Joan York founded the New Forest Quilt Group around 1980, originally as a social group for her students. Joan was teaching patchwork and quilting in Adult Education in New Milton, and also running classes in her own home. All her students were welcome in her tiny bungalow (which later burnt down, and was replaced by a far larger house) for tea, biscuits and chat, usually on a Sunday afternoon. As numbers increased, a formal group was set up, a name was chosen, and monthly meetings were held, initially in members’ homes.
The world of patchwork and quilting was very different then. The Quilters’ Guild had only just started, there were no big patchwork shows, rotary cutting and machine quilting were non-existent, most of us had a tiny stash and just three or four books (two by Averil Colby, “The Perfect Patchwork Primer” by Beth Gutcheon, and perhaps one of Michael James’ books.) But Strawberry Fayre was in Stockbridge, a large shop where Alec Hutchings sold his hand-made beds and Jenny sold quilts and fabrics, and organised classes, sometimes with visiting Americans.
The New Forest Quilt Group quickly expanded from Joan and her students to include skilled embroiderers, such as Margery Cutbush, the first Chairman, and Cynthia Kendzior, the first Treasurer. Mary Hewson was Vice-Chairman, and Joan became President for life and remained a guiding force. Other early members included Edyth Henry, who had been to classes in Surrey where she had made a large, impressive sampler quilt by Quilt-As-You Go, and Doris Smith, who had taught tailoring and specialised in fine hand-quilting. Janet Selby is still an active member, and Penny Bicknell now teaches classes locally.
The group continued to expand, and meetings moved to hired halls. Visiting speakers were arranged, including Michael James, outings were made to The Quilters’ Guild Exhibitions in London, and group exhibitions were held in the Masonic Hall in Lymington. The group made and raffled several charity quilts for local causes. Membership increased, members’ skills developed, more varied classes and workshops were available locally, and the New Forest Quilt Group grew as part of a larger quilting world.