We are Judy Harris and Karen Perry – from Oxfordshire and West Midlands – respectively who joined forces in November 2016 to promote the making of Memory/Fiddle quilts. We are delighted that Linda Seward, the well-known and highly esteemed writer and editor, lecturer, quilter and international judge has become our Patron.
Judy started sewing as a youngster, went to art school and studied graphics. She got so absorbed by her first quilt, she stayed up all night to finish it! Family life intervened, and patchwork and quilting were put aside until her children were teenagers. Judy is a regular at 3 local groups and an Oxfordshire representative for the Quilter’s Guild. She always enjoys a new challenge; fiddle quilts are her current passion. She sees each one as an intriguing puzzle, and is enjoying channelling her creative energies into something so useful.
Karen has been sewing since her schooldays although patchwork and quilting is a relatively recent enthusiasm. She has both a personal and professional interest in dementia – her mother in law, Joan, died from vascular dementia and Karen started her career in the public sector in the days when the first job after making contact with a vulnerable older person was to do a social history. Making Fiddle quilts brings those experiences together; the personal satisfaction from being creative; the importance of understanding an individual’s history and interests – which is particularly poignant when thinking about a loved one; the value of using someone’s favourite colours and images to stimulate conversation; and the benefits of constructive occupation for people with restless dementia.
A special thanks to Jonathan Woodall, a recently qualified journalist who has done a great job on collating the content for our dementia information and support page and acts as our roving reporter.
We have been pleased to hear Stories about how Fiddle quilts are benefitting people
Please do get involved and help us promote making more. If you need help in getting started see our Hints and Tips