ID number: TQ.2016.025
Name of interviewee: Chris Long
Name of interviewer: Denise Smith
Name of transcriber: Take 1
Location: Chris’s home
Address: Wall Heath, West Midlands
Date: 10 May 2016
Length of interview: 0:50:04
Summary
Chris introduces her ‘Pine Tress’ quilt made in 1989 from a pattern and design bought from America. She talks about telephoning the US to purchase the fabrics, making the quilt, and how it is used now. Chris has been quilting since the 1980s and reflects on how the quilting world has changed; discussing the difficulty finding good quilting fabric when she started, changes in sourcing designs and inspiration, the development of quilt exhibitions and changes to her local quilting groups. She also discusses her own quilting journey including; sewing machines, favourite techniques and styles.
Interview
Denise Smith [DS]: Talking Quilts interview, 2016.025. Interviewer, Denise Smith. Interviewee, Chris Long. Today is Tuesday the 10th of May, 2016 and we’re at the home of Chris Long in Wall Heath, West Midlands, and the time is just 1.30. Hello Chris.
Chris Long [CL]: Hello Denise.
DS: Uh, thank you for allowing me to come in… into your home and to interview you about this beautiful quilt today.
CL: Oh, that’s fine.
DS: We have this wonderful quilt in front of us, so would you like to tell me something about it, perhaps?
CL: Well, it’s called Pine Trees. I saw the pattern in an… an American book and loved it. I sent to America for the pattern, which was a big thing when I first started quilting, and I also sent for the fat quarters of material from America. We couldn’t get materials like this very much in England at first when we started quilting. So I was … I, uh, got really brave sending to America and not very American used my credit card details like I thought they would [laughs] [DS laughs]. But, uh, yes. And I enjoyed making it. I was still working at the time and I used to come home from work. I was a… a Nursing Sister, m … uh, a midwife, and I used to come home from work at ten o’clock at night and sit and quilt a block [laughs]. It’s all hand quilted.
DS: Yeah. So we’ve already measured it and it’s…
CL: Yes.
DS: … about 78 by 67 inches.
CL: Yes.
DS: Um, and it… the… it’s pine trees, and there are one, two, three, four… [CL: Four…] eight, 12, 16, 23, six, 20… 32?
CL: Yes. Give or take [laughs].
DS: 32? 32 pine trees, all of different colours, aren’t they? [CL: Yeah.] And you said you sent off to America for the fabrics? [CL: Uh, yes.] And what type of fabrics were they, d’you remember? The…
CL: They were just fat quarters.
DS: Just fat quarters?
CL: Yes. I chose them specially from, um, Keepsake Quilting. You just… I just chose separate ones and, um, this is what I got. It took me ages to fill the form in [laughs].
DS: And so what that by telephone or by post, then?
CL: Uh, I phoned. [DS: You phoned?] I phoned, yes. Another big step for me [laughs].
DS: Absolutely. And what… what year was that, d’you remember?
CL: 1989, 1988 I think I…
DS: So well before… [CL: … started] uh, the internet, then?
CL: Yes. Oh, yes. Yes.
DS: Brilliant.
CL: Yes. I felt quite brave, phoning America.
DS: Yes. [Laughter] And do tell us about the colours that you’ve used in this quilt.
CL: Well, I’ve chosen sort of tree autumnal colours, uh, because I thought they fitted in well. The pattern that I had was very similar to this. They’d used this type of colour, you know. I wouldn’t have liked it in blues and pinks. [DS: No.] It wouldn’t have looked right. And it was… you know, it… it… it taxed me a little bit, putting it together, because it … some of them were on the bias, and so forth.
DS: But this wasn’t your first quilt?
CL: No. This was about my third. I started about 1986, something like that.
DS: So what techniques did you use in this one, then?
CL: Well, I machine-pieced, um, put it together and, of course, it’s what I call sideways on… [laughs] yeah, on the … on the cross. So, uh, that’s quite difficult to set up. [DS: Yeah.] And then, um, I just machine-pieced and hand quilted. Um, the fabrics around the edge, the border and, uh, the brown fabric, were my own that I had… [DS: Yeah.] at that time, bought off the market [laughs].
DS: Yeah. It’s got, um, the … all the autumnal, uh, trees, haven’t we, and then… [CL: Yeah.] are they… are they, uh, surrounded by calico or is that a… a white on white fabric?
CL: It’s a white on white fabric. It’s a Laura Ashley fabric, actually. It’s a lawn. [DS: Mm.] But that’s all I could get. I couldn’t … you know, I couldn’t get to a quilt shop. I didn’t know any, you know. And, um, I got this fabric, which I … I always had bought fabric as thought it’s going out of fashion, and, uh, I got this fabric and it just seemed to fit in. It’s just a … a white on white, really, but… [DS: Mm.] it’s patterned. It’s what they used to use to make their dresses.
DS: That’s right, yeah.
CL: Um, and, of course, they have a sale twice a year and were selling three yards of fabric or two yards of fabric, you know, in the leftover bin and, um, that’s where this came from. So…
DS: So was that at the Laura Ashley factory?
CL: Laura Ashley shops.
DS: At the shops?
CL: In the shops, yes.
DS: Mm. So surrounding the actual…
CL: Is a Paisley, yeah.
DS: We’ve got, um, a… a sashing border, haven’t we? [CL: Yes.] About … is that about two inches? [CL: Yeah.] So two…
CL: Two and a half.
DS: And then a bigger, uh, border at the edge, like you say, uh, Paisley. [CL: Yes.] And then how… what binding have you used?
CL: I used the same…
DS: Is that the same as the…
CL: … as I used for the sashing. Yeah. For this. [DS: Mm.] The brown.
DS: Very nice. And the quilting style that you’ve used on there, what’s… have you machined or hand quilted?
CL: I’ve hand quilted and I have outlined each tree with quarter of an inch either way … either side of the sewing lines.
DS: And did you always hand quilt at that stage?
CL: At that stage I did, yes. I didn’t think you could do anything else. I didn’t think I could manage to get a big machine… big quilt through a machine. [DS: No.] I’ve done bigger than this not through a machine [laughs].
DS: Yeah. And there’s… there’s no… there’s no, um, quilting in the borders? You just did quilting…
CL: There’s no quilting in the borders, no. [DS: actually…] I wanted to do some afterwards and then I thought, no, I’ll mess it up, so I left it.
DS: Yeah. Have… has this one been on show anywhere, Chris? Have you put it into… into any… any show?
