Friday, 29 March 2024

Textile Details

'The Alphabet Quilt', by Minority Ethnic Women's group facilitated by Deborah J. Stockdale. (Photo: Rory McCarron)
'The Alphabet Quilt', by Minority Ethnic Women's group facilitated by Deborah J. Stockdale. (Photo: Rory McCarron)

 

Title of Textile:The Alphabet Quilt
Maker: Minority Ethnic Women's group facilitated by Deborah J. Stockdale
Country of Origin: Republic of Ireland
Year Produced: 2010
Size (cm): 2.05m x 2.35m
Materials: A mixture of natural and synthetic fabrics
Type of Textile: Quilt
Description:

Working together over a six month period, identifying common issues and concerns, a group of women from five countries and the Irish Traveller's Community created The Alphabet Quilt. Using hand-woven Irish tweed and a rainbow selection of coloured cotton batiks (representing the multi-cultural backgrounds within the group), they identified words for each letter of the alphabet, and illustrated them using a variety of textile techniques.

The themes reflected were quite wide ranging, explains Deborah Stockdale, who facilitated the process: "from children, to cooking, from grief to xenophobia, tea to yoga, the topics we selected were a wide ranging snapshot of our lives."

The hands-on nature of the work facilitated lots of discussion and exchange of views: It is an engaging piece of work. As Deborah reflects: "[it] strikes a chord with almost everyone who views it."

The Alphabet Quilt was part of a larger alphabet project sponsored by Port na Fáilte, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal.

Owner: Donegal County Museum, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal
Location: In the care of project facilitator, (DJS) until permanent display is available.
Original / Replica: Original
Photographer: Rory McCarron
Provenance:



Textile exhibited at: The Alphabet Quilt, 16/06/2011 - 31/08/2011
Story Makers 2008-2011, Twenty-five textile stories, 13/03/2012 - 18/06/2012



Textile Detail Image(s)