The Wallace House Quilters: A Life in Patches

31 January to 8 March 2020

The stories of lives lived in the company of stitching. Woven into each patch-worker’s story is another; the story of the Wallace House Quilters. The largest group under the auspices of the Noosa Arts and Crafts Association, Wallace House Quilters has 55 members, some of whom feature within the 29 quilts, photographic portraits and conversations on show.

“You might remember Loani Prior as the Queen of the Tea Cosies and author of four best-selling Tea Cosy books. But in 2017, Loani went to the dark side and began playing with fabric in the company of the Wallace House Quilters. She found their welcome warm and inclusive.

Soon enough, in the company of 55 boisterous, creative women, Loani was imagining this exhibition, A Life in Patches, modelled on a previous collaboration with photographer Mark Crocker; Portraits of a Tea Cosy. (2013-2015 touring exhibition.)

Loani sat down to tea with 29 women and recorded the stories of their quilts. Mark photographed the women in their happy place, the rooms and verandahs of Wallace House. And now, the women share their quilts and themselves with you.

Come! Stand in the midst of lives, suspended in fabric. Listen to the whispers of mothers across the generations. Touch the sadness at the death of a child and feel the force of special friendships. Every single patchwork quilt – a celebration of life.”

Loani Prior