A group of quilters are going to be ‘coming of age’ at their latest exhibition.

Phat Qwarters – a quilting group founded in Yeovil in September 2000 – will celebrate ‘coming of age’ this month with a retrospective group exhibition, held at Ilminster Arts Centre.

The five quilters – Chris Waddleton, Elaine Buckley, Joan Dawson, Marion Mountjoy-Row and Stella Hammond – met at quilting class at Yeovil College and decided to ‘carry on quilting’ together after the class finished.

Their unusual name is a play on words, a ‘fat quarter’ being a special cut of material often used by quilters.

Since their formation, the group has enjoyed discovering new materials and techniques, such as painting, burning, and embroidery.

Finding inspiration in historic and modern pieces alike, taking risks and sometimes breaking quilting ‘rules’, the group nonetheless sets high standards for its work, saying: “We are very keen on craftsmanship and we can be complete anoraks on the subject of threads, rulers, needles and sewing machines!”

This the first time Phat Qwarters have all exhibited together and they hope their retrospective will inspire others, by showing what a small group of non-professional quilters can achieve and how far their work has progressed.

Adding: “Since founding in 2000, we have taken the good grounding we had in basic skills, added to it, experimented with different techniques, and enjoyed every minute of the journey. The exhibition will include a collection of challenges that we have done over the years, individual pieces, as well as brand new work.”

In addition to the exhibition, members of the group will demonstrate practical quilting techniques in the Gallery on Thursdays throughout the show.

Coming of Age runs from October 8 to October 27.

The gallery is open Mon-Fri 9.30am-4.30pm, Sat 9.30am-2.30pm

Admission is free. Follow Phat Qwarters Textile Artists’ progress on their Facebook page.