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12 Summer 2021 A STITCH IN TIME HAE EHA Marketing Project Lead Stuart Tyrrell joins Tamworth Sewing Volunteers to unveil commemorative quilt honouring efforts during pandemic. O ver the spring and summer of 2020, as COVID-19 protection measures and lockdowns were in place, Marketing Project Lead Stuart Tyrrell worked to support a local volunteer group. Tamworth Sewing Volunteers was created to address the increase in demand for medical scrubs, face-masks, laundry bags and other accessories. Groups of volunteers worked from their homes during lockdown, with items they made donated to health centres and hospitals throughout the Midlands and South Staffordshire. In the year that followed, the group proved highly productive, creating more than 28,000 items made from donated fabrics of anything people were willing to spare, including, bed-sheets, clothing, curtains, wool, buttons and thread. The group co-ordinators felt their combined efforts were worthy of celebration so reached out to other members for help in the creation of a commemorative quilt. The completed squares were collected then handed to another of the volunteers, Alison West, who combined them into a quilt. Volunteer Group Coordinator Emma Vamplew said: “The quilt is made from squares that the volunteers made, each one included their names and some decoration to mark the work that has been done.” Covid-19 restrictions prevented the organising of a formal event. However, the Mayor of Tamworth, Councillor Rosemary Claymore, was able to attend a gathering at Tamworth Castle Grounds. The quilt was unveiled to bystanders and some key volunteers from the group. The quilt marks a specific time in the town’s history - the covid-19 pandemic and the brilliant work of the volunteers in providing support to the NHS and other organisations, and giving the volunteers purpose and focus during such a difficult time. Commenting on his work for the group, Stuart said: “I did collections and deliveries for the group, fetching materials and donated items, keeping stock and delivering parcels to key workers and healthcare centres. I wanted to lend help during the pandemic. I was in good health and, while I have no sewing skills, I own a large car and I had the spare time. “It was important to me that I supported a local cause, providing help to healthcare workers in medical centres in Tamworth and the surrounding area. My wife Joanna, who is highly adept at sewing, also volunteered and made over 1100 items for the group including face-masks, headbands and other accessories. We’ll always be proud of the work we did and the help we could give to this cause.” The quilt, along with an information board about the work the group has done, was displayed in a window at Ankerside Shopping Centre in Tamworth before starting a tour of local venues including Tamworth Library and The Church of Saint John the Baptist, which the sewing volunteers used as a base of operations in the early stages of the 2020 lockdown. On show alongside the quilt is an award fromTamworth RoundTable that was given to Emma Vamplew for her hard work coordinating the sewing volunteers.At the end of the tour it is hoped the quilt will be placed on permanent display at Tamworth Castle. <<