Marks out of ten: 8/10
Quilts 1700-2010 at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) is a must-see exhibtion for anyone who loves quilts, is interested in social history or wants to find out more about quilt-making.  Sue Prichard has written a book that accompanies the exhibition, Quilts 1700-2010: Hidden Histories, Untold Stories; a gem that replicates the exhibition well and is great to delve into for inspiration.

The exhibition focuses on British quilt-making, yet still offers a very diverse range of examples created by very different makers and spans the 18th century to today. You will see a quilt created by present-day inmates at Wandsworth Prison, a military quilt created by soldiers in the 19th century, and a coverlet made during the Second World War from blackout curtains, old clothes and swatches, among many others. The exhibition ends with a Tracey Emin quilt adorning a bed (not the notorious Turner Prize bed but a much more old-fashioned and neat looking one).

Highlights of the exhibition were for me the Alphabet of Love and Courtship (1817-85); designed in the form of a game with squares, each square containing a scene that gives a humorous take on the many phases of courtship, love and marriage. My favourite part of the quilt was the scene labelled “TIFFS”, showing two lovers facing away from one another in a huff. The expression on the faces of the figures are priceless and I especially liked the bushy moustache.

Of the contemporary designs, I especially like “Punctuation” by Sara Impey, whose quilt has the letters of a poem set in squares along the width of the quilt. The poem begins:
SEE YOU SUDDENLY ONE DAY
AT
THE GAP BETWEEN THOUGHTS
OR IN
THE COLOUR OF SPEECH
OR ALONG
THE DASH OF THE STITCH

and ends:

NEVER DID LIKE
PUNCTUATION
SEE YOU SUDDENLY ONE DAY

Another favourite is: Patchwork with Garden of Eden, dated 1820. The quilt is the creation of Ann West and was admired at the time as much as it is now. The quilt contains scenes from everyday life (I particularly liked the man with a tankard of ale and a pipe) surrounding a central Garden of Eden scene.

You must see this exhibition or at least buy the book. I will leave you with a quote:

Quilts stimulate memories of warmth, comfort and security. They are familiar objects, yet carry a range of hidden histories and untold stories about textiles, women’s creativity or individual families.

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