Jenny Bowker

This is Mohamed Sa'ad in Cairo, Egypt. He is the caretaker of the Mosque where he used to do the call to prayer as a muezzin. His voice wore out and the mosque is under repair and so he lives here with his wife and daughter - who is badly affected with Down's Syndrome. The door behind him is stunning - dark wood and ornate bronze and silver.

I wanted to make something special for Bernina as I owe them an enormous debt of gratitude for help and support over the years. They have lent me machines in locations all over the world - they have flown me to classes all over the world. They even delivered a machine to a hospital hostel for me when my daughter was badly burnt and I had
a quilting deadline.

I wanted something in my style as requested by Bernina - and that was hard as my style is pictorial and representational. I wanted something to fascinate and hold people's gaze, and to pull them in for a closer look. I wanted something with a different technique - the sort of technique that might make people wonder how it was done.

The 8 as a theme was a problem and I am aware that I have not made this a theme in the way that others will - but the stone walls have red numbers on them for the buildings and  the mosque now has a number.

The quilt is made with cottons, some commercial and a few hand dyed, the batting is Matilda's Own Wool Mix Batting, I used Mettler and Signature threads, and silver foiled jersey which is usually used for dance costumes. It ladders if cut so I burnt the edges off after I stitched it by using a soldering iron with a sharp tip.

Photograph by Daniel Heather.