Latest news with #quilts
BBC News
14 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Bradford women restore Victorian quilts in historic mill
When two black bin bags arrived at a community centre in Bradford, few could have guessed at the textile treasures which were inside. But as the bundles were opened, a trio of patchwork quilts in varying states of repair story stretches back to the 1860s - but their latest chapter is only just beginning."They've been in cupboards and drawers for more than 100 years," explains Norah McWilliam, who helped bring the pieces back to the city where they were woven. "But something about them kept them alive, kept them in one piece." The quilts were the work of Ellen Freeman, who had stitched together offcuts salvaged from the floor of Lister's Mill in Manningham, then one of Bradford's great textile in 1842, Ellen had moved north from Sussex to settle in Bradford with her husband, Robert Wallace."Two of the quilts are made of scraps of velvet that were from the mills at the time," says Norah, from Queensbury."They're all hand-sewn - it's quite something when you look at the stitching. "And then there's another quilt, which is made of cottons, which she didn't quite finish because her eyesight was getting worse."Of the three surviving pieces, one is complete, another is in need of repair and a third remains at an early quilts eventually came into the care of Ellen's great-granddaughter, Joan Forrest, who now lives in Newcastle but who - as Norah explains - was very keen for them to come back to "where they belong in Bradford".Norah searched widely for a place to share and appreciate the pieces and her friend's then, she read about a women's sewing-based social group based at the historic Manningham mills building where the quilts' journey started - and the pieces, much like the patchwork, started to fit together."I tried a museum - I didn't get an answer. I tried another sewing group and didn't get an answer. And then I saw the BBC article and thought 'wow, this is where the quilts should be'."So I came and met Tanu Patel, and she was immediately enthusiastic and committed. And it's just worked out so well." For Tanu, director of the Yorkshire Women's Forum, opening the bags was a real "oh my word" moment."We are so excited and privileged to have these pieces here," the upcycling and restoration enthusiast says."The plan is to actually finish the two incomplete quilts. And we want to use our fabrics, the fabrics that the women of today wear and use."The task will be taken up by Sewcialise, the Forum's weekly sewing and textile group. Known for upcycling South Asian fabrics into bags, jackets and trinkets, they will complete the unfinished quilt using cloth from their own restored and completed pieces will fuse together textiles from different cultures and continents."We're trying to bring cultures and the generations together," Tanu Tanu, Norah and the team, the quilts' journey from Ellen Freeman's scraps on the mill floor to the vibrant South Asian silks in Sewcialise's sewing room represents more than symbolises Bradford's story, stitched by the hands of women across generations, and made even more poignant in the City of Culture year. "We want to bring the tapestry together and say 'we are all of these colours and all of these textures and all of these fabrics put together as a whole'," says also reflects that there is "something absolutely beautiful" about the idea of a patchwork that is "never truly finished". "We will just add something, but maybe one day somebody will come along and finish them in a very different fabric."Meanwhile for Joan, 84, speaking over a video call to Tanu and Norah, it was an emotional moment to see the quilts handed over to their new custodians."I'm not a needlewoman. I can't sew, I can't stitch, but I wanted to see them preserved and valued. I'm so happy they've gone back home now." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Forbes
a day ago
- General
- Forbes
Gee's Bend Quilts From Alabama Now On Display In Upstate New York
The Spencertown Academy and Austerlitz Historical Society Church, in Columbia County, N.Y., are presenting an exhibition of the famous Gee's Bend quilts. Gee's Bend quit exhibition, on display through August 3 at Spencertown Academy Arts Center Peter Blandori Gee;s End QyuiOn display through August 3, this exhibit features over 30 quilts created by six quiltmakers; second and third generation descendants of the celebrated Alabama women whose works exploded on the art scene in 2003. It is the first time these quilts have traveled outside of their community in recent years for such a major exhibition. According to the academy, 'the small community of Gee's Bend, Alabama, has been creating their extraordinary quilts since the 1800's. . .These quilts constitute a crucial chapter in American art. Gee's Bend quilts are today in the permanent collection of over 30 leading art museums around the world. 'When enslaved women from the rural, isolated community of Boykin, Alabama—better known as Gee's Bend—began quilting in the 19th century, it arose from a physical need for warmth rather than a quest to reinvent an art form. Yet by piecing together scraps of fabric and clothing, they were creating abstract designs that had never before been expressed on quilts. These patterns and piecing styles were passed down over generations, surviving slavery, the antebellum South, and Jim Crow, the academy explained. 