Artist's plea for return of quilts stolen in 1996

Textile artist Lynn Setterington had four quilts stolen from an exhibition almost 30 years ago

A textile artist who had four quilts stolen from an exhibition nearly 30 years ago is appealing for their return.

Lynn Setterington, from Manchester, was showing the four hand-embroidered quilts during an exhibition at Brewery Arts, Cirencester, in 1996.

She said the pieces were part of her "archive and history".

Anyone who recognises the pieces can return them, or contact Dr Setterington with no recourse.

Dr Setterington did not photograph the pieces, so only has the original designs of two of the four quilts.

She said one piece featured embroidered remote controls which was a response to the "strong visual colours, ideas and signs" she saw during a trip to India.

One of the quilts had a remote control and slicer embroidered onto it

"It's a celebration of the everyday and normal objects, and there were traditional campers on one [quilt] from Bangladesh."

She said the pieces, which were all hand-stitched and measured roughly a metre square each, took her a "good few months" of work.

"It wasn't something I did in five minutes," she added.

A rough sketch of one of the quilts featuring gardening equipment

Following the theft, attempts were made to locate them, but they are still missing.

"It's like meeting old friends again when you see your art and to not have any record… it left a gap in my CV, like a hole."

Dr Setterington is appealing for any news on the pieces, or for anyone who took pictures during the first days of the exhibit with the quilts in, to share them with her to regain a better memory of the pieces.

"You do think 'are they going to turn up on Antiques Roadshow?' or maybe they're on someone's wall being enjoyed, which I kind of hope they are," she added.

Dr Setterington has written a book about her 40 years as a textile artist, which brought the theft back into focus

Dr Setterington is preparing for an exhibition at the Fashion Textile Museum, London, from March to September, and has written a book Connecting Threads with Stroud publisher Quickthorn.

In it, she shows some of the quilt designs, highlighting the missing pieces.

"It would be nice to know they're safe and [have] been enjoyed by someone, even if I don't get them back, just to know something of their story," she added.