CL: I didn’t enter it into any shows but I did show it once when The Quilters’ Guild, I think, had an exhibition at Birmingham. This would be about 1980… 1990, something like that. [DS: Mm.] About then. And they… they… it was like one of these ordinary shows and they had a… a small, you know, quilt show and Region… I think Region 11 were asked to put in one or two quilts and I was asked to put this in.
DS: So that was before the Festival of Quilts started?
CL: Oh, yes. Yes.
DS: Long time ago.
CL: Long before the Festival of Quilts. But Malvern had just started. [DS: Malvern?] Malvern, um, Quilts UK.
DS: Okay.
CL: And so, um, yeah… but I never put it into any other show. It’s been at our local… [DS: Yeah.] bits occasionally. But it’s… it’s one of my favourites.
DS: Yeah. And one of your early ones are usually… are your favourites, aren’t they?
CL: Yes. And because it’s hand quilted as well, you know…
DS: Yeah. That makes it special.
CL: … it’s rather special. Yes.
DS: Um, and the backing on it, is there anything special?
CL: The backing is Laura Ashley lawn. [ DS: Lovely.] Um, which I thought fitted in quite well. Even in those days I wanted a pretty back, you know [laughs]. [DS: Always.] I didn’t want plain white, although I have got quite a few with plain white because it was easier to buy the… the white wide fabrics. [DS: Wide fabrics?] But, um, this is Laura Ashley and, um, it’s lawn.
DS: And was this one labelled at the time, Chris, or not?
CL: It was labelled, yes. The label’s come off… [DS: Mm.] and I’ve written a label on the hanging sleeve, which is still on the top, and that’s coming off. So I’ve written another label and I’m going to put it on when you’ve gone home [laughter]
DS: So where is it kept now? Have it… does… is it your… [CL: This? It…] is it kept here at your home?
CL: Yes. Um, I keep it in a wardrobe at the moment because we use … I’ve got a lot of quilts and we have a changeover about every three weeks and we put them on the bed and, when visitors come, they’re given a choice… [DS: Really?] and they can choose which one they want, and they never want one. ‘Oh, it’s too hot, I don’t want one.’ [Laughter] But they have the choice. They can choose whichever they like, which is quite nice. If I went somewhere and somebody said, ‘Which one would you like?’…
DS: Would you like?
CL: … I’d quite enjoy that.
DS: Absolutely, yeah.
CL: Yes.
DS: Quite a treat.
CL: But we do have it on the bed and it’s a summer quilt. It’s not a thick wadding.
DS: No. No, it’s quite a light one. What Sort of…
CL: It’s quite a light one, yes.
DS: What sort of wadding would you have used?
CL: It’s a surround polyester. [DS: Right.] But it’s got very thin over the years [laughs].
DS: Yeah. Have you … it has been washed, this one?
CL: This one’s been washed, yes.
DS: How d’you… how do you wash them? Do you…
CL: In the washing machine.
DS: … in the washing machine?
CL: Whatever…
DS: So gets stuck…
CL: … whatever else I’m doing, really. I’m not fussy. [DS: No.] You know, they’re to be used. That’s what I think about quilts. They should be used, not hung on walls or anything, really, you know. Those you do for a bit of fun. [DS: Yeah.] But these, I think, it’s nice to wash them and… you know, all the sons… I’ve got three sons and all… they like quilts… [DS: Yeah.] you know? In fact one son’s worn one out and he wants another. I dunno [laughs].
DS: Ah lovely, That’s nice.
CL: Have to think about that.
DS: That… uh, what are your feelings about this quilt? Are they… is it special?
CL: I love it. When I see it I want to hug it [laughs].
DS: Really?
CL: Yes.
DS: That’s lovely.
CL: It’s one of those kind of quilts, you know. [DS: Yeah.] And, uh…
DS: With the many memories with this one. Long days at work.
CL: [Sighs] Oh, yes [laughs]. Yes. Coming home at 11.30… [DS: Yeah, yeah.] and still having time to quilt, because you’re so high when you come home from work that, uh, I had to calm down a little bit. I did it in a hoop, ’cause I’m a great believer in quilting in a hoop. Some people don’t but I do. And I always wore a thimble, even from the start, you know. So, uh… I can’t think of anything else, really.
DS: No. How old were you when you did this one, then, if you don’t mind me asking?
CL: Oh… no, I don’t mind you asking. It’s working it out [laughs]. Where are we?
DS: What was it? 1989, did you say you made it? [CL: Yeah.] So that…
CL: And I was born in ’38. [DS: So it’s…] Yeah, ’48…
DS: … it… it’s 27 years old, then, isn’t it?
CL: Yes.
DS: Yeah.
CL: Yes. Yeah.
DS: Yeah. It’s worn well.
CL: It has, hasn’t it. [DS: Yeah.] But it only gets used… [DS: It’s been loved] about once a year. [DS: Yeah.] Um, and I washed it for you coming, you know, but I’ve only… [DS: Ah] washed it… when I made it, it was a little bit grey around the edges, [laughs] you know, with all the hand quilting and so forth.
DS: Yeah. Oh, well, it’s well loved, then.
CL: Oh, yes, it is. I always feel happy when I’ve had this on the bed, you know [laughs].
DS: Yeah, yeah. That’s good. [CL: Yes.] That’s good. So we’ll move on now and talk a bit… a little bit about you and your quilting life. So can you, uh… remember how and when you discovered patchwork and quilting?
CL: Well, when I was first married we lived in Walsall, this is 1964 to ’68, and when I was there they had an exhibition at the art gallery, the library, as they called it. They had a sort of gallery up above that they had exhibitions and they had Amish quilts there and I went to see these and I thought they were the most wonderful things I’d ever seen, ’cause I hadn’t seen any patchwork quilts. You always thought they were these cobbled together … little bits that people had, you know, um, holding up something or covering something in the attic. But, no, these were Amish quilts and I can remember, um … well, they would call it sunshine and shadow but I call it trip around the world, and they’d got those and they were little two inch squares and I thought wonderful colours and hand quilted and, oh, I was amazed at these quilts. They’d got several others but I can still remember this trip around the world. Um, then I didn’t do anything. I … I was busy with children and so forth. And then about 1985/86 … I always did hand work. I did, uh, embroidery and stuff like that, you know, sewed my own clothes. But, uh, about 1986 they started a quilt group at Wombourne. It was Angela Meigh, Sheila Biel and Margaret, uh, Davidson and they started a little group there and I went to their first exhibition and they’d had to borrow quilts in from lots of other groups, you know. They hadn’t got enough that they were making themselves. And I was … oh, I couldn’t wait to start. I couldn’t wait to go to the meetings, you know. And they got quite a few people from that and that’s how Wombourne Quilters began. And I … oh, I used to look forward to the meetings. Every month I used to trot along, you know. And what people made … I made such a lot of things in the early days, just trying things out, and that. Mostly by machine. I … I’m not a hand piecer. But I … I will hand quilt but not very often. And the last bit of … big piece of hand quilting I did was a whole cloth quilt… [DS: Mm.] and I did that for the… the millennium… [DS: Brilliant.] and we had it on the bed for millennium night, which was quite a thrill. It wasn’t quite finished, so we didn’t have to move because the needles were inside [laughs]. But it’s a big one. It’s about a hundred and ten long and about 98, uh, hundred wide. And so we were all right. We didn’t move much [laughs].