'During the Civil Rights movement in 1966, the Freedom Quilting Bee was established as a way for African-American women from Gee's Bend and nearby Rehoboth to gain economic independence. The Bee cooperative began to sell quilts throughout the U.S., gaining recognition for the free-form, seemingly improvisational designs that had long been the hallmark of local quilt design. As awareness grew, so did acclaim, and the quilts entered the lexicon of homegrown American art. 'Since then, quilts from Gee's Bend have been exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and others. In 2006, the U.S. Postal Service even issued ten commemorative stamps featuring images of Gee's Bend quilts,' it concluded. The Spencertown Academy opened its doors as a teacher training college in 1847, one of the first United States facilities to accept women as well as men. Its founder was Timothy Woodbridge—pastor of St. Peter's Church in Spencertown, champion of universal education and nephew of Aaron Burr. A decade later, the academy became a two-room schoolhouse for Spencertown and Austerlitz area children; in 1970, the school was closed permanently. In 1972 local residents formed the Spencertown Academy Society to save the academy and recreate it as a community arts center, spearheading a 10-year restoration of the historic Greek Revival building. Today the academy offers concerts, lectures, classes and gallery shows. The curator of the exhibit, Lisa Bouchard Hoe, is a local real estate broker and quilt collector; she worked with the Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy to bring the exhibition to Spencertown.
Forbes
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Gee's Bend Quilts From Alabama Now On Display In Upstate New York
The Spencertown Academy and Austerlitz Historical Society Church, in Columbia County, N.Y., are presenting an exhibition of the famous Gee's Bend quilts. (5/31/05- Boston, MA)- The Quilts of Gee's Bend will be on display at the Museum of Fine Arts June ... More 1 through August 21, 2005. African American quilters from Gee'sBend, Alabama will display their 65 original works this summer. Qunnie Pettway (left) and Mary Bennett sit with their quilts during the press preview. DSC_8040.JPG Staff photo by Ted Fitzgerald. Saved in Photo Wednesday/Photo Max (Photo by Ted Fitzgerald/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images) On display through August 3, this exhibit features over 30 quilts created by six quiltmakers; second and third generation descendants of the celebrated Alabama women whose works exploded on the art scene in 2003. It is the first time these quilts have traveled outside of their community in recent years for such a major exhibition. According to the academy, 'the small community of Gee's Bend, Alabama, has been creating their extraordinary quilts since the 1800's. . .These quilts constitute a crucial chapter in American art. Gee's Bend quilts are today in the permanent collection of over 30 leading art museums around the world. 'When enslaved women from the rural, isolated community of Boykin, Alabama—better known as Gee's Bend—began quilting in the 19th century, it arose from a physical need for warmth rather than a quest to reinvent an art form. Yet by piecing together scraps of fabric and clothing, they were creating abstract designs that had never before been expressed on quilts. These patterns and piecing styles were passed down over generations, surviving slavery, the antebellum South, and Jim Crow, the academy explained. 'During the Civil Rights movement in 1966, the Freedom Quilting Bee was established as a way for African-American women from Gee's Bend and nearby Rehoboth to gain economic independence. The Bee cooperative began to sell quilts throughout the U.S., gaining recognition for the free-form, seemingly improvisational designs that had long been the hallmark of local quilt design. As awareness grew, so did acclaim, and the quilts entered the lexicon of homegrown American art. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder'Since then, quilts from Gee's Bend have been exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and others. In 2006, the U.S. Postal Service even issued ten commemorative stamps featuring images of Gee's Bend quilts,' it concluded. The Spencertown Academy opened its doors as a teacher training college in 1847, one of the first United States facilities to accept women as well as men. Its founder was Timothy Woodbridge—pastor of St. Peter's Church in Spencertown, champion of universal education and nephew of Aaron Burr. A decade later, the academy became a two-room schoolhouse for Spencertown and Austerlitz area children; in 1970, the school was closed permanently. In 1972 local residents formed the Spencertown Academy Society to save the academy and recreate it as a community arts center, spearheading a 10-year restoration of the historic Greek Revival building. Today the academy offers concerts, lectures, classes and gallery shows. The curator of the exhibit, Lisa Bouchard Hoe, is a local real estate broker and quilt collector; she worked with the Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy to bring the exhibition to Spencertown.
