Festival of Quilts round-up

After a visual feast last week at the NEC, here is a round up of my favourite works

This is my favourite of the whole show and something that I would like to aspire to soon.

A Year in Flowers, Edna Marie Nylen, Norway. Hexagon paper pieces sewn & quilted by hand

This is the back and the labels

LEFT: Changing Seasons, Judith Day, Australia. Hand appliqued and quilted

RIGHT: Audaciously Embedded (In spite of my better judgement), Alison Davies, Nottingham. Machine pieced, hand quilted, recycled fabrics, including boxer shorts!

 

LEFT: Blue Mood, Patricia Boult, Filongley. Hand pieced over papers, hand quilted

RIGHT: Chris & Genna's Wedding Quilt, Pam Stanier, Malvern Wells. Machine pieced and lightly quilted

LEFT: Just William, Teresa Hills, Bexhill on Sea. English paper pieced, hand pieced and tied, William Morris fabrics

RIGHT: Grandmother's Flower Garden, Mary Reader, Wisbech. Handmade

 

Prancing Horse, Dilys Fronks, Mold. Bonded fabrics

Front & Back

 

TOP: Untitled, John Marcham, Reading. Log cabin sampler, machine pieced & quilted

BOTTOM: close up of Postage Stamp Quilt, Janice Monteith & Karen Florey. Hand cut & pieced, long arm quilted

 

TOP: Blackberry Jam, Jelly &Juice, Sheena Hughes, Bicester. 2nd place Art Quilt

BOTTOM: Portholes, Lucie Summers & Jenny Spencer. Group Quilt Winner

 

Labelled for Life, Jackie Smith, Hertford. Clothing & textile labels pieced, inserted & appliqued

 

LEFT: Costa Rican Carnival, Emese Hall, Exeter

RIGHT: Day after Day, Irene Sharman, Hebden Bridge. Journal templates

 

LEFT: As Time and Fashion Go By, Denise Feireisen-Schmit, Luxembourg. Clothing labels

RIGHT: Happy Anniversary, Marc Whitehead, Southampton. Patchwork hand pieced

 

Stacked, Arnout Cosman, Netherlands. Templates created using software

Painted Lady, Eileen Postlethwaite, Kirkby in Furness. Minature Quilt: Hand printed blocks, machine pieced, hand quilted

 

The quality of the ideas and techniques are truly remarkable and are only really visible when viewed up close, I would definitely recommend this show, even if you're not sure you're 'into quilting', if you like textiles or colour you will find it really interesting and a good day out.

Festival of Quilts 2010 NEC, Birmingham

Sorry it's taken longer than I wanted to talk about my NEC trip, it's been a manic couple of days.
To summarise: I had a fabulous day, there was so much to see and do, I was thoroughly tired out after it though!

Here's a quick round up of the fantastic display of quilts I saw on Friday.

The amount of time and love that must have gone into each of these from all over the world is breathtaking.
Such a wide variety of techniques and fabrics to ponder over, my favourites were the traditional patchwork types, I would really like to tackle this soon.

I really enjoyed this year's exhibition, last year I went on my own but this year I was lucky to have my best friend as good company and even though he's not a stitcher he enjoyed the sights too, it was great to be able to talk to someone about the quilts while viewing!

We both had enrolled for the Morsbags, make a bag workshop, which was a lot of fun.  We learnt all the stages to make these simple eco friendly shopping bags and even though it was a bit manic and a rush for the limited number of sewing machines, it was a good laugh.  The instructors were very helpful and even my friend who hadn't used a sewing machine before managed really well, his lines were straighter than mine!

On the Cotton Patch stand were the celebrity guests!  I met Amy Butler and got her to sign one of her books, I'm embarrassed to say that when she asked for my name to write in the book, my mind went blank and it seemd like time stood still while she stared at me!  Eventually I remembered that my name wasn't 'Mummy' and was able to talk again!  Star Struck!
I also got Jane Brocket's new book 'The Gentle Art of Quilt-Making', which is a lovely inspiring read to help beginner quilters just get on with it without being intimidated!  Again I got Jane to sign the book and this time I was prepared for the name question!

The amount of retailer stands were mind-boggling, thankfully I had a list of items I wanted this time, else you could wander round and be seduced by all manner of things!  I also took a budget of cash only and stuck to it!  I'll add piccies of the fabric etc I got real soon, I'm ashamed to say most of the stuff from the day is still in the shopping bags awaiting a quiet time to lust over it!

The only down points of the day was the lighting in the hall, it looked like tungsten because the colour cast was really orange, it really spoiled some of the quilts especially the lighter/white ones.  I struggled to take any decent balanced shots on my camera too, even when changing the setting to tungsten or fluorescent, I've had to do some white balance correction on them to make them more accurate.  The other gripe was shopping trolleys!  Loads of people seemed to have those annoying pull-along trolleys, I'm sure they're a great idea for carting around your purchases but in a confined alley way of stands, they got in the way and ran over way too many toes, they should be restricted if rucksacks are too!
Anyway, I shall go through my shots next and match them up with the catalogue

Festival of Quilts

I'm counting down the days now, I'm off to the NEC on Friday to see the Festival of Quilts!I can't wait, I had a great time last year and I'm looking forward to some retail therapy and maybe even seeing Amy Butler or Jane Brocket at the book signings.  I will take my camera and hope to get some piccies to share with you.  I've also signed up for a quick & easy class to make a Morsbag, which should be great fun!

The Quilt Show

What a fab day, there was so much to see, there were nearly 1,000 quilts on display, each different with lots of fabulous techniques and fabrics, my eyes were struggling to take it all in I had to leave the halls and have a cup of tea on two occasions so I could sit down and process what I'd seen! It truly was a visual feast for the eyes (and heart). I can't write how excited and inspired I am, I want to be able to create textile art, to use colour, technique and imagination to make a traditional quilt but then also to have an original wall hanging, with handstitching, machine stitching, layers of fabric and thread to create texture, the list is endless!

The only sticking point is that I came away not sure where to start! Not having these skills do I need a book, a pattern to start with or just try free-styling it?! I wish I had booked (that there has been space!) one of the classes to get me in there, give me a place to start, do I try piecing something traditional or see if I can do machine stitching on my machine?

What about fabric! One of the things I need to try/learn is putting colours/fabrics together and cheaply!!

I was naughty a little I did buy a few items, I'll take some piccies tomorrow but treated myself to two fat quarters of Amy Butler, which I intended to display on the the wall first before using! I also got some purple felt and brooch backs for the knitted corsage in progress...and some buttons!!! The stall's there were fabulous, a real wide range and was great to see fabric's in the flesh rather than over a computer screen. The Eternal Maker had some fabulous prints, I had to be very stern with myself! I will of course be filing away the web-sites of new shops for future use!!

So glad I went and I would definitely go again, I'd even buy a ticket next time! The one thing that I did notice is that the majority of people were well ladies and also a lot older than me! Is there an age-restriction on quilting that I'm not aware of?! Although looking at the time/detail you can put into creating, I'm guessing that it works better if you've packed the kids off and you're retired?!!