At the 2024 Ruby Exhibition a purple quilt was on display and much admired.
I asked Ruth Garner and Mary Turner to write the story behind it –
The 2019 exhibition committee enjoyed working together so much that in March 2020 we got together to talk about a new group venture of creating a quilt based on the poem below, using only vintage fabrics that we would dye ourselves.
Warning by Jenny Joseph
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people’s gardens
And learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practise a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
The basics we decided on was a boro-style / visibly mended coverlet, hand quilted and embellished with assorted threads. Fired with enthusiasm we set a date for some dying and screen printing, but plans were scuppered with the imminent lock down due to Covid.
The idea was resurrected again in May 2023 and the dying began in June, on two of the hottest days of the year! There were five of us in the group and so we began with screen printing five columns of fabric using leaves from our gardens.
The fabric was a vintage damask tablecloth which had been soaked in soda ash and dried in readiness. This was something few of us had done before and it was great fun and highly entertaining. We decided on a palette of red, blue and purple for the back as well as for the ‘patches’ used for the visible mending.
The ‘patches’ were dyed using the Procion dyes in a jam jar method and gradations of colour. We also painted on some dye in random strokes creating variations of colour and design. We used tablecloths, handkerchiefs, tray cloths, table runners etc. sourced from friends or form the local charity shops. Finally we dyed the front columns using a washing machine Procion dye to get a consistent colour over the area
The next stage was to baste the front and backs together, decide on where our red hats were going and start the long process of visibly mending the quilt. We did discuss the basic patterns and placements but we each did our own thing, meeting regularly to try and keep a co-ordinated approach. Sometimes we swopped pieces to add something different or when someone was struggling with time.
In addition we thread painted texture into the blank spaces creating ripples and lines and strengthening this fabric.
The last decorative elements to go on were the red ‘sputnics’ (as they became known). These were a different shape to the patches and had silver thread radiating from them, reminiscent of silver hair.
The five pieces were put together in a quilt as you go method before adding a facing to finish off the edges.
It’s not everyone’s ‘cup of tea’ and we are sure some people think we must be mad, but; it has been a great experience; it has involved slow stitching for relaxation; we have learned new techniques; and, importantly, it has been a great group activity for five friends.
from Left to Right – Ruth Garner, Janet Whitewright, Nancy Clarke, Jean Bell and Mary Turner.
