COVID QUILT – LOCHCARRON QUILTERS AND STITCHERS
This quilt was created in individual blocks by members of Lochcarron Quilters and Stitchers during lockdown, reflecting on their experience of the pandemic and expressing complicated emotions of isolation, separation, togetherness and home. The makers of each block describe their work below.
JAN TEAGO (top row – left)
“My covid block started as a circle representing the year we had just had of lockdown. The seasons seen through a window, spring, summer, autumn, with the New Year fireworks at the top. A doctor or nurse with their masks in the middle as we saw them so often on the television, and to mark all their dedication and hard work.”
GILL ROSS (top row – middle)
“My covid block is all about hope and a light at the end of a very dark tunnel. Faith is sometimes shaken that’s why I put it on a slight slant but it gets us through the darkest times. The wonderful NHS is something we sometimes take for granted in this country as it’s always there for us when we need it. We appreciate the hard working staff who are dedicated in their ability to put things right when all hope is fading. Lastly the wee house is a statement that we all appreciate, no place like home.”
LIBBY FLACK (top row – right)
“I depicted my main theme by the map of Wales as I was unable to see my grandsons and family for a year! I used to Zoom them and my grandsons used to make the heart signs with their hands when they signed off!
“The other images are how I feel about the NHS, there were times when I wished I was back on duty helping them.
“We had a lot of images of the Coronavirus which I found interesting and how it changed over the months. The mask wearing was something we all had to get used to and now it is the norm!”
ANITA JONES (2nd row – left)
“My memories of the first lockdown;
“The complete silence with no sounds to compete with the bird song. Messy hair.
“Quilting, which helped to keep me sane, happy and relaxed. Being confined to home meaning the garden benefitted enormously. Me and my husband together and celebrating our 70th birthdays. Separated from our children and grandchildren but maintaining contact through iPads.
“And a huge thanks to the NHS and all who worked in it.”
ANN HICKEY (2nd row – middle)
“Home has always felt like a place of safety for me so when we were asked to stay at home to protect ourselves and our NHS I was quite comfortable to do just that.
“My hobbies (at any time) involve gardening, bird watching, stitching and embroidery so it was a natural thing for me to continue with these and reflect them in my design for my Covid patchwork block.
“I put a representation of my home in the centre of the block with smaller embroideries to each corner to represent my life and activities during the pandemic. All of them based around an aspect of gardening, I included my love of flowers, birds and wildlife within the patterns. I chose relatively soft but cheerful colours for fabrics and embroidery threads. I feel that many people found comfort and relaxation in these kind of activities for the first time during the Covid pandemic and hopefully they will continue as they are activities which I have found help me to relax and unwind after busy or stressful times in my life.
“Finally I quilted my block with a heart shape around the house and a line of winding stitching linking the four small embroideries to try to represent the longer than expected path we were asked to follow with social distancing from our families and friends.”
PAULA BLAMEY (2nd row – right / 3rd row – middle)
Masks
“I originally intended to make a block of my four grandchildren who I hadn’t seen for almost two years but part way though I decided it meant so much to me I couldn’t part with it. I then decided to make the mask block which didn’t evoke so much emotion. It’s amazing how quickly we have become used to people wearing masks, in fact it’s those that don’t wear them that stand out.”
Coronavirus Vaccination
“This illustrates the image of the virus and the importance of getting the vaccination, hence the syringe.
“Both quilts are colourful to reflect rainbows and the wonderful NHS, carers, etc, etc.”
JACKIE SHEDDAN (3rd row – left)
“When the announcement came in March 20 of a lockdown being introduced (initially for a few weeks!) to try and get the Covid outbreak under control, this was a completely new concept to most of us, but luckily spring was just round the corner, the weather was very good and time could be spent outdoors in the garden.
“However as news of deaths and cases of hospital admissions rising sharply, this began to hit everyone badly – the NHS were being overwhelmed!
“My Covid square begins with a grey cloud and sad face because of this. For me it was a time to get to grips with life as it was then and to keep my husband and myself busy without family and friends being allowed to be with us. From my block you can see that our sanity came following the five main strands which finally led us to cope and the sun with the happy face was where we arrived!
“We spent a lot of time outside gardening and enjoying nature, walking every day that we could and my passion for picnics came to the fore! When the weather was not so good we spent many hours doing jigsaws to pass the time.
“I have to say that technology came into its own having many many Zoom sessions with our family to keep in touch and make sure we were all ok. Our son organised quizzes, where many friends joined in remotely and this was such fun for all. We did cooking and baking demonstrations for each other and all in all technology was a godsend. Then the news of a vaccine was in the pipeline and so our spirits began to lift! It goes without saying that my sewing machine was very busy and I undertook to make scrubs for NHS.
“Luckily we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but lockdown beginning March 2020 will be a time we will never forget!”
KEIRA MCFLEAT (bottom row – left)
“I spent a large part of last year cutting down diseased trees and planting new ones, and quilting.
“But the tree represents my life during lockdown, trying to grow but confined, locked in. Branches in all directions as I felt pulled this way and that. The tree grey and dark but also with new life, hope in the form of tiny green buds. The branches with buds also represent those of us who are here, the one without life to remind us of those we lost. I created this tree in the shape of lungs, the twigs the bronchi most affected by Covid.
“The rainbow heart: the NHS at the heart of it all, containing the virus. The feathers representing the Rainbow of Hope. And my heart full of gratitude but missing my children and grandchildren.
“At the bottom, the virus last year on the left and the way it is now on the right, I hope.”
PAT CURLIS (bottom row – middle)
“Due to health issues I had to Shield during the Covid lockdown. Fortunately we have two very good families who live close by, who offered to collect shopping and prescriptions etc for me and my husband. One of the ladies sent us a card sending love from her family to us. This was the inspiration for my Covid block. The two houses represent our families and the rainbow represents the NHS and the hope for the future.”
TERESA MITCHELL (bottom row – right)
“When the first lockdown began I was listening to all the news broadcasts and anything else I could find to try and gain information and understanding about the new virus and its consequences. The same words were being repeated over and over again and they started to be used in everyday conversation. Stay safe we said to everyone, vaccination is the only way out, save our NHS and so on. These words and phrases were going round and round in my head and I was beginning to feel overwhelmed so for a while I stopped listening to the news and just got on with life in the new way.”
