A visit to the V&A

The V&A being the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.  I haven't been for a very long time for various reasons and found the place seemed to be less cluttered than in the past.  I don't know whether it is, or it's just my perception.

ChrisJ and I went on a coach trip with the ScrapHappy Quilters, to see the exhibition 'Quilts 1700-2010'. I have no idea what the actual ticket cost was as all was taken care of by the admirable Judith Wharton but whatever it was, it was worth every penny as the two of us were in there for a little over 3 hours.  It is possible to rent an Ipod which has extra information on some of the quilts - pity it didn't cover them all, or go into more depth but I suppose we would have been there for the week otherwise.  This audio idea made a huge difference, giving added dimension and well worth the extra. 

Anyway - quilts.  Beginning with  clamshell  bed curtains on a 4 poster and ending with another 4 poster installation by Tracey Emin.  And an awful lot to see inbetween.  Light levels are low which can make your eyes tired and also play havoc with colours but shows up quilting lines beautifully.  Some were arranged on 'beds' and some hung on walls - applique, piecing, inlay, crazy, military quilts, traditional and modern quilts, some prints and small bits and pieces such as pincushions, etuis etc, some video installation, some soundtrack - ghostly voices, to me, anyway. They weren't so far out of reach that one couldn't lean in for a closer look.  Tiny stitches, expert repairs, bigger stitches, wonky patches.  Just enough history to whet your appetite (so I shall be buying the book eventually) and here is the blog which has a few pics on as well (no pics allowed in the exhibition)  http://www.vam.ac.uk/things-to-do/blogs/quilts-hidden-histories-untold-stories.  

Interesting that herringbone stitch was used on applique on many older quilts - particularly noticeable on the Rajah quilt where it all but obliterated some of the tiny applique pieces down at the bottom.  I am wondering when that fell out of favour.  And when buttonhole stitch came in. No comment about waddings, either - there was a very puffy little quilt at the beginning; actually it looked quite solid and I assumed it was stuffed with wool, but there was no mention. 

The uniformed  gents who were stewarding, if that's the correct word, were lovely people but did not seem to have much idea about what they were looking after, nor the scope of quilting beyond those walls. (But of course the exhibition was not particularly aimed at quilters - the focus would have been different. And I wonder if that was the  reason that the Quilters' Guild of the British Isles was neither involved nor mentioned.  I was sorry about that.)  And one of the lovely gents (South African?) had noticed that the vast majority of visitors were not young, which he found interesting.  He also kindly explained why Tracey Emin's bed was set at the angle it was.

Liberty had commissioned some quilts which caused rather a lot of comment in the quilting world which I wont go into here and the inclusion of Tracey Emin and Grayson Perry also caused a lot of comment. I felt that both had a place in this exhibition - exquisitely made but carrying unpleasant messages and a reflection of our times.

It was good that so many non-quilters were seeing quilts as art, and as historical record and hopefully it has opened many eyes and given new appreciation of this form of expression.

The cafe does good coffee and tea, which was welcome after such a long stint and we then had a quick walk around Fashion, which merited a closer look but we were running out of time.  Grace Kelly was sold out but we wouldn't have had time to do it justice anyway, and the Architects exhibition - small pieces? wasn't up which I was sorry about as I quite fancied that.  The bookshop - well I would have loved to go back and have a good look as I only managed to whisk down one side of it and there were some books I didn't know of but will try and get from the library first.  Liberty fabric on sale in the shop was left on the shelf by both of us.  I was sorely tempted by some of the designs but I just don't need it and my money needs to stay in my pocket.  A decision I will probably regret, but there you go. In the main shop the merchandise was less specific to Quilts, though some of Jo Budd's pieces were in a case, framed.  I didn't feel that the framing did them justice and that was a pity. But it would be good if they sell.  There were several little jackets on stands and I loved those, particularly a panelled, raw edged jacket - wish I had asked about who had made that one.  A lady looked at it while I was admiring it and she wondered if it was unfinished and a work in progress; she sounded a little indignant.  We were looking at it with different eyes......

A very good day out and please do try and see this exhibition while it's still on.