DS: So there’s nobody else in your family that ever quilted? It was just you were ins… you were inspired by this…
CL: Yes, I was inspired. Yes.
DS: By this…
CL: And when I went to my first quilt show you go through the door and there’s all this riot of colour and that was wonderful. And we used to go to all the area ones. They used to have one at Ascot. They had one at, um… I can’t think of these other places… before they started the Festival of Quilts. And, uh, used to go to them all. We used to have a coach from Wombourne, you know, and off we went. My husband used to come as well ’cause he doesn’t like to let me loose in these fabric shops [laughter]. And that… so, uh, yes, my husband used to come as well to make sure I didn’t spend too much. [DS: Mm.] I could spend a bit but not too much… [DS: Not…] ’cause he had to carry it, you see [laughs]. But he still comes with me and we go to Quilts UK at Malvern every year and the Festival of Quilt now every two years. I’m getting on a bit. I can’t stand the pace, you know… [DS: Hm mm.] and that. Yes.
DS: So do… do you remember the first quilt you ever made?
CL: Yes. The first quilt I ever made was before I started going to Wombourne Quilters. I made it for my mother and I made a Bargello quilt… [DS: Oh.] in… in nice polyester… [laughter] and they were very bright colours, you know, pinks, blues, greens, that kind of thing, and I did it all by eye [laughs] measuring them, you know, Bargello by eye. But, actually, it turned out very well and my mother loved it. [DS: Hm mm.] She was so thrilled when I gave it to her. She was so thrilled she put a frill around it [laughter]. As they do, you know, and that. I was a bit upset at the frill but I never said anything. And then I made another one from Laura Ashley bits that I made for myself and those were only squares that I bought and they were navy and tan with a bit of red, and really they were quite dull colours. I… I quite like bright colours. And they were dull colours. But I bought the… the polyester again. Navy and… and beige and I filled it with four ounce wadding, which made it nice and thick [laughs] and then I started quilting it and we’ve still got that, that we… we give to the plumbers and people like that who come to do a job and we don’t want a mess on the floor [laughs].
DS: [Laughs] It washes well, though.
CL: But … yes, it washes well [laughs]. But I’ve still got it, yes. Uh, yeah.
DS: So was it… was it made for a special occasion…
CL: No.
DS: … or was it just …
CL: No. I don’t make quilts for special occasions. I’ve still got one that I was going to do for the Queen’s Jubilee and I’ve got to quite finish it. I thought I’d do it for her 90th birthday. Uh, was going to do it for, uh, Prince William and Katherine whatever, uh, birthday … uh, first child. Didn’t manage that. Never did it for the second child. If they … if they don’t have another this quilt’s never going to get made. I thought I’d do it for the Queen’s 90th but that’s next month and I… [laughs] I’m a bit pushed for timing… [DS: Mm.] at the moment.
DS: Way she’s going on perhaps you’ll do it for the 100th [laughs].
CL: Yes [laughs]. Yes, I shall be nearly as old as she will [laughter] Yeah.
DS: Um, do you spend a lot of time quilting now?
CL: It goes in p… patches. You know, sometimes I can’t wait to do this one and do that one, and I see a pattern and I, oh, gotta start that. Or I buy… buy something, you know, and I think I must do that, and then other times I can’t be bothered. [DS: Mm.] You know, I think everybody feels like this… [DS: Yeah.] don’t they.
DS: I think it … it’s time of year thing as well, isn’t it.
CL: Yes. Yes.
DS: Nice days you want to be out.
CL: Yes. And my sewing room isn’t the warmest place even in a … a modern house. It’s, uh, seems a bit chilly up there, you know, and dark and dank. So, uh, I have a sewing room now. I never did have [laughs].
DS: So when… when you get to your sewing room you… you… you machine piece or…
CL: I machine piece, yes. [DS: Yeah.] Or stroke my fabric or try to tidy up or whatever one does [laughs] in a sewing room [laughter] I’m not the perfect person, you know. I’m… I’m not that tidy but I know where everything is.
DS: I don’t think us quilters are tidy people. We want to…
CL: No. Well, when you’re… when you’re auditioning fabrics for a quilt, if you look in your stash you’ve never got the right colour, have you? [DS: Mm.] So…
DS: Um, we keep talking about stash. I think we’d better explain what a stash is.
CL: Stash is a collection of materials you haven’t used yet but you’re going to [laughs].
DS: Mm, one day [laughs].
CL: One day [laughs].
DS: If you’re brave enough to cut them up [laughs].
CL: Yes. Yes. Well, some you can’t because they’re too nice.
DS: Absolutely. To be stroked only.
CL: Yes. Some are just stroked. And, of course, when people know that you make these quilts they say, ‘Oh, will you make me one?’ Now, the amount of time you spend in quilt is … is quite a long time. They want you to make it for a fiver and perhaps a box of chocolates … or just the chocolates, you know. And they’re surprised when you say, ‘No, it’ll cost you a hundred and 50 or 200 pounds for the fabric’, you know. [DS: Mm. Mm.] And they always want the most complicated pattern, like a ’94 compass… [laughter] mariner’s compass quilt, [laughs] as somebody wanted. ‘I want a lot of points’ [laughs]. I thought yes. So… [DS: Mm] he’s still waiting [laughs].
DS: Yeah. Yeah. What … what type sewing machine do you have now?
CL: Now I’ve just bought a new one. I have several sewing machines.
DS: How many have you got?
