At one of my favourite textile collections, Gawthorpe Hall, the following quote is embroidered onto a quilt top celebrating the wonderful maker and teacher Rachel Kay Shuttleworth:
“Cherish the Past, Adorn the Present, Create for the Future”.
I believe that it is important to take parts of our textile heritage, learn as much as we can from them and make them relevant in the twenty first century. It’s also an exciting challenge to inspire future generations to engage with making, and to create new quilts that both celebrate the past and are progressive.
Kim Martucci and Nisha Bouri have an infectious enthusiasm for the orphan quilt blocks they find at Brimfield Market in Massachusetts. They spend hundreds of hours stitching beautiful quilts and writing patterns to encourage others to give it a go and have built a strong and talented community around their vintage treasures.
I knew about their quilts through social media, and was excited to learn more about their story when we met at QuiltCon in Nashville. The quilts are truly stunning in real life – and as a big Liberty fan I loved spotting many of the classic prints. I would love to give one a go.
Perhaps you might take a second look at the fabric bins at a fair, or rescue an orphan quilt next time you come across one. Or let me know your story if you have discovered something exciting.
Find out more at https://brimfieldawakening.com
Thanks for watching and stopping by.
Jenni x
Jenni – Thank you so much for this interview. We enjoyed meeting and chatting with you. We appreciate the work you do, highlighting people from the quilting world. XO – Kim + Nisha @brimfieldawakening
Thanks for sharing your story. I love that you were brave to just start a business driven by passion and curiosity. I’m going to try a Brimfield block and give epp a proper go! X