Dulwich Quilters – Celebrating 30 years

Around 1984/5, Pat Salt & Dinah Travis were teaching patchwork and quilting classes in the South London/Bromley area – in fact, the classes were held in Pat’s house.

A Quilt of Many Colours

At that time, patchwork and quilting wasn’t that popular as it is now. A particular group of ladies used to meet at Pat Salt’s house – they learned the basics after which they did a sampler quilt class. They enjoyed themselves so much and, as some of them lived quite close to each other they decided to continue meeting and quilting together on a regular basis. The rest, as they say, is history.

In 1986 Dulwich Quilters was officially formed and this year, we celebrate 30 years as a group. We are very fortunate that five of the founder members are still in the group. Sadly one member passed away in 2003 but her spirit and love for quilting are very much with us even today. They laid the foundations on which the group still continue. The very first exhibition in 1988 was held at Belair House near the Dulwich Picture Gallery - we have continued to exhibit every two years, but now exhibit at The Old Library, Dulwich College. In 1996, two of our members showed their collection of old quilts as part of the Dulwich Festival and the proceeds were shared by St Giles Trust and Dulwich Festival Committee. Dulwich Quilters have supported many worthwhile charities by making and raffling a group quilt. Over the years, we have supported British Home for the Incurables, St Christopher’s Hospice, Dulwich Helpline, Cancer Research, Fine Cell Work (Caroline is one of their original volunteers), CLAPA, and many more. We also make and give a lot of small and large quilts to Project Linus UK and for the past couple of years we have donated them exclusively to Kings College Hospital for the children’s wards. We were commissioned to make a hanging for a local health centre in 2006 and Paxton’s Stars still hangs in the waiting room.

2016 is a very special year and we plan to celebrate our Pearl Anniversary in style. Last Friday the celebration lunch was held – after many months of planning - and it was everything that Lindsay and I had hoped it would be. We have a summer lunch party every year but this was totally different. Thanks to Linda and her husband, they had managed to organise their room so that everyone could sit down to eat. We had invited past as well as present members; they came wearing pearls and dressed up for the occasion and were ready to enjoy themselves. Quilters are also renowned for enjoying and cooking good food and we had a variety of interesting and mouth watering dishes.

To mark the special occasion, we planned a variety of surprises – we had made personalised party bags filled with gifts, including a ‘pearl’ brooch for members to wear to the exhibition. There were balloons hanging on doors and celebration cakes to take home. The lavender plants that were part of the table decorations were given to each founder member as well as to our hostess at the end of the party. After the various toasts, and reading messages of good will and congratulations, we joined Lindsay in a special altered rendition of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Policeman’s Song. The best part of the entire afternoon was to see everyone enjoying themselves – meeting old and new friends, enjoying good food (and drink), walking around our host’s fabulous garden and just having a very happy time. We were determined that everyone should have an unforgettable celebration, especially the founder members and we succeeded. It was hard work along with a few sleepless nights but it was worth all the effort – we had done it our way and in style.

This November, The Old Library, Dulwich College will be transformed yet again before the doors open for our 16th exhibition on the 5th November - I am confident no one will be disappointed. Not only will members’ individual quilts be on show, there will be the Chairman’s Challenge, Through the Lens, and of course the group quilt – A QUILT OF MANY COLOURS, coordinated by three members. Made with Kaffe Fassett’s striped fabrics and Oakshott;s solid fabrics, and hand quilted, it truly is a quilt of many colours and would appeal to everyone. It will be raffled on the Sunday in aid of HANDS UP FOR UGANDA, a project run by Bobby Britnell who is a well known quilter/textile artist.

The charity was created with the overriding aim of empowering the people of Kisaabwe (a very poor rural community in South Uganda) giving them hope of a self supporting and sustainable future. In previous years, we have usually given to local charities but HANDS UP was chosen not only because it is such a worthwhile project and deserves support, but also because three of our members grew up in Uganda. It was the perfect choice for a very special year in the DQ diary. We have made a Pearl Anniversary hanging, coordinated by three members. Everyone was asked to make a 6” block in creams and whites and it had to include a circle. The results are very different as one would expect and made with the same amount of care and attention that is evident in all our work.

We are all very different – not only do we come from various parts of the world but we also differ in our ideas and tastes which is evident in our work and makes it interesting for the viewer. It is true to say that the majority of us are a little older, greyer, and perhaps not as nimble fingered as before, but the desire to learn techniques and to quilt is still very evident as is the pride we take in our work. Judging from last Friday’s party, the members can still enjoy themselves and party away.

What does the future hold for Dulwich Quilters – no one can answer that. Hopefully the wish to meet and sew together, to give to those who are less fortunate and to enjoy ourselves through the medium of fabric and stitch will continue.

The exhibition will run at The Old Library, Dulwich College, SE21 7LD on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 November 2016 from 10am to 5pm both days. Please come and celebrate with us!


About this article

One Comment

  1. I’m a member of Montpellier quilters in Cheltenham and loved the idea of a lunch at a member’s home. I would like to buy a raffle ticket but don’t know where to send the money. Please advise.

RSS

Post a Comment

Your email is never published nor shared. Required fields are marked *

*
*