THE PATCHWORK PLANET: Quilting in Hungary

When Kinga Tibor of Hungary found she didn't have enough of a certain fabric left over to make a wall carpet, she found herself vulnerable to the call of quilting. "We moved into a new home and I wanted to create a real children's room for my sons. I bought a dark curtain fabric with white stars and yellow moons on it and I thought I would buy some extra of it, and I would use it as a wall carpet. When I was ready with the curtain, I realized that the rest wasn't enough for the wall. Here sometimes it happens, the shop runs out of a specific kind of textile and you have no hope to find the same one. That's exactly what happened with me. That evening I saw a nice quilt in an American movie, I liked it, and I started thinking about it. A couple of days later I talked about my plan among my friends and I got to know that there is a woman lives not too far from my home, who makes quilts and she is an instructor of quilting courses. I became a member of her club and I have already learned a lot of interesting things about quilting."

This was about nine months ago. Her family was a little bit puzzled about her new pursuit, but they grew enthusiastic. "I'm making my second blanket for my younger son, who is hardly able to wait until it's ready," Kinga says. "My husband's opinion: it's strange to buy a large piece of textile, to cut it in several smaller pieces and sew them together again, but when it's ready, he likes them."

There is not a long tradition of quilting in Hungary, but the country has a rich textile tradition, particularly embroidery. "we have several other old traditional Hungarian sewing techniques," Kinga says. For example, embroidery from the Kalocsa region, Matzo embroidery, cross-stitch, Zsinoros (string) embroidery, which is very similar to the Celtic technique, lace from the Halas region, surratetes etc."

Despite this tradition of handwork, Kinga notes some frustration regarding local resources for quilters. "There are several textile shops in Hungary, but as I saw on the internet there are more in the US and you don't need to worry if you didn't buy enough of a specific kind of textile. I don't complain because if you want you can create fantastic things from these narrower scale too.

"There are more and more shops selling supplements for quilting, but it isn't an everyday thing and only a few can afford it, but you can buy the same cutting tools, needles and threads like in your country. The basic difference in your country is that sometimes there is a sponsor, but here in Hungary, you can only find sponsors for soccer, therefore we have to deal with it from our own power. I'm among the lucky ones, because I have internet access, I made several friends and I got a book, was sent by a women and a magazine sent by an another of my friend. It is very valuable here and I shared them with my mates."

There is a national quilting guild in Hungary, headquartered in the capitol of Budapest. Founded in 1989, it has about 600 members and Kinga estimates there are are about 2,000 more in local clubs. Hungarian quilters also participate actively in European quilt exhibitions.

Kinga has found her quilting horizons broadened by the internet. She was an early member of Planet Patchwork's Quiltopia mail list and has made many friends there. These friends have been a source a support and of something more: "There isn't any regular magazine and there are three books published and written by Hungarian authors. Unfortunately these books aren't for beginners but for advanced makers. There is a shop in Budapest, you can buy books, magazines, but these are too expensive for an average Hungarian. Here is an example: the average net monthly income is around 150-200 $. A book at the USA $25 here is $40. So this is too expensive, but I'm not complaining because there are some friends of mine abroad and they bring me magazines as a gift, instead of chocolate."

Kinga acknowledges that she is among the fortunate in having internet access and the international contacts it brings. But she is joined in Hungary by several thousand people who are carrying on the quilting tradition and bringing new dimension to it as her nation emerges from the Cold War. For Kinga, it all began with an unfinished project and an American movie.

TVQ * Planet Patchwork