When the idea of a "quilt" was first mentioned by Fr Michael - in the "please be seated for a few minutes" part at the end of Mass one  Sunday morning in late January 1999 - it was like waving a red rag to a bull for Hilda. She left Mass that morning thinking, "finally, an opportunity to hang a quilt in 'that' blank space". From the time the Church was built she'd always wanted to see the triangle shapes of the stained glass windows complemented with a piece of fabric art. It was a project that she realised she could not undertake alone, and after gentle persuasion, Lexie and Fortunata agreed to be part of the team to design and co-ordinate the project.

The St Thomas More Parish in Bateman is fortunate to have a Church that has been carefully designed and decorated. This meant there were many factors the trio had to take into consideration. The quilt would have to blend, yet be significant enough to have it's own life. It would need to co-exist with:

• the Robert Juniper art pieces
• the neutral coloured bricks - given that "neutral" could swallow up any end product if the colours weren't correct
• the various drapes
• existing woodwork
• the changing colours of the day and night
• and most importantly the stained-glass windows, the colours of which influenced the colour palette finally used for the quilt.

Over 125 different fabrics were used to create the quilt and the approximate size of the finished quilt is 2.6 x 2.5 metres (8.5 x 7.5 feet).

The quilt-team co-ordinators were fortunate to have the valued assistance of many knowledgeable people in the parish. Among those,  Angela, who helped with understanding the importance of liturgical symbolism in creating a quilt to hang in liturgical space. Fr Paul also provided the team with valuable liturgical insight.

The design challenge was finally concluded after forty hours and the resulting crafting challenge could only be met by turning to the scriptures upon which our liturgy is based. Attention was given to the timeless symbols from both the Jewish and Christian scriptures, amidst many prayers for inspiration and guidance.

It was decided that the Central panel with the Holy Trinity motifs should be the main focus of the design.  

The team spent a good deal of time counting bricks (no, not during Mass!) and coming at different times of the day to ensure that the design dimensions and colours chosen would be the best for the end result.

Integral to the design was the obviously multi-cultural nature of the Parish community. The people under the dove's wings are made of many unique fabrics which were sourced from members of the Parish. For example, Consuelatha, a Murdoch University scholarship student from East Africa, generously let us have some hand-printed head cloths from her traditional costume.

When Lexie decided we had to have the image of St Thomas More on the quilt, she was met with a stunned silence for a moment - who was going to do it?   It was not long before the team's prayers were answered in Cathy. Cathy has captured St Thomas More in a new, yet recognisable light - Holbein would be impressed.

Fr Michael kept in touch with the progress of the quilt - and the team remembers one of his visits, before having decided to do create the appliqued image of St Thomas More's "head" - he suggested a crocheted blanket, since St Thomas More's head was claimed by his daughter Margaret Roper - who wrapped it in her crocheted shawl!

Angela thought she had done her "bit" for the quilt after her morning's liturgical sharing with the team - however she left the meeting with the task of constructing and designing the final borders!! A challenge which she completed in three weeks after seeing the completed central design. She chose the vine image, founded on rock, with it's branches, because it is a powerful personal image of faith for her, and is also reminiscent of traditional border patterns.