Forty for Tea
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- Maker:
- Chris Dixon
- Date:
- 2019
Contemporary quilt commissioned for The Forties Collection, a body of work representing contemporary quiltmaking across the U.K. in the 40th anniversary year of The Quilters' Guild.
The inspiration for this work is the many hours spent with fellow quilters stitching, creating and drinking tea. The cotton fabric was produced using the ice-dyeing method and Procion dyes in a range of blues and reds. A discharge technique was used to highlight the words; the teapot and the lower line of cups were also discharged. There are 40 teacups included in the design—some are obvious while others are hidden. It contains feathers to acknowledge the maker’s North Country heritage. The focal point FORTY is a riot of free machine quilting or as the maker prefers to call it, drawing with her sewing machine.
The Forties Collection quilts were made to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles. The 18 regions of The Guild are represented, as well as the three age groups of Young Quilters. Each piece was a new work specially made by a Guild member not already represented in The Collection. The makers were asked to interpret the theme of 40 as creatively as possible. The rule was that the finished piece had to have one dimension of 40 inches and between 25 and 40 inches in the other dimension. These pieces were exhibited at the Festival of Quilts in 2019 in a gallery entitled ‘Spotlight@40’.
Commissioned by Region 15E (Durham, Tyne & Wear, Northumberland)
40 inches (102cm) x 25 inches (63.5cm)