CL: Well, five but I’m getting rid of two [laughs] But I have a… a Pfaff at the moment… [DS: Mm.] and it’s a Pfaff Performance Five, which, uh, will mean nothing in a 100 years’ time but it… [DS: Mm.] it’s… it’s a really super thing and I bought it at a show at a discount. I’ve always liked Pfaff because they’ve got what they call IDT, which is… uh, I can’t think what the letters stand for but it means that you can, um, press something and so the fabric doesn’t move… [DS: Oh.] by the presser foot and it is really good. [DS: Okay.] Integrated dual feet. So that if you’re matching… [DS: Okay.] up a plaid, the plaids match… [DS: Oh, wow.] because it keeps the bottom the same as the top. [DS: Oh.] And it… it’s very good. And once you’ve used one of these IDTs… other ca… other firms now have it, the same kind of thing but not… [DS: Mm.] called IDT. But it isn’t as good as the Pfaff, which were the original ones. You can just undo it or do it at the same time.
DS: Never heard of that one before. Is that good for when you’re piecing them…
CL: Yes.
DS: … and your…
CL: Because you’ve joined… yes.
DS: … join is…
CL: Yeah. Yeah.
DS: … seams to be done.
CL: And this … this machine, actually, I can key in certain things because, of course, it’s computer generated but I can key in certain things and, um, it will do a certain length of seam. And I can key in s… other things and it starts off and it ties off and it finishes off and ties off and cuts the thread.
DS: Cuts the thread.
CL: Yes.
DS: Does it tell you when your bobbin’s nearly empty?
CL: Yes.
DS: Oh, I’m impressed.
CL: [Laughs] And it, um, it also… which is one… one of the reasons I bought it, I… I can do nine millimetre width stitches and I can design my own stitches. [DS: Oh.] Only to a certain limit, you know. So you take one of the ones that you like and you sort of add little points on and things like that. But it will… [DS: Yeah.] do that and then, uh, sew it, which is quite nice. [DS: Yeah.] And it also, when you’ve… when it cuts off it, finishes off so that your seam doesn’t open up and then it pushes all the cottons to the back. [DS: Back.] Now, I mean, this is a… a… oh, it’s a saver if you’re making… [DS: Yeah.] a… a posh quilt, you know. [DS: Yeah.] It really is, so I’m…
DS: It’s, um, sounds impressive.
CL: … quite pleased with that, yes.
DS: So how d’you go about… if you… you decided to make a quilt.
CL: Yes.
DS: How d’you go about it? d’you go out and buy a pattern or…
CL: I see a pattern. I may have a pattern or there’s something in my head, you know, the generic patterns that are around everywhere… [DS: Yeah.] and I’ll think ‘I’m going to do that and I want to do it in red, purple and green’, or something like that. [DS: Mm.] Um, nowadays, because I belong to several internet groups, I go on the net and have a look and they will say, ‘Shop your stash.’ [DS: Hm mm. Good.] You’ve never got the right colour. But they mean well. [DS: Yeah.] And when I got to the shows and see all this lovely fabric I want to buy it. [DS: Mm.] [Laughs] But I have got enough to keep people going for the next 20 years or so [laughs]. Yes.
DS: So you… you like… you like to follow a pattern rather than designing your own?
CL: I don’t like to design my own. Whenever I’ve tried that, disaster has struck… [DS: Yeah.] you know. Things don’t quite meet or you’ve run out of fabric or something like that. [DS: Mm.] I’m quite happy with somebody else designing the fabric. [DS: Yeah.] I’ve always been happy with somebody else doing the designing, you know…
DS: Similarly, yeah.
CL: … and there are so many patterns now you’ve only got to change the colours and nobody recognises them, do they.
DS: No. That’s true. That’s true.
CL: Yeah. So, uh, no, I’m quite happy to let somebody else do it. [DS: Mm.] I’m not one of these modern quilters. I… all mine are traditional… the patterns, as such. [DS: Yeah.] Or you would call them traditional. They’re not this, you know, modern where you have a … a couple of stripes and, you know, that’s it [laughs].
DS: No. That’s right.
CL: Yeah.
DS: So, um, we’ve … we’ve talked about, um, the pattern that you like… you prefer, so when you piece it you … you mainly piece. Is it blocks you do or do you do, like…
CL: I do a block… [DS: applique?] and then I do another block. I… I don’t do, like some people do, a little bit of every block, you know, the same… [DS: Mm] technique on on every block. I will piece one bo… block completely and then I will do another block completely. I don’t do separate bits. [DS: Yeah.] I get in a muddle if I do [laughs].
DS: Yeah. Yeah. Fin… like to finish one off…
CL: Yes. Yes.
DS: … and then start afresh again?
CL: Yeah.
DS: Do you, uh, ever do any applique?
CL: Not much. I’m not into applique except for the stick and hope type, you know, where you… [laughs] you stick it on the front and hammer it with the iron and then go around the edge. No. I… I have tried needleturn applique and I have got a quilt to make that is needleturn but I might do the stick and hope [laughs].
DS: So… so what comes first when you decide to make a quilt? Is it your fabric or is it your… your pattern?
CL: It’s the pattern usually. [DS: Yeah.] And then the fabric. [DS: Yeah.] I might have enough. I might send up for some. I might, you know, buy some at a show, or something like that. So, um, yes. People give you fabric but you don’t want whatever they give you because it’s always the wrong stuff. [DS: Yeah.] You know, corduroy or stuff like that, and I’m not making those kind of quilts, you know.
DS: No. Mm.
CL: And, uh…
DS: So what… what type of fabrics do you… d’you go for? What make? Any preference?
CL: Um, no. I like a decent fabric, you know. You can feel them and you rub them between … from a person who’s rubbed material between her fingers since the age of three, I can tell [laughs] whether it’s a good fabric or whether there’s a lot of…
DS: But why…
CL: … dressing.
DS: And is… why … why is that? Is it just something you…?
CL: I just like the feel of silk.
DS: Feel of it? Oh. Yeah.
CL: My… well, it was in the war but my father used to send my mother silk handkerchiefs ’cause he could put them in an envelope… [DS: Really?] and, um, my mother let me have them, of course, and I used to rub the silk to go to sleep.
DS: Was that when he was away at war or…
CL: Yes. Yes. When he was in the army. [DS: Yeah.] Yeah. So I used to rub the silk by my ear. It was comforting [laughs].
DS: Yeah. Yeah. It is comforting, isn’t it, when you’re using fabrics.
CL: Yeah.
DS: It’s very relaxing I find.
CL: Yeah. Well, it’s like stroking it, isn’t it? Sometimes… [DS: Yeah.] you can go up to your sewing room and just stroke it… [DS: Yeah.] and move that one to that one because you think it goes better or move that one to that one… [laughs] [DS: Yeah.] and that, yes.
