£5 members/£7 non-members

Sewing is ageless and the act of using a needle and thread to join two pieces of cloth together stretches back centuries. For some, sewing will always be associated with enforced tedium and drudgery, but, for many, stitching has provided space for entertainment and friendship or time for meditation, reflection, and consolation. This talk considers how many eighteenth-century middling and genteel women valued the long hours spent stitching as an opportunity to negotiate time for their personal wellbeing.  

Bridget Long is a textile historian. A Visiting Research Fellow in History at the University of Hertfordshire and a past President of The Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles, she is an advisor to The Quilters’ Guild Collection. She is an Associate Fellow of the International Quilt Museum and curated Elegant Geometry: American and British Mosaic Patchwork in 2011 and Quilts of Emotion in 2020 at the museum. She became interested in the history of emotions while researching her history doctorate examining textiles in the eighteenth century. When she uncovered needlewomen’s thoughts about sewing recorded in diaries and reminiscences, she appreciated that women had mixed emotions about their needlework. She published an article on that topic in Textile: The Journal of Cloth and Culture in 2016.  

The talks starts at 6.30pm. Joining details will be sent to attendees the day before.

Georgian Group members are eligible for a discount on their ticket by entering GGMEMBER at the checkout.

***This talk will be recorded. The recording will be available to all those who have purchased a ticket for a limited period of time after the event takes place***

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