The Covid Quilt

Photo: Judith Booth

From left: Museum trustees Kathy Fairweather (exhibition organiser), Barbara Clark (acting chairman) and Moira Cochrane from Law Quilters. Photo: Ian Goodall

The Covid Quilt

This Wall Hanging was made by the Law Quilters during the Covid lockdown of 2020 and 2021. The Law Quilters group was founded in 1988 with ten talented and enthusiastic members and now has forty members.

Many of the group were involved in making parts of the quilt, all working on their own. It has been gifted to the museum in gratitude for the work of all those organisations and individuals who pulled together in all parts of the coastal ward to support their communities during these difficult times.

The quilt commemorates the community response to the Covid pandemic, with images illustrating everything from the rainbow to the Covid bug, to the panic buying of loo rolls:

MEMORIAL FLOWER BED
Flower bed with NHS sign, VE day. This Flower bed in the Lodge Grounds was designed and planted by East Lothian Council Amenities Team. It shows a Thank You to the NHS, a Stay Safe message and also remembers the 75th anniversary of V E Day.

FLOWER PANELS
The volunteers of North Berwick in Bloom have continued to provide and maintain ever-changing floral displays around the town, and held a sunflower growing competition for children.

COVID 19 BUGS
This represents the dreaded Covid 19 bug. We hope that vaccines will see it off very soon.

SHOPPING
At the start of lockdown there was panic buying and long queues at the supermarkets. This shows some of the items that vanished off the shelves as soon as they were filled.

WE CARE
This sign recognises the Carers in North Berwick, and throughout the Coastal Ward who supported so many vulnerable people throughout the pandemic.

RAINBOW FLAG
Official NHS Foundation Trust Rainbow Flag, ‘Supporting our NHS Heroes’.
Local children were asked to draw rainbows and put them in their windows to show support for the NHS. This rainbow was designed by Erin McGinley aged 10.

The Resilience team organised a Send a Smile Campaign asking for drawings and notes to send to lonely and isolated people in the community and a Puffin Hunt asking people to put puffin inspired artwork in their windows to cheer people up. Both campaigns were hugely successful. This picture of a puffin was drawn by Emma Scott aged 7.