DS: Yeah. It’s … it’s, uh, eye… eye therapy as well, isn’t it…
CL: Yes.
DS: … when you’re …
CL: Oh, yes.
DS: … putting all your colours…
CL: I have to see it. I love fabric, yes. [DS: Yeah.] I mean, I’ll have a stroke in any shop, you know [laughs]. Yes, I like the feel of velvet and stuff like that. Tactile stuff. [DS: Yeah] You know? It really is… [DS: Yeah.] Yeah.
DS: It’s like stroking an… an animal, isn’t it?
CL: Yes, it is.
DS: ’cause that’s a sort of therapy, that relaxing.
CL: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. We haven’t got any animals now, except a few ants and you can’t stroke those [laughs].
DS: [laughs] So it’s commercially… commercial fabrics?
CL: Commercial fabric, yes. I have try… been down the road of dying my own fabric. I don’t care for it. [DS: No.] It’s such messy stuff [laughs]. I’ve tried the, um… when I did City & Guilds I’ve tried the, uh, melting wax and wax resist.
DS: Uh, the batiks?
CL: Oh, yes. I’ve tried teabags, I’ve tried coffee, I’ve tried rust, I’ve tried the lot. And I like buy… bought fabrics the best [laughs].
DS: You like the cheque book sort? [Laughs]
CL: Yes [laughs].
DS: Lovely. D’you go for plain colours or patterns?
CL: I used to. I used to love the Amish. I loved those. And then the Amish started to do patterns, didn’t they [laughs].
DS: So Amish… when you say Amish what sort of colours would they have… have used?
CL: Well, purples and, um… they put funny colours together but they look right when they do it. Didn’t use much yellow, most of them anyhow. It’s a colour they didn’t use. Uh, but it was maroons and… and dark navies and dark greens and things like that. They are a bit brighter now but, um… and sometimes they do get a… a lovely turn between each so that they are rather nice. And I did one or two Amish quilts but, uh, not now. [DS: Mm. Mm.] Not now. I like the plain fabric as well as the patterned, you know…
DS: Patterned.
CL: … and… and that. I have a lot of plain fabric. I must make another [laughs].
DS: Do… d’you like the modern fabrics, you know, the… the new designs that are coming out now or d’you tend to stick to the traditional?
CL: I tend to like the smaller prints, you know. Nowadays the cl… classic type fabrics with great big cabbage roses and stuff like that, I… I’m not too sure about those. Although I have got a Kaffe Fassett to make because I fancied it. But, uh, I’m not too sure about these great big patterns. It’s quite difficult to… to do anything with the fabric except… [DS: Yeah.] use big… [DS: Yeah.] big squares and so forth, and most of the stuff I… I do is fairly sort of small. [DS: Yeah.] Not minute. Not one inch squares or anything like that or… [laughs] or half inch squares. [DS: Yeah.] Been that route. Done that [laughs].
DS: And you say you pr… you buy your fabrics…
CL: Yeah.
DS: … just at the shows or you have a… what…
CL: I buy it… well, there was a quilt shop in, um, Wombourne… no, uh, it’s Trysull. Jackie’s White Cottage Crafts. [DS: Mm.] I used to go there a lot. Then I stopped buying fabric. I used to buy when we went to the various exhibitions and so forth, when there were traders there. Used to buy it there. Used to buy at the shows. And then, um, there was a shot that opened in Hereford, Doughty’s, and we had one or two little trips to Doughty’s and Doughty’s were very obliging. They used to come to groups and… with their fabric and so forth. [DS: Mm.] And so, um, they’ve always had lots of fabric and it’s always a bit cheaper than anywhere else because I think they buy up the… what’s left from when quilt show… shops go out of business. [DS: Do they?] And so they’ve got some nice fabrics. [DS: Mm.] They aren’t as cheap now as they used to be when father was there but, uh, it’s still very nice, and it’s a lovely trip out.
DS: It is, yeah.
CL: But…
DS: It is. It’s a nice ride down.
CL: Yeah. We used to have a trip from the… the group every so often. We used to come back. I could hardly stagger [laughter]. It was…
DS: Okay. So we … we’ve… we’ve got your pattern and we’ve got your fabrics and you’ve… [CL: Yeah.] you’ve pieced your… your quilt together… [CL: Yeah.] on your machine. So then we’re … you … you’re on to your … your quilting. So how … how are you quilting now? d’you do hand or …
CL: I… I hand quilted this one and I… [DS: Yeah.] I did hand quilt quite a few, in a hoop. [DS: Yeah.] A 14 inch hoop. I did do it on an 18 but I couldn’t reach and so then I… I went to a 14 inch and, although you have to keep changing the hoop a lot, it’s much easier to manage. [DS: Mm.] I haven’t got long arms and I manage to fit in quite well. Yeah.
DS: So is that the… the method you use now?
CL: Yes.
DS: You don’t do machine… no?
CL: I do do machine quilting. [DS: Mm.] I’m not brilliant at free motion but I’m as good as anybody else [laughs]. [DS: Yeah.] You know? It’s … it’s just one of those things. Doesn’t take that much to do it but I don’t … it … it’s the strain on everything like your neck and your shoulders… [DS: Mm.] and your hands… [DS: Yeah.] you know. But I will do it. [DS: Yeah.] I keep thinking it’s going to be quicker but it’s never quicker [laughs].
DS: No, it’s not. Do… d’you ever send any away to be professionally quilted?
CL: I have sent one away… two away and they were beautifully done. Um…
DS: Where did you send them to, Chris?
CL: Her name was Barbara. I can’t think of her surname. It was Fir Tree Quilting, anyhow. I like the name, you see, and I like trees [laughs]. Uh, but Barbara… I can’t think of her name. I could probably look it up. And she did it beautifully. [DS: Mm.] And that… and I had one quilted by the Quilt Room because I’d bought the block a month… block of a month from them… and so I had it quilted there, and it was all right, you know. But, uh, I liked Barbara whatever’s better. [DS: Yeah.] She spent a lot of time and trouble, you know, doing it.
DS: Yeah. They do look beautiful, I must admit.
CL: They do. They do.
DS: But, uh, there is something special about one that you’ve done yourself and…
CL: Well, you… you have a soft spot for it, don’t you? [DS: Mm, yeah.] Yes. Yeah.
