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My Name is Jules Caton.
I am working on a project with a small team of local women and the project is based at Rivers Meet in Methley. As a part of this project I am researching 1933 and Methley in particular looking at the every day life of women and the involvement in activity such as craft, baking, gardening etc and the role of this activity at that time.
We have gathered a group of over 15 local women and are all enthusiastically working together on the project. The whole project will result in the production of 3 special quilts,a book and an exhibition.
It would be great to meet some people who were in Methley in 1933 or who have memories or photographs of Methley from that time.
This is a modern project in a time of ‘Austerity’ which is positive, creative and which looks at old values and traditional things as a way forward and a way of uniting people and communities.
Please see below information on our project and progress so far.
Regards
Julie Caton
FINDING RUBY
Ruby Kenner lived in Paige Texas in 1933. In November 2011 a set of vintage quilt squares were found in a small town called Smithville in Texas by Julie and Andy Caton. Julie and Andy live in a village called Denton in Ilkley, Yorkshire and brought the vintage quilt blocks back to the UK.
The squares were simple in design and colourful and each had a hand embroidered signature in the centre of the design. Upon investigation it was found that there were 30 squares and 15 names. The squares were dated 1933.A researcher from Bastrop County in Texas located 10 of the names in records for a town called Paige in Texas. A team of women have been brought together as a group and have agreed to put the quilt together in hand sewing sessions throughout the summer of 2012. The venue for this is a craft café in Methley called Rivers Meet. The group of women have all agreed to give time to the project free of charge and are keen to create 3 quilts. They will each include a hand embroidered signature on one of the quilts and are happy to be photographed, sketched and filmed throughout.
The Dream
The intention is to spend the summer of 2012 as a group and through craft, creativity and a shared goal create 3 important quilts.
1. To put together the 1933 vintage quilt blocks from Texas and make a quilt that will honour the group from 1933.
2. To design a new block to represent the rose of Yorkshire and the rose of Texas. To create a quilt from this design. To add for preservation and history a signature from each of the women in the 2012 group.
3. To create from the 30 competition winning Yorkshire block designs one whole quilt to represent Yorkshire.
The whole experience will be recorded in film, photography words and pictures. This will form the content of a beautifully designed hard-back book and a travelling exhibition.
The exhibition and book together with the 3 quilts will launch in Texas and in Yorkshire at a key heritage location or museum in 2013.
The intention is to take the whole group of quilters to Texas to launch the work and meet the descendents of the original group of women from Paige in Texas. This will also be filmed and recorded. The Yorkshire Society have agreed to back the project and connect with the Houston office of The Yorkshire Society to help with the project in Texas.
This is not a commercial project and all time and support is being donated free of charge. Any profit would be put back in to the community and the vintage squares and the finished quilts will be donated to the project.
Throughout the summer of 2012 12 women who are already signed up and keen will meet monthly to hand sew together. The group will be diverse and some have never sewn or done quilting before. The venue is the craft café Rivers Meet in Methley (ex old pub turned arts and crafts café – mining village - thriving and sharing in hard times )
The group will start on the 28th of April with a session to hand dye fabrics and together produce a design for a new ‘rose’ block quilt that will be true to the style of the 1933 quilt and represent Yorkshire and Texas combined. The inspiration for this is the Yorkshire White Rose and the Texas Yellow rose.
As a group we are interested in the themes of:
Community
Women
History – who are the 1933 women? What is the story?
Being connected
Helping others
Friendship
Crating something to last 100 yrs
Creativity
Craft, Design, Textiles
Patchwork – people, Individuals, places – joined.
Some interesting ‘back’ stories
Joanne
Joanne set up Rivers Meet by selling her house and everything and left her job as a costume maker at The Royal Armories. A sewing and craft teacher who because of the cuts found all of those classes dropped in schools and the local college.
Hard times can bring creativity and new thinking. Joanne found an old traditional pub in a working class ex-mining town called Methley an ordinary Yorkshire town where many people have felt the effects of austerity and where the people proud, warm and connected.
Told she was mad and the time was wrong – she had a dream and just followed it.
The café and classes are thriving and full most of the time. Rivers Meet is becoming central to Methley and a very special place. Home baking, home made soup, old cups and plates and an arts and crafts feel. The café is a meeting place and venue for workshops, music and comedy events and all kinds of crafts. In the morning laborers and working men call in on the way to work for a bacon sandwich and through the day local mums and all kinds of people young and old come to Rivers Meet. Joanne believes in this project and is bursting with enthusiasm for the concept of groups sharing and coming together. The idea of finding out about the lives and history of the 1933 ladies and the idea of producing something now from Yorkshire including her own signature is an idea Joanne finds moving.
