The Franklin Quilt

From Jane Johnson: 'When Franklin became the host of the International St Ayles Skiff Regatta to be held in the town in February, a seed was sewn (literally) to commemorate the event by producing a public artwork. From little things, big things have grown…or been sewn. Small stitches have become flowers, doors, windows, houses, a river and hills – the hand-made artwork that is the Franklin Quilt.  Project Designer and supervisor Jane Walduck commented “ As a group we tried to capture the historic ambience of the town by sewing 24 of the buildings along the Main Road. This view is what visitors would have seen when they arrived by boat in the 1800s. The Huon River provided access to other places and hence Franklin became one of the largest towns in Tasmania.”  Jane Walduck is well-known locally for her high-quality pieces of creativity, especially quilts, which, she says, often tell a story. Jane continued, “It was great to be joined by 13 enthusiastic people who each found an individual angle – lace became curtains, decorative bargeboards or picket fences. Each is unique and quite charming. One of the ladies, a “Bowmont Baby”, created a beautiful hand-sewn version of the building that she was born in when it was a Public Hospital in the 1950s”.  So, this is the Franklin story – work started about six months ago and the finished quilt is soon to be presented to the Franklin Progress Association to hang in the Palais Theatre to mark the beginning of the International Regatta. Apart from the pride in creating a shared project, conversations arose while sewing about childhoods, relationships, pets, the state of the world and living in Tasmania – all adding to the Franklin Story. The beauty of St Ayles Skiffs is their construction as a shared project within communities.  Join in the Opening Ceremony of the Franklin Regatta on Thursday February 12 at the Palais at 7pm and see the presentation of the quilt to Franklin. And also keep an eye on all the other events attached to the Regatta, February 12 to 15 on the Huon River. www.tasskiffie2015.org   People involved, Jane Walduck, Jane Johnson, Jane Dredge, Barb Dawson, Wendy Clayton, Jill Edwards, Jill Bruce, Kate Hoorweg, Carolyn Booker, Ronda Longuet, Marie Lukman, Marcia Waller, Jennifer O'Connor and Sandi Tradjos.'