DS: Uh, I … I … I know from, um, conversations we’ve had before that you’ve… you’ve travelled…
CL: Oh, I’ve travelled, yes.
DS: … a lot.
CL: Yes.
DS: So, on your travels…
CL: No, no, I don’t buy … I don’t look for fabric [laughs]. [DS: No?] No, I don’t. I… I think a holiday, because I’m with my husband, is his holiday as well and he does not… [DS: Mm.] want to spend it going round every quilt sh… quilt shop in… in the neighbourhood. But I must admit when we’ve been to America we’ve gone to New York a lot and we’ve gone to the, um, City Quilter. I can remember that when it first started. We went the first time it was open, about 1987, something like that. All these fabrics. But you had to ring a bell to get in. It was in an area that wasn’t quite nice [laughs]… [DS: Hm mm.] and so we had to ring a bell and they opened the door for you, and they still do [laughs]. [DS: Yeah. Yeah.] And I love this City Quilter and they have so much now, and I’ve bought quite a few bits and pieces from them… [DS: Yeah.] because if you’re on a boat you can carry it back, you know.
DS: That’s right, yeah. [Laughter] No so easy when you’re on a plane.
CL: No, it isn’t. It isn’t. But, yeah… yeah. [DS: Good.] And I… I… I like that. It isn’t the best quilting shop and they chose the … the best price, you know. [DS: Mm.] But I have their emails every week … every month, you know, and so forth, and they do do lots of different things. They’ve been making tuffets at the moment.
DS: Been making, sorry?
CL: Tuffets. Bear in mind this isn’t finished yet.
DS: Oh, it’s like a little pouffe?
CL: Yes. Yes. It isn’t finished yet. I was hoping to finish it for when you came but unfortunately it isn’t.
DS: Oh, that’s very pretty.
CL: So I’ve got to pull it round so that it’s… it’s taught… [DS: Yeah.] all over. And then hold the button in. And that… it was fun choosing the fabrics. [DS: Yeah.] [Laughs] I used up four jelly rolls on that. [DS: Really?] Well, because I was trying to find the right colours, you see [laughs].
DS: It is very pretty.
CL: So now I’ve got four jelly rolls to make into something [laughs].
DS: Something [laughs]. Oh. Absolutely. [CL: Yes.] Strippy quilts come in on there.
CL: Oh, yes. Yes. I’ve got three patterns… [DS: Um…] but I won’t use them all [laughs].
DS: So you… you s… you speak about using the internet.
CL: Yes. A lot.
DS: D’you use… you use it a lot?
CL: Yes.
DS: So what… what groups are you a member of on the…
CL: I’m a group … a member of several Yahoo groups. One is British Quilt List, which I don’t … I don’t write up to them at all. I just read everybody’s information and look at the pictures. [DS: Yeah.] Um, one is Stash Busters, which has about 5,000 members all over the world, not just America, you know. [DS: Mm.] So there’s quite a few in Britain and, uh, Australia as well. And then various odd … oddments, you know. One from Germany, one from here, one from there. But, uh, you know, people who’ve… either English speaking who’ve gone to live somewhere else or… or perhaps Germans whose English is very good. [DS: Hm mm.] Because, you know, some of the… the… the words are not sort of common language, so you’d need to know what you were talking about. [DS: Mm.] Uh, yes. Um, I look… like Stash Busters. There’s Bonnie Hunter’s website, which is called … oh, it’ll come to me in a minute. I can’t think of that. Uh, and then I belong to several specialist ones. Like, I’ve got a 222, um, Singer Featherweight and there’s…
DS: Can I just… what’s…
CL: Yeah.
DS: … what’s a 222?
CL: It’s a Singer…
DS: It’s a sewing machine?
CL: It’s a sewing machine, yes, and it is a specialised machine that they made for about 50 or 60 years and it’s a lightweight one and, um, the… the Americans love them because you could do free machining on them. You could lower the feed dogs… [DS: Mm.] easily and yet it’s a little, small machine and they talk about them a lot in America. But there’s a lot of people in this country who’s still selling them. They do a lovely stitch. [DS: Mm.] But… I had mine for my 21st, my sewing machine… [DS: Mm.] that sewing machine, and they were made in Scotland. Um, the K … 222K were made in Scotland. And they’ve got a bit that folds up so that it’s only a small thing that you have to take to workshops and so forth and they came in a lovely wooden box or black case all around the outside, with a lock.
DS: It sounds lovely.
CL: And I’ve still got the keys for the lock [laughs]. Yeah. But I… I… I don’t use it but I have just had it serviced, so… [DS: Yeah.] I might get rid of that. But it… it fetches quite a lot of money now… [DS: Yeah.] and that. It’s a… it’s an electric one. It isn’t… but a lot of the Americans use treadle machines. Goodness knows how they manage. [DS: Really?] But they do. Yes. [DS: Yeah.] So, that’s that. And I’ve got… oh, I’ve tried various machines in my time [laughs]. [DS: Yeah.] I’ve got a Janome as well.
DS: So, um, what… you… you mentioned City & Guilds earlier.
CL: Yes.
DS: So City & Guilds in… in…
CL: Stourbridge.
DS: In… in what subject?
CL: Oh, um, patchwork and quilting, sorry. Yes.
DS: So what… what made you decide to go on a… do that, um…
CL: I wanted to… um, one of the big people in the quilting world at that time was Linda Kemshall and she started a group of doing City & Guilds exams in Stourbridge. [DS: Oh, okay.] So I went to that. I found it extremely difficult because… [sighs] when you’re working, as soon as they know that you do something every week they try and put you on that day, don’t they, when you’re working [laughter]. You know? They get a bit jealous. Mm. But, uh… yes. [DS: So…] I found… I found it quite good. It was carting the stuff there and back that was the trouble. [DS: Yeah.] They provided the machines but, you know, they’d been used by teenagers and [laughs] they weren’t at their best.
DS: The … did the… the City & Guilds, was that at the very start of you and…
CL: Yes.
DS: … your quilts? Or did you have… find you had…
CL: No, it wasn’t at the very start. It was about 96/97, something like that. [DS: Okay.] So I’d been quilting for some time. I knew what quilting was about… [DS: Yeah.] and that. Whereas some of the people who did that had never h… heard of it. It was just another evening class to go to… [DS: Yeah.] you know… [DS: Yeah.] and that.
DS: That’s good. Have you attended any other workshops?