Rivers Meet is the venue and centre of all activity for the project. The project is called Finding Ruby. Ruby Kenner is one of the names found on the Texas vintage quilt squares.
Sarah
Sarah is a quilter and fascinated by the heritage, collaboration, friendship and sense of community that runs through the history of quilting. Sarah teaches craft classes and has worked on community projects and books relating to the heritage and culture of quilting. Interested in people helping people and the shared experience of women through history.
Sarah also works in prison education supporting male prisoners in gaining basic and life skills. She is steering the project group on being true to the history and techniques of 1933 in putting the vintage blocks together and in the direction of the design for the ‘Rose’ quilt.
Helen
Helen spent a number of years as a lawyer and in building up a career.
After a number of years Helen decided she would like a less stressful and all consuming way of working. To find more enjoyment and fulfillment, live a little, and to connect with her creative side. Teaching, art, craft and design are important to Helen and living life with integrity and a shared sense of purpose and community. Helen is interested in the people and the human side of the story and keen to make this shared experience something special. The Punk movement and the points in our history of stepping out of the norm and avoiding structure and convention are interesting themes
to Helen and her design and craft centered work explores these ideas.
Jules
Jules found the vintage quilt squares in a small town in Texas and became captivated by the signatures and the idea of finding out about the ladies who made the quilt squares.
With a background in design and an interest in art and culture Jules is keen to bring this project. Hoping to bring the story to life and create powerful connections and a sense of community through this work. As a designer with a love of books, images, typography and words the key component of the project for Jules is in capturing the experience and journey and in creating a special book, film and exhibition to take it out to the world.
Living a creative life and working in a group and with people are important to Jules. Her life and work reflect this. With a background of board level management and all of the associated stress (and enjoyment!) of an all consuming career behind her Jules is enjoying working on various ongoing contracts and projects and connecting with a group of like minded people.
Finding Ruby
Ruby Kenner was one of a group of women in Paige Texas in 1933 who came together to sew, talk, sit and meet.
1933 was a time of austerity and hardship for many people throughout the world and a time when sharing and supporting each other was key.
The role of women in the community and the structure and make up of life for the every day woman has changed dramatically in the years between 1933 and 2012. Many British women in 1933 would have a wash day and a baking day and crafts like sewing were often based in need and practical use or survival – Rag rugs, Knitted clothes, Quilts, Make do and mend. Hand in hand with the concept of making the most of things recycling and cooking and growing with care to make the budget last.
In Texas in 1933 many women would use every scrap of fabric carefully and even use feed sacks and tobacco bags to provide warm quilts for the family. Many Texas towns grew from almost nothing in the vast and empty landscape. Railways and the developing towns brought changes that are wonderfully mapped out through carefully preserved and handed down quilts. Each quilt tells us of the life and soul of the woman or group of women that made it. In America many groups were formed and quilts were made in groups for special occasions and gifts.
Yorkshire
People from Yorkshire have a unique character. Everyone in Yorkshire loves Yorkshire. Yorkshire is a special place.
People from Texas have a unique character. Everyone in Texas loves Texas. Texas is a special place.
As part of the project the group would like to create an artistic textile design or quilt to represent Yorkshire. The idea is to hold a regional competition asking for entrants from all walks of life and all ages throughout. Each person will be asked to design a paper block in colour that will illustrate ‘What Yorkshire Means to Me’ or ‘Why My Yorkshire is Special’. As part of this brief aspects of Yorkshire could be illustrated and the many different areas, people, places and industries. A work of art to represent everything strong and good about Yorkshire to make people smile and create a positive thing in tough times.
A work that will be made up of the ideas and designs of individuals and joined together to create a whole picture.
Newspapers and the local media plus a possible sponsor would make this part of the project a reality. A small group of judges will choose 30 winning squares and each winner will be named on the quilt. Any key sponsors would also be named on the quilt and the quilt will be dated.
The 30 winning squares will form a quilt design and the quilt group will create a textile version of the design and make a ‘Yorkshire Quilt’.
Our plans
The intention is to spend the summer of 2012 as a group and through craft, creativity and a shared goal create 3 important quilts. The whole experience will be recorded in film, photography words and pictures. This will form the content of a beautifully designed hard back book and a travelling exhibition.
The exhibition and book together with the 3 quilts will launch in Texas and in Yorkshire at a key heritage location or museum in 2013.
We would like to find out about and connect the community of Paige in Texas with the community in Yorkshire.
The aim is to explore the positive effect of craft and a shared experience and through art and craft to create a work of art or symbol of creativity and hope in a troubled time.
A Patchwork of People.
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house has finally succumbed to the commercial realities of licensed life and finally closed its doors. (Hats off to the many people who have tried to make a go of it in recent years). Like a phoenix out of the ashes it has now received the ultimate interior makeover and has re-established itself as the 