Postboxes

Members of Contemporary quilt were asked to create a small (20cm square) on the subject of diversity and for a time, following discussions on our Yahoogroup it looked as though cultural diversity was the way to go. I liked the idea of using a typical 'British' pub menu to capture this - pizza, chicken tikka, chille, you know the kind of thing I mean.
Fortunately (As I couldn't think how to translate this idea into fabric.) the pendulum swung away from this interpretation and now the majority of pieces submitted represent the diverse aspects of Britain life.

So my challenge was to find a subject that was recognisably British, that came in diverse forms, but also displayed how narrow that diversity could be. Royal mail letterboxes fitted these requirements exactly, there are whole websites dedicated to these British icons that record the most minor of changes as letterboxes have evolved since the 1850’s. I can even tell you that the oldest postbox here is a  Penfold Type PB8/1!!!

This piece is a ‘wholecloth’ which was created on my computer and minimally machine quilted to emphasize the three different postboxes shown.