Quilt and Flower Exhibition
9th – 17th September 2020 The Minster Church of St Andrew
2020 marks the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower from Plymouth UK to Plymouth Massachusetts. This is a unique opportunity to commemorate the legacy of the passengers and crew who undertook the journey and to highlight their stories and their heritage, which is embedded in communities across the UK, US and Netherlands.
As part of the commemoration ceremonies the Minster Church of St Andrew is planning to stage an exhibition of Quilts and Flowers in the Church and the Prysten House. The exhibition will be led by community groups from across the South West of England and will consider the themes of freedom, faith and personal liberty that informed the original journey and address themes of migration both in 1620 and today.
There will be quilts, quilted banners and embroideries made by quilting groups and local craft groups that will express four themes of the Mayflower 400 commemoration Leaving Home, Life at sea, Journey’s end, Life in a new land.
Through the Window
By Janet Greaves Stocker
This is a picture of the Prysten House as it might have been at the time of the Mayflower 400. The quilt was made for an exhibition held at Cowslip Workshops a couple of years ago and is a view from the Vicar’s Vestry window looking out over the lawn to the 15th Century building.
Thanksgiving Quilt
By Janet Greaves Stocker
This quilt is made in the style of log cabin. In the centre o f each square is something I am thankful for. The material was all in my stash as I wanted to make it from scraps I had to hand. No new material was used at all.
Life at Sea
By Janet Greaves Stocker
The background material was found in a outdoor market in Amiens Northern France in February 2018.
The Mayflower Baltimore Quilt
By Shirley Matthews
Made using traditional hand applique methods. The quilt has been hand quilted.
Waweekanash
By Ellen Seward
Waweekanash is the word used by the Wompanoag tribe for corn. The quilt was made using hand applique.
The Three Sisters
By Janet Greaves Stocker
This quilt with pumpkins, corn and beans on is called ‘The Three Sisters’, which was the style of planting that the Wampanoag people used and shared with the settlers. This act of kindness saved the settlers from starvation as their crops had failed for several years.
The Quilt For America
By Deb Fewster, Vicky Styles & Others
Jo Colwill, from Cowslip Workshops, kindly ran two workshops last year to help the local quilting groups refine and develop their designs for their quilts. Jo gave so much of her time for us to be able to design our quilts. On the day we gave out 10.5 inch squares of calico and asked participants to come up with a design for their squares the aim was to have two quilts one for the exhibition here in the UK and one for the exhibition in Plymouth America.
This is the first of the two quilts that were put together by a small group of quilters from St Andrews Church. It was hand quilted by Deb and Vicky
Leaving Home Quilt
By Janet Greaves Stocker
The Leaving Home Quilt was made using a combination of techniques and embroidery showing an English scene of the time. The pilgrims had to leave behind all their animals including sheep, cows and chickens. The panel along the bottom depicts a hay field being cut in the traditional way with the animals going over the stubble.
Prysten House Watercolour
By Richard Woodgate
This picture is of Prysten House and is by Richard Woodgate, who ran a watercolour class last year.
