Through historical research and community oral history work we secured ‘the rocking stitch in a flat frame’ a place on the UNESCO Red List for endangered crafts run by Heritage Crafts, UK. At high risk of not being passed to the next generation, it is listed as critically endangered.
Within the Frame collaborated with the National Museum of Scotland to host a quilting bee, temporary exhibition about the history of quilts, a panel discussion and lecture. Over 4,000 people engaged with our event. We see the frame as a space where the past and the present can be connected.
Working with the Centre for Historical Reconstruction at the University of Edinburgh, we have embedded Within the Frame as a bridge between historical research, hands on teaching with collections, and public engagement. We get quilt frames into universities, sharing quilters’ histories.
Drawing on the knowledge and designs preserved by Elizabeth Hake in her influential 1937 book English Quilting Old and New, we worked with a heritage carpenter to revive the making of quilt frames in the UK. Quilt frames are once again for sale in the UK
Within the Frame has run large scale quilting bees in London and Edinburgh t0o celebrate this tradition with the public, honor the knowledge of older women and skilled quilters in our communities, and share the history of the frame as a tool for community building.