CL: Oh, I’ve done quite a few workshops in my time. I don’t do many now but I, um, I have done them with… with Jackie from White Cottage Country Crafts… [DS: Hm mm.] who was excellent at teaching… [DS: Mm] and I’ve done one or two from there, and I’ve done… famous people really [laughs]. Um… I did… I can’t remember the woman’s name but she used to demonstrate Bernina machines and she was very good. Learned a lot of tips on using machine from her. [DS: Mm.] You know? When to turn with a zigzag and so forth so that… [DS: Mm.] everything fitted in neatly. Um, now I’ve got a machine that will do it for me. It will calculate the angle and that’s it [laughs]. [DS: Brilliant.] Yes [laughs]. [DS: Brilliant.] Yes. Um, I’ve done workshops with some of the famous people. Uh, I can’t think of any… any names now.
DS: Any particular things that you made with them on the workshops that you can remember?
CL: [Whispered] Uh, no. [DS: No?] Um, no, I can’t think of anything really. I went for the technique often.
DS: Yeah. Learn a new technique?
CL: Leaning a new technique. I did a chickens, um, one, which was paper pieced, which I don’t care for doing but I will do if… if I… you know, if it’s something that I want… [DS: Mm.] I will do paper piecing. And I don’t end up with a hole in the middle and this kinda thing, [laughs] which is what you get with that sometimes. [DS: Mm.] But I did do a chicken workshop with somebody who was doing the rounds, doing this chicken workshop. I’ve done, um, Dawn Cameron Dick. I’ve done a couple of workshops with her. They’ve been quite good. [DS: Yeah.] I’ve done… uh…
DS: They… something you enjoy doing at the time?
CL: Oh, yeah. Yes. Yes. Invisible applique… [DS: Yeah.] and so forth. And those… they’re very interesting, these workshops, because you meet these people you would never see otherwise.
DS: That’s right.
CL: And I… I do one or two anyhow now with the Embroiderer’s Guild because the … the line has been finely crossed, really, and embroidery and patchwork are very similar. [DS: Yeah.] So some of these people are doing either, you know. [DS: Yeah.] Mixed medium and so forth, so that’s quite interesting. [DS: Yeah.] Yes.
DS: So, are… are you a member of The Quilters’ Guild?
CL: I used to be. I had to come out. I had very limited income and the Embroiderer’s Guild was going up and up [laughs]. And The Quilters’ Guild was going up and up. And I thought what do I get out of either of them? [DS: Mm.] And I thought I got more from the Embroiderer’s Guild than I did from The Quilters’ Guild. The Quilters’ Guild you get a magazine three times a year and that was it, more or less. And I… I am a great supporter of The Quilters’ Guild. All my stuff is going to them when I pop my clogs [laughs]. [DS: Really?] Well, I said to my husband, ‘Give the… give it all to them. They will know what to do with it.’ Uh, rather than sell it and just give money to charity, you know, I’d rather they sorted it out and said, ‘Oh, we can give these to every area day and they can make something’, or something like that. [DS: Yeah.] Um, but I do enjoy The Quilters’ Guild. [DS: Yeah.] And, uh…
DS: Are you a member of any other quilters group?
CL: Wombourne Quilters.
DS: Oh, you mentioned them earlier. You’ve been a member of… um…
CL: I’ve been a member since it started, virtually.
DS: Started.
CL: Not quite the first couple of meet…
DS: So that’s how many years?
CL: [Sucks in breath] About 30. Yes, about 30. My goodness. I used to go and then I stopped going for a couple of years, you know. Things were getting… I… I… I wasn’t well, and this kinda thing, so I didn’t go for a couple of years. But I did miss it. But it has changed a lot. When we first started we were all new together. We all mucked in. Everybody did everything. When we had to take a plate of food it was always homemade. Nowadays we go and people who are quite busy take packet of biscuits or a… um, a packet of something. [DS: Mm.] They don’t make anything now. [DS: Oh.] And, uh, the group is a bit, um… bit serious now, you know. Um, I mean, I… I… I have been leader and I used to go around everybody asking how this quilt was and how the cat was and, you know, that kinda thing, and they… they liked it. I mean, we got it up to 35 members, and that was just enough for our little room to cope with, and that, and we had a lovely time and it was nice to see people who go… when you go to the shows you give a hug and a kiss to half a dozen people you meet there, but only there. But, oh, I’ve done, um, a couple of Ineke Berlin’s, uh, workshops as well. [DS: Mm. Mm.] Um, but nowadays it seems so serious and the angst they express over, you know, a little bit of fabric, I can’t believe [laughs].
DS: [Laughs] You like it to be a bit more light-hearted… [CL: Yes.] when you go? [CL: Yes.] Yeah. Yeah. It is more about the social side, isn’t it?
CL: It is the social side as much as anything, yes. [DS: Mm.] And nobody sort of talks to anybody much now, you know. I’ve gone back and really if there weren’t the people that I originally started with, you know… [DS: Mm.] I wouldn’t… the youngsters don’t seem to talk to you. Perhaps they think differential, you know [laughs]. [DS: Mm.] There’s an old woman. We’d better not talk to her.
DS: Mm. Perhaps thinks you’re more experienced [laughs].
CL: Yeah. Yeah. But, you know… [DS: Yeah] it still has its good points.
DS: But you still enjoy being…
CL: I still enjoy being a member. And I love it when they get people that I haven’t heard of, perhaps. Or somebody brings all their quilts. Now, we had a talk at Embroiderer’s Guild last night. Um, she brought all her work that she’d done, you know. Multi-media and this kinda thing. And it was lovely to see all this work. [DS: Yeah.] And she is a member of Wolverhampton group. And I like it when you get somebody from another group who just brings every quilt she’s every made, or something like that. And they’ll tell you the faults or why they like it and so… so forth, and I think… [DS: Excellent.] that’s ever so nice. [DS: Yeah.] I do like a lot of quilts to come. [DS: Yeah.] Yeah. You know? Barbara Chainey came to us. I’ve done a workshop with her. Um… [laughter] I can’t remember all the names, you see. [DS: Yeah.] It’s funny, isn’t it? Jennie Rayment as well. [DS: Yeah.] Now we had, um, texturing and, uh, I’d been on to a… an art appreciation group and we had texture as one of our things last week. So up I… [laughs] get… got all my textures [laughs] and they all stroked and patted their way through the whole bag, you know [laughs]. [DS: Ah. That’s lovely.] And I think people were amazed that you can do that kind of thing with fabric.
DS: Yeah. Yeah. [CL: Um…] Worth to say, quilting sort of drifts into other things all the while, doesn’t it?
CL: Yes.
