Progress on George

Update, George is finished for now!

George Saunders was born in St Kitts, one of two very small islands making up St Kitts and Nevis in the West Indies. He came to England in 1957. He eventually had his own business in Hurst Street, Birmingham, which is now a museum owned by the National Trust. 

The collection at the Back To Backs were donated by him and are largely made up of clothes and other fabrics. Some of the items donated include suits made by George, a large sample of the materials he used, as well as some very exclusive riding jodhpurs he made to fulfil an order from the Queen’s Household Cavalry. 

Below: close up of George's waistcoat which I've stitched with free hand machining.

Above: is George's workroom above his shop. The National Trust helped me to use George as part of my collection of Windrush portraits that I'm making for Leamington Spa Art Gallery and Museum - they will be exhibited from Jan 31st 2025 until May. I was shown around the Back to Backs, provided with images and a translation of a recording of George's words. These appear in the background of the quilt. 

For the Windrush series, I've used all the sitters own words and tried to make realistic and respectful portraits of them on my quilts. It is limiting what you can use on a quilt which is usually rolled for storage. Not only would thick acrylics or oil paint flake off, but without special treatment the fabric would rot from the chemicals in the paint. So I guess, these factors dictate how the quilts look. 

Above: some of George's sewing machines. No one is quite sure what sort of machine the black one is - an early overlocker, for buttons? Maybe you know! Do please leave a comment if you do.

I'm just about to start the process of painting the quilt and then edge it to match the others in the series. The image below show the quilt before this, with the applique and stitching done.