Lilian Hedley, a long-term member of BQSG and well known exponent and teacher of north country quilting, talked informally on Friday evening about the history of a special quilt she has researched and made a reproduction of.
Saturday morning saw three papers presented and, following the lunch break when an anniversary cake was cut, Sue Prichard and Clair Smith from the Victoria and Albert Museum talked to us about the process of creating and funding a major exhibition.
The afternoon concluded with a talk by Helen Joseph,
a former Curator at the Shipley Gallery Gateshead. Helen shared her reminiscences about the Gallery’s renowned biennial exhibitions, which were of crucial importance in bringing both historic and art quilts to public attention.
The evening meal ended with Dorothy Osler, internationally known for her commitment to historic research of British quilts, talking about the group and proposing a toast.
Sunday morning saw two further research papers and an interesting appendix by way of family tree research which concluded the weekend. The concluding presenter was Celia Eddy, well known as an author in her own right and the first chair of BQSG.
The papers are listed and have been published in Quilt Studies 10.
Research papers given at Beamish
| Sibling, Cousin or Friend? Considering the relationship between two late 18C mosaic patchwork coverlets | Bridget Long |
| Reflections on Recent Practice-led Quilt Collaboration | Lynn Setterington |
| One Border, two continents, three countries: a study of a set of wholecloth quilts | Joan Foster |
| The Third Quilt: an investigation into possible connections between a coverlet in Nottingham and the Wyatt and Bloomfield coverlets | Margareta Faust |
| The Wyatt and Bloomfield Coverlets: the family connection | Carolyn Ferguson |
| Barbara Ponsonby’s Household Scrap-book: 19C perceptions of patchwork and quilting as reflected in the pages of a household scrap-book and The Queenmagazine | Celia Eddy |