Festival of Quilts

So Rachel and I braved the quilt show this year. Considering I didn't actually need anything apart from a few pencil leads, I still managed to buy one of everything. But it's so hard when there is just stall after stall packed with things stretching in front of you.





And of course there is the exhibition itself. I always feel good after I've seen an exhibition as I realise that although people have a huge amount of skill, they often create things which make my eyeballs sore. I think I am just a bit too 'Little House on The Prairie' for all these ground-breaking, exciting designs. Below are a few details of things I did like.


I think I gravitated to all the hexagon ones this year because you have to do them by hand. More and more I see Gamel quilting which is where you send off your quilt and a big machine quilts a huge perfect design over it... which is great, but I have started to really appreciate the ones done by hand. They just seem a little more human.


I was much more interested in applique this year after my botch-job attempt. I felt like a real show pro as I had to get right up to them and eyeball them whilst muttering 'how the hell did they do that?' which is what I see a lot of people doing. I think I just thought they were short-sighted before.


It looked like people had printed their own material which I thought looked really good.


There was a lot of experimental stuff which I think bordered on embroidery really. I am not sure how they decide what it patchwork, but I sometimes felt things had veered off into a new realm. Some of them were amazing though.






They had a clothes section which seemed rather like a wizard's wardrobe. Some of them were amazing. This christening dress was so long. The hem was amazing. Of course I didn't photograph that because I am an idiot.


This is my sort of thing. A bit frayed, a bit wonky. When did I become so traditional? I really don't know.


Here is am example of 'close quilting'. It's amazing, but you come out with something so stiff, you could never imagine wrapping it round you on the sofa. Although, I have a feeling none of the quilts will go very near human touch.


Some things were very tastful. This is a miniature quilt, they are always my favourites as they must all be made by people who are bonkers... with really tiny fingers.

I took a whole load more pictures which you can see here if it's your thing.

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