A Stitch in Time

Every quilt has a story. For the Erne Quilters, those stories are stitched with friendship, tradition, creativity and more than 25 years of shared memories.

That blend of craft, community and storytelling is at the heart of the local group, whose work is currently on display at Cavan County Museum as part of Stitched Stories – The Erne Quilters.

The exhibition, held in the Eden Gallery until September 5, celebrates the group’s legacy and the museum’s 30th anniversary, offering a glimpse behind the finished quilts and into the lives of the people who create them.

Alongside the quilts is a striking photographic series by Ruth Carden, focusing not on faces but on the hands that cut, stitch and piece together fragments of fabric.

The Erne Quilters meet at the museum every Wednesday and on the second Saturday of each month. Secretary Angela Kent says the group began around the turn of the millennium and has evolved over the years.

“It’s a friendship group as much as anything,” she explains. “We all enjoy quilting and patchwork, and we admire what each other makes.”

Angela, originally from Spain’s Canary Islands and now living in Shercock, taught herself to quilt through workshops and her own fascination with the craft and its history.

Her story reflects the diversity of the group, whose members bring different backgrounds and influences to their work, creating quilts as individual as their makers.

That individuality is captured in Ruth Carden’s photographs. Ruth visited the group while they were working at the museum, documenting the hands behind the craft as part of a wider project exploring people who use their hands to make and create.

“I find people working with their hands fascinating,” she says. “You can tell an awful lot from someone’s hands, and there’s great character in them, particularly when they’re doing something skilled.” The photographs offer a new perspective on the quilts, highlighting the hours of concentration, patience and skill behind each piece.

For the quilters, there an added personal connection: they recognise the hands of their friends and fellow members.

“It’s very interesting to have the photographs alongside the quilts because we recognise the hands of the people in the photographs,” Angela says. “It’s exciting for the members to see themselves.”

The exhibition also celebrates the group’s long association with Cavan County Museum.

“We’ve been meeting at the museum for many years, and they have been very kind to us,” Angela says. “It seemed like a lovely way to celebrate our relationship with the museum.”

Stitched Stories – The Erne Quilters is on display in the Eden Gallery at Cavan County Museum, A82 YP70, until August 29. Opening hours are 10am to 4:15pm.