The Jane Austen Community Quilt – An Update
Patchwork and Quilting|January 2018

2017 saw a bustle of activity here at Jane Austen’s House Museum in Chawton, Hampshire. In May, Lucy Worsley came to the museum to place flowers at the front of the house marking 200 years since the death of Jane Austen; followed swiftly by a year of events including writing workshops, village walks, talks (a highlight being Sue Dell’s presentation of her research into the Austen coverlet, now conserved and redisplayed in the museum) and community sewing workshops in preparation for the completion of our community quilt.

Lucy Bailey
The Jane Austen Community Quilt – An Update

As the mornings have begun to darken and a chill hits the air, I have arrived each morning at the museum to discover piles of parcels strewn across my desk; all carefully and beautiful wrapped having been transported to the museum from across the globe. I have enjoyed the wax seals, decorative wrapping paper and assortment of shapes that have arrived. Honestly, I have been unable to contain my excitement as I have ripped open the parcels knowing they will contain a quilt square but without knowing from whom, where or what. Suddenly the community quilt project has become very real.

I have been amazed and in awe of the breadth of designs,techniques and creativity used to interpret the various themes we sent to each group, each brief exploring an aspect of Jane Austen’s life, legacy and work. The first square to arrive was the beautifully hand stitched and considered work of artist Caren Garfen, exploring the Regency role of women. We’ve received pictorial squares exploring the novels from groups such as Jane Austen Society South West and about seven squares looking at a range of Jane Austen themes from Fine Cell Work, a charity that uses stitching as rehabilitation in prisons. One of these squares carefully depicts Jane Austen’s home in Chawton, I can only imagine the time invested in this square.

This story is from the January 2018 edition of Patchwork and Quilting.

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This story is from the January 2018 edition of Patchwork and Quilting.

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