Collection Focus: #nevertrustatory by Chris English

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Chris English is a Huddersfield based quilter who delights in using recycled fabrics that come with a story to create colourful improv quilts, which often carry political or social messages. Chris tells us about his quilt #nevertrustatory which was accepted into The Quilters Guild Museum Collection in 2022. Continue reading

The 1718 Silk Patchwork Coverlet

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The ‘1718’, as it is affectionately known, was bought by The Quilters’ Guild at auction in September 2000. Until that time it had been in the possession of the Brown family of Aldbourne, Wiltshire, for many years. The coverlet is an outstanding historical piece, and the worked date of 1718 identifies it as one of the earliest known dated patchworks. Continue reading

Quilts and Cultural Values: Gender, Race and Social Class by Laurel Horton

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First published in the British Quilt Study Group journal ‘Quilt Studies’ vol 6, in 2004, we offer a rare opportunity to read this article by American quilter and quilt historian Laurel Horton, and gain an insight into the kinds of work pursued by BQSG. Continue reading

Don’t miss a thing at the Festival of Quilts!

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If you’re anything like us, you’re already sitting on the edge of your seat in anticipation of the biggest quilting event of the year! With so much to see and do at The Festival of Quilts, how can you make sure you don’t miss any of the great things we have on offer? Relax, we’ve got you covered, here’s your complete run down of The Guild at FOQ 2022. Continue reading

Text and Context: Quilts and the Written Word

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In honour of the 20th anniversary of the Special Interest Group, Contemporary Quilt, guest curator and Contemporary Quilt member Judy Fairless was invited to curate this year’s exhibition at The Festival of Quilts, featuring The Quilters’ Guild Museum Collection. Continue reading

Collection focus: ‘Suffolk Marshes’ by Jo Budd

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‘Suffolk Marshes’ is a recent acquisition to The Quilters’ Guild Museum Collection. This contemporary piece was made in 2006, and belongs to a series of work created by textile artist Jo Budd, in response to the landscape immediately surrounding her studio, and more specifically to the water meadow at the bottom of her garden, which regularly floods each year. Continue reading

Collection Focus: Miniatures

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The Quilters’ Guild Museum Collection has a wide range of items from different time periods within the history of patchwork and quilting. It also has pieces ranging in size from our largest – measuring 3 metres in width – to our miniature pieces, that are full quilts with complex patterns in patchwork and quilting that are perfectly in proportion, but they are smaller than an A4 sheet of paper. 

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Collection Focus: 40 Layers of Quilting, by Jo Avery

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I have been making quilts for the last 30 years and have explored most patterns and techniques in that time. In the first decade of this century I lost my interest in quilt making and it was the emergence of Modern Quilting that drew me back to it. Continue reading