Warming to it

JILL CAMPBELL MACKAY on the art of quilting, as an exhibition of some made locally opens in Paphos

Quilt: Originated from the Latin word Culcita meaning a stuffed sack.
A coverlet for a bed made of two layers of fabric with some soft substance such as wool or down between them, and stitched in patterns or tufted through all thicknesses in order to prevent the filling from shifting.

QUILTING has a long history, originally evolving from Ancient Egypt as confirmed by an Ivory carving found in the temple of Osiris at Abydos showing the King of Egypt’s first dynasty, proudly wearing a quilted cloak.
The knights of the crusades brought the art to England after they encountered Muslim warriors who, before going into battle, always encased themselves in tightly quilted clothing as part of their body armour.

By contrast in the 17th century it was heavily quilted petticoats that were all the rage and in draughty castles and baronial mansions all over Europe quilts were used not only as cosy bed covers but were also used as drapes around four poster beds, hung on walls and from the windows in an effort to keep damp and windy bed chambers a bit warmer. Henry VIII’s fifth wife, Catherine Howard, was so enamoured of the art that she would request from her loyal subjects a gifting of a quilt rather than any other present. She accumulated a priceless collection of over 50 beautifully handmade examples.

Quilts have always been valued for not only their sheer naïve beauty, but in times of extreme hardship special family quilts were regularly used as prime collateral against a bank loan. American made, mid-west quilts in particular always displayed the unique artistic expression of each of their makers; designs would recount the family history, both the celebrations and the inevitable sadness of life. Crib quilts for example were lovingly made as funeral wraps for infants who died as a result of the harsh living conditions, many quilts were created to honour certain well loved family members, and their coffins were then draped with the quilt during the funeral.

Quilts in effect recorded domestic history and women would compete with each other to create even more intricate designs. One thing they always did was to make sure that every finished quilt displayed what they called a ‘homily block’, this was stitched into a quilt to act as a constant reminder that, regardless of how much personal pride one had in the making of the quilt, the talent that drove this artistic creation was entirely sent by God.

ANNE Bateman still carries on the tradition of inserting a homily block into her hand-made beauties, but as she told me, “It’s more to do with the fact that each quilt is so complex that it is almost impossible not to make a small mistake somewhere in the work, so my Homily blocks remind me that striving for perfection is a good thing and that nothing in this life is really perfect.” Try as I might, I couldn’t find any so called mistakes in this lady’s work. Her quilts to my, albeit inexperienced, eye are simply perfect, absolutely beautiful examples of an art form that is happily now being carried on in the village of Trimithousa. Anne and her husband settled here from the North of England in 1998.

“I worked as a draughtsperson for 30 years, then I took voluntary retirement, giving me the opportunity to study for a degree in Art History. It was a spell spent as a librarian within an art school that led me to study the art of quilting and I have been an enthusiast ever since”. But does one require special training to achieve the level of workmanship she has achieved? “I started sewing on an old treadle Singer, sewing when my children were small, on which I made all their clothes and toys. So I have always sewn, but to undertake quilting you have to have the combined talents of great patience, imagination, be a neat worker, and importantly be able to lose yourself in the sheer joy of the work, after which there is this enormous satisfaction that comes from having created something which can be handed down for generations, as quilts are considered even these days as highly precious heirlooms”.

Anne has been heavily influenced by the designs and colours generated by the American Amish community, with patterns called ‘tumbling blocks’ a ‘double Irish chain’ the ‘hole in the barn door’ ‘log cabin’ and the ‘bear’s paw’. She also creates her own signature quilts using a variety of natural materials, and her ‘mirror’ quilts, were the result of the influences she experienced when on a trip to India where she sourced new fabrics.

Frontier women may have thought they did not have much to pass on but each had one vital thing: their intricately worked marriage quilt, many of which even 150 to 200 years on are either still being used by the family or are on permanent display in special quilt museums.

Long gone is Anne’s old treadle machine. Now she works her fabric magic on a Swiss made Bernina 160 Arista sewing machine, the seamstresses equivalent of a Porsche. Her work is stunning to the eye, it’s portable, exceedingly practical and, as a wall hanging in a home, highly decorative.

n Anne’s quilts will be on display at ‘En Plo’ gallery, Paphos harbour (you can also buy with prices ranging from £125 to £500), part of an arts and crafts exhibition to be held from today until next Sunday. 10am-6pm