This campaign has now closed
To display a historic nineteenth century 'Friendship' counterpane and develop an exhibition and associated educational activities. The counterpane provides a remarkable historic, artistic and social record. The stories contained within its panels, as well as those of the women who created it, provide a fascinating picture of the social history of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. This work will help to conserve an important part of our culture, and disseminate knowledge about this period of history to a wide range of people.
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The counterpane was created between 1899 and 1909 and is an example of a ‘Friendship Counterpane’, consisting of a series of knitted and hand-embroidered panels, with each embroidered panel created by a different person. The designs include references to national and international events and people, and to the domestic and social life of the day.Thirty-four embroiderers were involved in creating the counterpane, and they identified themselves by stitching their names and the date, as well as the designs chosen for their panels. Research by the Quaker Tapestry archivist has identified most of the embroiderers, revealing an absorbing world of Victorian art and history. The research undertaken by the Quaker Tapestry archivist is now leading to the surviving descendants of some of the embroiderers, so that more information about their lives can be recorded through the memories and oral histories of family members, providing a link from the Victorian era to the twenty first century. We have recently restored the counterpane, and would now like to use it as the centre piece of an exhibition and educational activities linked to the stories contained within its panels, the stories of the embroiderers and their families, the social history of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and the memories and oral histories of the descendents of the embroiderers. Other artefacts from the period will be displayed alongside the counterpane. For those with a specific interest in embroidery, knitting and quilting, information will be provided detailing the way in which the counterpane was made, the fabrics, stitches and designs, thus providing a link to the main Quaker Tapestry exhibition. Educational activities will also be developed, encouraging students to learn more about the recent past, and also using the exhibition as a resource and starting point to help them develop their own stories about their lives today. £10,000 would enable us to get this exhibition and associated educational activity up and running.