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Theme: Cities and Quilts

Published: Wednesday, 9th September 2020 11:17 AM

Theme: Cities in Quilts

In this blog post we explore the inspiration that comes from around us - not from our natural habitat, but the man-made one we create in our cities. These quilts use an array of buildings and cityscapes to create interesting urban contemporary pieces.

The Cambridge Quilt, made in 1981, celebrates the historic city of Cambridge, and features 12 scenes arranged in a square around a quilted central Cambridge Coat of Arms. The background is Cambridge blue, and the quilted border is based on a design from King's College Chapel.

'Yorke 1611' by Alicia Merrett shows the historic city of York from the air. The design is a quilted map of the historic city of York inspired by John Speedwells map of the walled city in the early 1600s. The artist intended it to describe the main features of the city that survive today, and show the beginnings of what is now a great and flourishing city, celebrating the permanence of the main features of York. The artist used hand dyed fabrics and the quilt was machine pieced, machine quilted and uses fused appliqué.

It is one of two commissioned quilts by The Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles for the ‘Quilt City’ project, a specially funded quilt trail across the city of York as part of the 800th anniversary of York.

'Classic and Cool' was made in 2005, and depicts famous London buildings within a circular twisted mosaic medallion. It was made using raw edge applique, machine quilting and embroidery. This quilt was made by Jill Packer and won The Quilters' Guild Challenge at the Festival of Quilts in 2005, sponsored and purchased by Bernina.

This pictorial piece, entitled 'York 800 -- A Celebration' is celebration of famous characters who are a part of the city of York’s rich history, as well as featuring a cityscape and its underlying centuries of archaeology underneath the contemporary surface. The artist, Linda Barlow, was keen portray York as a vibrant and colourful city, and believes that what makes a city is the people that live within it. Which York celebrities can you spot.....?

Like Alicia Merrett's 'Yorke 1611', 'York 800 - A celebration' was commissioned by The Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles for the ‘Quilt City’ project, a specially funded quilt trail across the city of York as part of the 800th anniversary of York.

This contemporary piece was made by artist Cherry Vernon-Harcourt in 2010 using Procion dyed fabric and screen printing. The artist took inspiration from urban wastelands to create this piece entitled 'Summer in the City', the theme of The Quilters' Guild Challenge at the Festival of Quilts in 2010, sponsored by Bernina. This piece won the Challenge and was purchased by Bernina for The Collection.