Local quilt-maker on Trafalgar Square plinth
Carol from Teddington was assigned a 3am slot so it was lucky that her chosen activity (quilt-making) provided some warmth and comfort during the rainy early hours.
Armed with a chair and a CD player for company, Carol streamed big-band swing classics across the square whilst promoting her love of quilt making by stitching into the wee hours:
“I have a quilt top, made in Kentucky during the depression, early 30s, handstitched from scraps of fabric in a pattern called blazing star. During these hard times quiltmakers used whatever they had; outgrown clothing, feed, flour and sugar sacks were utilised, stitching together the smallest of pieces to make the patterns. I don’t know who made it, whether to sell, for the family or perhaps a daughter’s bottom drawer. I have added the wadding and backing and will start to quilt it during my hour as homage to that unknown woman. If it is cold it will keep me warm. Seems topical for our times.”
Having signed up back in April, Carol was told at the end of May that her slot would be from 3 to 4am on Sunday where only the most hardy plinth fans (or accidental party-goers) would be in the audience. An hour-long exposure with a pinhole camera was the original plan but the powerful lights that illuminate the plinth for cameras prevented this. Instead the idea of quilting was born – ensuring that at least she wouldn’t be short of something to do herself.
Carol describes the unique experience as “an experience”!
See the official site for the full hour of high-elevation quilt-making and Flickr for the scene from Carols point of view.