BBC News
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Windrush stories inspire 'exciting' quilts exhibition in Ipswich
Colourful handmade quilts created by artists whose families have connections to the Windrush movement are being exhibited in Quilt is being displayed at The Hold, in Ipswich, by community group Suffolk Windrush until the end of thought-provoking artworks were produced by local people during a series of workshops held at the Castle Hill Community Centre in Ipswich."It was real eye-opener – people were sharing their stories and helping each other," Ivy Cook, from the Ipswich Windrush Select Committee, said. "It was quite exciting seeing people discover their history, and put their history into their quilts – it was unexpected." Each quilt tells a different personal story, be it about a loved one's journey from the Caribbean to the UK, or something they have learned about their family."One person discovered her dad used to play in a band and she put that into the quilt," Ms Cook said."For her, that was exciting because she understood why her and her family loved music." The Windrush generation largely relates to people who came to the UK from Caribbean countries between 1948 and 2018, a scandal was revealed when it emerged that the government had not properly recorded the details of people granted permission to stay in the UK, with some wrongly labelled as illegal inspired one of the quilts that features in the exhibition."She built her quilt around that and what happened to the Windrush generation and that hostile environment," added Ms Cook."She got different bits of material and each one was a different colour, and she was able to put words into the quilt to reflect that."We learnt from each other about our history and our parents, so it was quite exciting." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
CBC
04-07-2025
- General
- CBC
'They're like my kids': Mi'kmaw elder stitching together high school memories
Mi'kmaw Elder Nancy (Nano) Bernard has stitched her way into the fabric of Wagmatcook First Nation's history. Every year, a half-dozen of Bernard's quilts are taken out of storage and hung up at Wagmatcookewey School's graduation ceremony as part of a tradition in the Cape Breton community that's now lasted more than 30 years. The quilts are made up of large squares featuring the community's high school graduates that have been sewn onto eight-pointed stars. Since she started making the quilts, Bernard has created more than 200 squares, representing the number of high school graduates in the community over that period. "[It's] just something for them to see year after year," she said. "Some of these graduates have their own families now. It's a good feeling." Bernard, now 82, began the project in 1992. Back then, she only had one graduate's picture to transfer onto fabric. She sews the patches by hand and has designed the quilts using the traditional medicine wheel colours of black, white, red and yellow. Each square takes an hour to finish. Kelly Marshall, a 1996 graduate who is featured on one of the quilts, is now a career navigator at Wagmatcookewey School. "We still snap a picture every year," she said at a recent graduation ceremony. "[You] just don't realize how time went by so fast since we all graduated, and the kids love it. Like next year's grads will be looking forward to seeing all this." Brittany Fitzgerald, a literacy teacher at the school, can also be found on one of Bernard's quilts. She expects to soon see her children's pictures among the graduates. She said the number of patches added each year depends on the number of graduates in the community. "The quilts aren't necessarily one quilt per year, they're just a continuous addition and then when she runs out of space, a new quilt is started again. It's something that's become like a cultural part of our community. It's sort of a symbol of all the hard work of graduates and of our elder as well." Tracy MacNeil, an English teacher at Wagmatcookewey, said Bernard not only creates quilts and dreamcatchers for the community's graduates, she also serves as the school's elder and guidance counsellor. "She's very humble, so she brings humility to our school and there's a calmness about her, a peacefulness about her for sure. I've heard many stories over the years of her working late into the night, trying to complete [her quilts] and get it done on time." Bernard now enjoys watching generations of graduates come out to see her quilts. "Yeah, some of these graduates are moms and dads and grandmas and granddads, some of them are fishermen," she said. "They're all working. I'm proud of them all. They're like my kids."
