About Ragged Rainbow
I started Ragged Rainbow to make Quilts, Rag dolls and bags in Finchley using traditional techniques I learnt from my family when I was a child. My Great Grandmother Lady Luxmoore made ragdolls and quilts. I often stayed with her in Chelsea as a child. My first memories are filled with images of the dolls she made, and the stuffed toys and quilts.
I learnt to spin and knit from my Great Aunt Betty when I stayed with her by the shores of Loch Tay where she still lives. My Aunt Aldyth, from Jersey, taught me patchwork. I now study with Sarah Wellfair; whenever I visit my Grandmother Cherry in Cheltenham. My Great, Great Aunt Dorothy made many beautiful embroidery pictures and my other Great Aunt Dorothy in the thirties made striking tapestries townscapes of Northern Towns like Durham.
Quilts have always carried much social history within them as young girls learnt to sew as their mothers told them their family stories. These quilts were made from old clothes and snippets of materials. Like rag rugs they often were made by whole families. Slaves in the American South developed secret codes, which meant quilts carried whole stories of resistance.
My fresh interest in Patchwork was developed through working on various projects with women at HAB with the artist Judith Kay; and the amazing breadth of work the Womens Group produced. I have also been inspired by workshops with Sarah Wellfair at Goose Chase Quilting.
My quilts often use many different methods and sometimes record special events such as wedding anniversaries or political events. I like to use natural materials like silk and cotton; and many of my quilts use much thicker heavier materials than those usually chosen by quilters who only source their materials from shops. These thicker quilts demand considerable strength, and careful handling as the materials must be sewn by hand and often involve many days of pinning and basteing; which must be unpicked after the hand quilting has been completed. I make quilts for babies and children by commission; but only make my larger quilts according to my own whim.
Miranda Dunn
Ragged Rainbow Quilts
Tel: 020 8371 9744