DS: Like you say, art and embroidery.
CL: Yes. Yes. [DS: Yeah.] It’s lovely. [DS: Yeah.] It’s lovely. [DS: Yeah.] And all the men… I mean, we’ve got quite a few men in this group and they were all stroking and feeling. [DS: Yeah.] And I took an Afghanistan cushion that had been made, so… or so I was told when I bought it, um, that had been made by the women out of their wedding dresses. They always have a very posh wedding dress… [DS: Mm.] and, of course, they never wear them again so they cut them all up and it was just little squares put together and it was lovely. And there was sequins on and beads and buttons and sh… shimelles and so forth and all the men were stroking all these, you know, and… and that, and that was nice. And then I took a… a cushion cover as well from Peru, and that was nice because there’s all little bits, as they used a bit of crimplene here and made a little figure and stuck it on, you know, and so forth. [DS: Mm.] So it was totally different from what we expect from texture.
DS: Are those things that you’ve bought while you’ve been away or are they things that you’ve bought from…
CL: I bought them from shows when I’ve been there, yes.
DS: From shows? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
CL: I haven’t bought much when I’ve been away, except fabric at the… [DS: Mm.] City Quilters [laughs]. [DS: Yeah.] Um, I tried to find some in… we went to Russia and I tried to find some there but the things they’d got were very heavy. The… well, of course, it’s a cold country… [DS: Yeah.] and they were like our, um, what they call proddy rugs, which are rugs made out of old coats and things like that.
DS: Oh, yeah. Rag rugging.
CL: Rag rug, yeah. [DS: Yeah.] And they were very heavy, you know. [DS: Mm. Mm.] Uh, but my granny used to have rugs like that. We used to sit and do it in the evening by the oil lamp [laughs]. [DS: Oh] [Laughs]. Oh, it was primitive in those days [laughs].
DS: Right. Lovely. So, um, d’you… you still attend the quilt shows, then, like you say, in…
CL: Oh, yes. Yes.
DS: Which is your favourite one, Chris? Have you got a favourite?
CL: Quilts UK, which is at Malvern.
DS: Oh, that’s coming up soon, isn’t it, as well?
CL: Yes. Yes. Yes. The first thing I do is mark it on the calendar from this year to next year [laughs]. [DS: Yeah.] And…
DS: Why d’you prefer that one?
CL: I … when it first started they used to try every quilt on a bed and so that … you know, some quilts look lovely hanging up but they’re useless on a bed. [DS: Mm.] And it was nice that they tried every quilt… ’cause we had more big one in those days and they used to try every quilt on a bed, um, and I liked that idea and, because it was the first quilt show that started, it started everybody off. They also brought out a magazine, Diane Hook and I can’t think… Elaine somebody, and, um, they… they started a magazine, Patchwork and Quilting, which I had, and, uh, that kind of thing. So it was really nice that it was so near. We could get to it easily. I just have to go down the road and… [DS: Mm.] we’re there. [DS: Mm.] And we look forward to it and I… I treat my husband to… well, I buy lunch but we take sandwiches and I buy the tickets. And then, on the way home, my husband treats me to a meal in a pub. Now, we’ve done every pub between here and there, ’cause it’s been going 30 years [laughter] But it’s rather fun.
DS: Oh, it’s a special day out for both of you.
CL: It’s a special day out for both of us. He goes off in the afternoon for a sleep… [laughter] and I have to dash around the stalls, buying the things that I’ve seen but don’t want to buy with him. [DS: Oh, right.] Yes.
DS: You keep a mental note.
CL: He knows I do it, I know he does [laughter]. He knows I know [laughs].
DS: It, uh, sounds like a perfect marriage [laughs].
CL: [Laughs] Well, it’s going on for 52 years.
DS: Ah. That’s so sweet.
CL: Yeah.
DS: Have you ever exhibited… I don’t… have I…
CL: Yes, I have. I used to put in Malvern regularly, about every two years. It used to take me two years to sort of get them together and… [DS: Mm.] make sure they were all right and the… um, and I put about… I think I’ve done about five. So that’d be every… You know, ten years’ worth. I haven’t done any recently. [DS: Mm.] They… they’ve improved out of s… okay, mine were all right. They … you know, I was quite pleased with them… [DS: Mm.] and all the corners met and the sides were straight and so forth. But they’ve gone more, um, arty, shall we say, and people… [DS: Mm.] make their own patterns up now. There’s very few of the traditional, which is what I do. Um, but I used to put in. I’ve done a fan and I’ve put a hall cloth. I’ve put little houses. What else have I done? Can’t think what else. What else? No [laughs].
DS: So… so you’ve had a busy quilting life?
CL: Yes. [DS: Yeah.] It’s … it’s been my saviour, really. [DS: Oh.] You know? ’cause it’s a thing you can do on your own or you can do with people. I don’t get much done if I’m with people. [DS: No.] We all talk [laughs].
DS: No, that’s right. So would you say that quilting’s still a very important part of your life?
CL: It’s still a very important part of my life, yes. And the family are all used to it and they all pick the cottons off their clothes, you know, quite happily when they’ve been here [laughs]. And the grandchildren. I made a quilt for my first grandchild and I was rather proud of the pattern, um, but I found it in the cat’s basket, so… [DS: Oh, dear.] I wasn’t very thrilled. The next grandchild… I’ve only got two. The next grandchild I made one and… and the mother said, ‘Ooh, that one’s not bad’, and so she used it [laughs]. But I’ve never made them another one since, not those two, because, uh, you know, you know how it’s going to get treated. [DS: Yeah.] But she has bought these cheap things from China.
DS: [Coughs] That’s a shame, isn’t it, really? So…
CL: It is. It is, when she’s got somebody who will do her one. [DS: Yeah.] Well, I’ve done her several. [DS: Yeah.] You know? They have… my son has had them now. [DS: Yeah.] And he has them and he’s… he looks after them, sort of thing. Yeah. But, uh…
DS: But, uh…
CL: … yes.
DS: … finishing on a positive note, though…
CL: Yes.
DS: … they… you’re gonna continue quilting?
CL: Oh, yes. Yes, ‘til I can’t see to thread the needle. Well, it’s got a needle threader but I don’t trust it [laughter]. I’m still old-fashioned, you see. [DS: Lovely.] Yes.
DS: Oh, that was lovely, Chris. Thank you so much. Really enjoyed that interview.
CL: Oh, that’s all right. I’ve enjoyed talking.
DS: Thank you.
CL: I do enjoy talking [laughter].