DIY SOS wanted to have a memory quilt made for bereaved siblings living on together in the same house after their mother’s death.
DIY SOS found Catherine-Marie Longtin, an art quilter based in Peckham, and asked her if she could make such a quilt. She was enthusiastic, but knowing that she had less than a week to make it, knew she couldn’t do it alone and needed some volunteers to help her. She contacted Marianne ten Kate, a fellow member of the London Modern Quilt Guild, for help. Marianne quickly realised that she knew EXACTLY who could get the job done. Marianne spoke to Janis Fuller, her fellow Quilt Academy tutor, and they hatched a plan. The mother’s clothes, chosen by the siblings themselves, arrived at Bell House on Friday lunchtime, and under Catherine-Marie’s artistic guidance, a large group of eager and joyful QA members, joined by members of Dulwich Quilters, worked to make the blocks. In addition, another group of equally keen QA stitchers made each of the five siblings a cushion from their mother’s clothing to keep in their own rooms.
An heroic effort resulted in a quilt top and all the cushions being made by 5pm. Janis made the backing from two huge pieces of ticking, to Catherine-Marie’s exacting standards, and Marianne quilted it on the Saturday on her long-arm quilting frame. It was ready for Catherine-Marie to add the binding and deliver it to the programme makers by Wednesday.
Catherine-Marie and Wendy Regan went to the DIY SOS ‘grand reveal’ at the newly renovated home and met some of the family. Tears were shed all round, we’re reliably informed.
The programme, featuring the finished quilt, aired on the 24th October on BBC1.
“Being Together” the QA’s first ever entry into the Festival of Quilts
Many of the group visited the Festival of Quilts last year and returned determined that they would exhibit their work in Birmingham one day. This week they completed their entry for the 2022 exhibition in August. Title ‘Being Together’ It is a big piece, it was a huge undertaking. Marianne and Janis were particularly pleased that this project was lead by members of the group.
Their sights are now focused on the quilt exhibition hosted by Dulwich Quilters to be held at Bell House in September. The Quilt Academy will exhibit work, run the tombola and contribute pieces to the sales room (this year raising funds for the Mind charity).
Quilt Academy is an all female group, age range 55-80 with most of us being retired with ideas and energy in abundance. There are 24 active participants and an additional 12 on the WhatsApp group who dip in when they can. A swift calculation I would say 10 ethnic groups are represented within our cohort.
The well-being, mindfulness and camaraderie are key to all that we do. The new stitchers receive formal tuition in the basic skills, more experienced members of the group are encouraged to develop and aspire to yet higher standards of both design and execution. Participants may work as an individual on a personal project or more commonly we can be found working on collaborative projects.
Also benefiting from our endeavours are the range of other groups who receive stitched pieces. Eg. Project Linus, Quilts for Care Leavers, Neonatal baby unit at Kings, Brixton Food Bank
Plus we endeavour to respond to initiatives - earlier in year the Afghan refugees and more recently those coming to the UK from Ukraine.
“What got us through” the Quilt Academy’s lockdown quilt to become a part of the Southwark Museum of Heritage and Culture archives
The QA is feeling pretty chuffed this month as they have now met with the curator of the new Southwark Museum of Heritage and Culture and handed over their ‘What Got Us Through’ lockdown quilt. This new museum replaces the Cuming Museum which was destroyed by fire some years ago. The QA quilt, on permanent loan, will form part of the social history archives. The curator will return to record each stitcher speaking about their square made in response to the lockdowns. It will then be an interactive exhibit.
