Ted's Ties: The Dexter Quilt

Linda Seward, wife of Robert (1959), recounts how a surprise phone call and box of ties led to the creation of the Dexter Cricket Quilt.

In 1999 I was in charge of publicity for a quilt exhibition that was being held at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. The celebrity that I had asked to “cut the ribbon” let me down three days before the opening and I had no idea how to find someone else at such short notice. My husband Robert, who knew Ted Dexter from Radley and who regularly played golf with him, suggested I ask him to open the show since the exhibition was at Lords. To my surprise and utter relief, he accepted with alacrity and he and his wife Susan turned up at the appropriate hour, full of enthusiasm, to view the quilts and shake the hands of the astonished guests who never expected to meet the great man at a quilt show!

Below: Ted and Linda in front of the Dexter Cricket Quilt. This must have given him an idea because in 2004 I got an unexpected call. “Hi, Linda, Ted Dexter here.” Ted is a man who doesn’t waste words, so even though we hadn’t spoken for a few years, he came straight to the point. “I have a box of old cricket ties—think you could do something with them?” Surprised by the phone call and his direct request, I couldn’t say anything but “Sure!”

A few weeks later my husband came home from his golf club (Ted was also a member there) with a big cardboard box with my name on it. “Do you have any idea what these are for?” he asked. One look inside the box revealed a huge number of ties in a riot of colours and confirmed that my job had now begun.

My daughters and I unpacked the box and immediately began sorting the ties into piles by colour. It soon became apparent that the ties fell into five colour groups: red, green, grey, yellow and navy blue. There were also about a dozen others in wild colours that didn’t fit the general pattern. As we studied the ties, we noticed the most marvellous motifs: a pelican holding a cricket bat, kangaroos, snakes, kiwi birds, trees, Big Ben, geese, lions, shields of all kinds, wickets, cricket balls—each tie was unique and utterly fascinating, and I had no doubt that each image had a hidden meaning.

We then discovered words and phrases woven all over the ties: England v Australia Edgbaston 1989, Lords & Commons v Barbados Parliamentarians & Celebrities UK 1990, England v New Zealand 1990, National Cup Winners at Lords 1984, Calcutta Cricket Club, The Grand Prix Drivers Celebrity Golf Tournament, 100 Years of Cricket at Queens Park, npower Test Series 2002, National Cup Winners at Lords 1984, MRF World Series—I could continue this list for a long time. Not being a follower of cricket, these words didn’t hold much meaning for me, but I was certain that they would have great significance for anyone who followed Ted Dexter’s career.

I spent a few weeks just looking at the ties, thinking about cricket and how I could relate that sport to a patchwork quilt. I also realised that all the ties would have to be unpicked and pressed. I engaged the services of my 13-year-old daughter Emily and paid her 10p per tie. Although my friends believe that I was flouting the child labour laws, Emily was perfectly happy with her £20! So I now had 200 ties in every shape, colour and pattern and I had to make them into a quilt.

The Log Cabin design immediately came to mind. I remembered seeing a log cabin arrangement that gave the impression of curves—it is called Off-Centre Log Cabin. I made some sketches on graph paper and was happy to discover that if I made four offcentre log cabin blocks and sewed them together I could create the impression of a circle: a cricket ball! I was elated to have found this design. I decided to make the background navy and feature four “cricket balls” in the main colours of red, grey, green and yellow.

When it was finished, I telephoned Ted. We arranged to meet at my house for lunch one Saturday for the unveiling. I don’t think he had any idea of what to expect and he seemed genuinely delighted with the quilt. He told me that he planned to auction it to raise money for one of his favourite charities, The Lord’s Taverners, which is cricket's official charity. Since 1950, The Lord’s Taverners have been raising money to give young people, particularly those with special needs, a ‘sporting chance’.

Ted contacted the Chief Executive of The Lord's Taverners who came over to view the quilt. He decided it would be a perfect auction prize for their Christmas lunch. He contacted the curator of the Cricket Museum at Lord’s and arranged for the quilt to be hung there for the summer and autumn. I delivered the quilt to the museum and it was auctioned at the Taverner’s boozy Christmas lunch on 6 December, 2004, where it raised £7500. A very pleasing result.

In January 2015, I received the following email from Ted:

Dear Quilter Supreme!!

The DEXTER quilt is surplus to requirements as my pal (the buyer) John Livock is moving house. My idea is to offer it back to the Lord’s Taverners to auction again (though without any very optimistic thoughts on a price). I may also simply have John offer it to the MCC Museum - but they may or may not want it. Have you any thoughts on the subject. I suppose I could have it home and put it on my bed!! Love to all the family.

Ted (DEXTER)

At Ted’s behest, John Livock decided to donate it to the MCC Museum. We presented the quilt to the museum that summer, where it can be viewed today. And being the true gentleman that he was, Ted treated me, John and Susan to a cracking lunch after the presentation ceremony.