I was delighted to hear from Tracy Chevalier recently asking if I might be interested in seeing a copy of her latest book The Sleep Quilt - Tracy Chevalier and Fine Cell Work.
Looking back I see I have written about several of Tracy's books in the past.... The Girl with the Pearl Earring, The Last Runaway and At the Edge of the Orchard.
Tracy is another author I first met at Port Eliot Festival when she very kindly came to the dovegreyreader tent to talk about her writing and share her love of quilts.
Tracy learnt to quilt when she wanted to include quilting themes into The Last Runaway and we were thrilled to see a very accomplished first quilt (all hand -pieced) unfurl as a work in progress...
The Sleep Quilt - Tracy Chevalier and Fine Cell Work is a collaboration between Tracy and the charity Fine Cell Work,
'a charity and social enterprise that runs rehabilitation projects in thirty British prisons by training prisoners in paid, skilled, creative needlework, undertaken in the long hours spent in their cells to foster hope, discipline and self-belief.'
My Walking Friend and I often set out on our weekly Dartmoor walks in the shadow of the prison up at Princetown. Whilst it looks pleasant on a sunny day the place spends much of its time shrouded in grey mist. Nip across to Instagram over here <<<<<<<< for a snowy walk this week and the prison looking very dark and gloomy.
The entrance archway and prison gate fill me with a sense of foreboding every time I pass...
When I parted company with the NHS in 2009 I was the health visitor covering Princetown where Dartmoor Prison is located. If I'm honest it's the patch we all avoided having to do back in the day (it has changed these days). It can be a cold, desolate and lonely place at 4pm on a winter's afternoon, with seemingly incessant rain and mist that may not clear for days and days. As I wandered along the wide main street lugging my baby scales and my bag containing everything else, I often wondered about the inmates. Am I allowed to confess that very, very occasionally I envied the possibility of warmth and the dry within...but only that.
For several years I was also part of the local library book group that ran in conjunction with a group in the prison. We would move through a series of locked doors to convene in the prison library and talk about a shared read. We all enjoyed going and the inmates would put on a smile, enjoy some contact with the outside world and we had some really in-depth book discussions with them.
Lady Anne Tree, the founder of Fine Cell Work elaborates further...
'I pondered the necessity of prisoners having something worthwhile to do during their long hours of lonely idleness I wanted that work to be creative, enjoyable worthwhile and saleable. I was determined that the work should be of a professional standard no whiff of charitable acceptance about it, and should be something of which its creator could be proud. I wanted the prisoner on release to have as much money as he or she had earned.'
The Sleep Quilt itself, commissioned by Tracy Chevalier and measuring 9ft x 7ft, consists of sixty-three squares made by the prisoners and exploring what sleep means for them. It has been exhibited around the country where I saw it at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham in 2015 (it won 2nd prize in the Group Quilts category). I was both moved and impressed by not only the standard of needlework but also the stories so clearly stitched into each square. I stitch stories into my work, they did likewise and this had all taken time, thought and no small effort to produce.
Sleep in prison can be a happy release or a rare commodity. For many, night time is when the mental demons gather, there is plenty of emotion to be expressed and it was fascinating, having seen the quilt, to be able to read more about the lives behind the stitches and to read about the benefits of quilting that many of us on the outside already know and understand.
Take this prisoner in HMP Wymott
'I find it very addictive, when I'm not doing it I find I'm thinking of it solving problems ...'
Or this prisoner in HMP Wandsworth...
'Perfection is not usually what's expected in prisons...'
Or this, the camaraderie that quilting creates and proof that it can be translated into seemingly unlikely situations...
'As I started to do the work I was aware of a feeling of calmness that I was experiencing for the first time since coming to prison. An added bonus was getting to know the other guys doing the work, there was almost a family feeling between them in the way they helped one another and spent time actually talking about things other than the usual prison talk.'
The final and mammoth 'task' of quilting the Sleep Quilt was given to one single stitcher...
'A burly Polish inmate in London's Brixton prison who worked ten hours a day for six weeks on it, in between bouts of weightlifting. Indeed he was one of Fine Cell Work's great success stories...'
How interesting to read that the needlework and quilting projects gave these inmates respect and admiration in a male environment; no teasing, in fact a waiting list of others keen to join.
And there is a surprising and welcome impact on the prison officers too as this guard from HMP Wandsworth testifies...
'As an officer you have to wear two hats. It's a bit of a split personality. With Fine Cell Work you suddenly realise you're a human being and not just a uniform. Prisoners come and talk to you and realise you're a human being too. I am doing something for a worthwhile charity and possibly giving inmates who have an entrenched view of 'The System' a different angle to consider.'
The book is beautifully designed in a small quilt square shape and lavishly illustrated with the block designs on a single page each, making it possible to see the intricacy of the designs, the fabric choices and the stitches, as well as read the thoughts of the makers. And it is sold in aid of an extremely worthwhile cause too...all royalties from the sale of the book will go to Fine Cell Work.
I have been immersing myself in a few quilting projects since Christmas, all part of my End-of-Winter-Can't-Come-Too-Soon therapy, and I find myself thinking about the prisoners and the positive therapy that patchwork and quilting is for them too. I have rejoined the local quilting group that I set up with two friends thirty years ago now, and which has happily gone from strength to strength in my absence, and it is exhibition year so I need to get a wriggle on and get a few things finished (and not send them to New Zealand).
I'm still working on the whole cloth piece but there has been progress even since I took these pictures a couple of weeks ago,I'm onto the outer borders so there is hope...
There is a rhythm and flow to hand quilting, especially whole cloth with no pieced seams to negotiate. I can see me setting up something else the minute I finish this.
How about you...any winter projects to share...
And I would be interested to know your thoughts on Fine Cell Work...
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