallysound,

areascontainingmarksorrepairedtears

canalsobeincluded,especiallyif they

evoke recollections of a memorable time.

2

If youareusingnewfabric,try

to selectdesignswhichconvey

anessenceof youandyourtimeand

place.Thismightmeanincorporating

contemporaryratherthanreproduction

prints,hand-printedfabric,orranges

inspiredbythingsorplaces that are

meaningful to you.

3

Aswellas pictorialelements,such

as appliquédshapesof yourhomeor

pets,orstitchedmotifsof yourgarden

(Fig 1 ), includingwordsorphrasesinto

yourdesigncanalsoaddto thetaleyour

quilttells.Thiscouldbea quotefroma

treasuredbook(Fig 2 ), a favouritesong

lyric, a line from a poem or just a single

significantwordthat‘speaks’to you.

If textisn’tpartof thequilttop,then

I usuallyaddanextra message to the

label of my quilt.

4

Symbolscanalsogiveextraweightto

a design.Forexample,to givea sense

of place,I oftenadda cross-shapedmotif

to depicttheWhiteleafCross,a chalk-

hillcarvingnearmyhome.Or,I might

insertInstragram-themedred‘likes’

heartsto representtoday.Youcould

alsoincludemotifsof familyanimalsor

much-lovedviews(Fig 3 ). Aswellas

beingrelevantto themakerandtheir

family,thesesymbolsalsoleaveclues for

future generations to explore.

PHOTOGRAPHY: ARTIST’S OWN IMAGESFig 1 Fig 3

Fig 2