ONE astute visitor to Chedham’s Yard in Wellesbourne will be taking home a ‘strippy’ quilt.
The quilt has been specially made by quilt maker Philip Anderson to be given away at the historic wheelwright’s yard on Saturday May 17.
Any visitor who would like to own the quilt can have a go at guessing how many pieces of fabric were used to make it. There is no charge to enter the competition and the nearest guess wins the quilt.
‘Strippy quilt’ is a recognised patchwork term.
Philip said: “It’s a way of using up a random selection of left over pieces. The pieces are cut into strips, thrown into a bag and then drawn out as they come to hand. No planning or deliberate design is involved.”
But the result has been the creation of a unique, washable and beautiful quilt. Visitors can also see and find out about traditional ‘charm quilts’, another variation on the re-cycling theme.
A different way of putting old and unwanted strips of fabric to creative use will be demonstrated by rag rug maker Linda Ledger. A skilled rag rugger, Linda produces rugs that are both artistic and useful. She is looking forward to spending the day at the yard and will help visitors to try their hand at this traditional craft.
Re-using old stuff is nothing new at Chedham’s Yard. The yard’s surviving Victorian accounts book contains frequent references to the wheelwrights fitting ‘scond hand’ (second hand) items such as wheels, axles, hoop ‘tires’ and strakes.
