The Maker
Joyce JenkinsThe Maker
18 January - 08 March 2025
Joyce Jenkins has been a quilter/patchworker for over 30 years, but due to the onset of Alzheimers her practice has been left to one side. Her intricate handsewn pieces reveal the love she has for the process and the skills she has developed over the years.
In a house filled with previous projects, Francis, her husband, has made it his aim to showcase her work to others - to not only highlight Joyce’s skill but to give respect to a craft that is not always appreciated.
The piece shown is an incomplete quilt, one of the final projects Joyce undertook depicting water running into a lake (the water/lake area using her son’s outgrown shirt) surrounded by greenery. The quilt measures approximately 200cm x 150cm and consists of an estimated 4800 hexagon pieces 25.4mm (1 inch) wide, all paper pieced, hand sewn and constructed.
About Joyce: Joyce Jenkins ( nee James)
Joyce was born on a farm in Talgarth (Powys) in the mid 1940's.
She attended Maesydderwen Comprehensive school in Ystradgynlais and later became a dental nurse. Joyce married Frank in the late 1960's, has two children (and now 4 grandchildren) and lived for the most of their earlier years in Mayals, Swansea and latterly in Cowbridge.
Joyce had a penchant for certain crafts, cooking, gardening, flower arranging, photography, dried flower presentation and patchwork/quilting the latter which proved to be her favourite. All these crafts were self taught. During the early years she set up a small business, Little Friends, together with her sister; making limited quantities of small fabric figures.
Joyce would spend hours patiently quilting . The making of templates, cutting the fabric to size, hand sewing small then larger pieces, is a testament to her skill, patience and most of all, love for the craft.
Joyce was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2020 and now resides in a Care Home.
Image: Quilt by Joyce Jenkins