Springfields Quilt Show 2013

Ros did sterling work yesterday as driver in charge of my wheelchair and we hardly crashed into anything.  We both thoroughly enjoyed the Spring Quilt Show at Springfields in Spalding, the first show organised by Grosvenor at this venue.  I hope it become a regular fixture in their calendar.  A date has been published for next year:  30 - 31 May 2014.  It wasn't a massive show but it was big enough, we were there all day and saw everything, shopped and did a great workshop with Linda Turner.  Just right I thought.  The catering was varied and good value, the lighting was fine and there was plenty of room to enjoy the quilts on display.  I spoke to a couple of traders who were a bit disappointed with sales yesterday so I hope they have a better day today and are willing to come back to Spalding next year.  If I had a criticism it would be that the quilts weren't hung as professionally as I would expect, some were very crowded together (for example in the first picture below) and some were "ruched" up.  I thought you'd like to share the day, so here goes:

Linda Turner had an exhibition of some of her wonderful quilts, mainly landscapes.  Apologies for the angle of some of my photographs and, as ever, if you appear in one of my pictures but would prefer not to be on my blog, please email me and I'll remove the photograph.

This quilt, "Reflections" uses the technique we learned in our one hour workshop with Linda, using Markel Paintsticks on fabric to create landscapes.

 Brushing the oil paint onto the fabric using a torn edge of paper as a stencil line.

 An example of Linda's work - I'll share mine when I've finished the stitching.

I was impressed with the work of two other quilters in particular, the incredible appliqué and quilting of Liz Jones and the beautifully textured, embellished work of Sally Holman:

 Sally Holman and Janet Cook, "Streak of Lightning"

 Liz Jones, "Shadowland"

 Liz Jones, "Feathered to the Nines"

 Liz Jones, "Tudor Rose"

 Some of Sally Holman's lovely work inspired by the coastline of Norfolk:

To finish my report from the Springfields Quilt Show, this lovely homage to Jane Austen, made by Bee Barford for the South West Quilters' Chairman's Challenge 2013, "As the saying goes..."  

The quilt is titled, "It is a Truth Universally Acknowledged, That a Single Man in Possession of a Good Fortune, Must Be in Want of a Wife", inspired by Austen's coverlet at her home in Chawton, Hampshire.  The central swans were made by Bee, who has only been quilting for two years, in Russian tape lace.

Today I'm having a quiet day, watching the webcam of the Peregrine falcon chicks on the spire of Norwich Cathedral, one of four left to fledge:  http://upp.hawkandowl.org/norwich-peregrines/live-peregrine-web-cam-2013/

Festival of Quilts 2010 - Part 1

Here's my first photo report from the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, England.  The next one will show you where my credit card got battered.
I travelled to NEC with quilting/textiles friend, Trish, who did a brilliant job with the driving (especially in the torrential rain all the way home after an exhausting day) and Pam and June, excited to be attending FoQ for the first time.  We had a great day but today I am shattered and ache in places I didn't know I had (not just my purse).

There are some whinges about the show - particularly why was the trading area so cramped and also confusingly arranged in blocks rather than rows?  Overall though it was a good show with a rich variety of quilts and textile creations on display (fewer than usual I thought, maybe somebody will correct me on that one).  Here are my photos of the day:

Susan Denton's atmospheric landscape quilts attracted my attention.  Here are "Field Walk" and "Winter Allotments"

It was a delight to meet up with fellow blogger, Suzan, at lunch time (and very welcome to sit down and chat for a while).  I have to say I was impressed with the way the catering was organised, no table-bagging but rather a table made available as we got to the till with our lunches and drink.

The next piece to thrill me was this gorgeous piece by Lia Flemings, delicious.

Time for another sit-down and Trish and I went off to stand E42 to make a Morsbag.  How brilliant this project is, take a look at the website for all the information, patterns and ethos.

"Mission:  Impossible 2" (below), exhibit 764, was the amazing work of Kumiko Frydl of Texas, USA, the winner of the Miniature Quilts class.
The judges' comments read:  "Stunning!  Precision personified.  Wonderful detail" and many people spent a long time peering at this exquisite work nearly unable to believe the 128 point Mariner's Compass was really pieced (paper foundation), reverse appliqued and then freemotion quilted.

Added 23 August from "comments":
Dottymo said... Thought you would like to know. The miniture quilt 'Mission Impossible 2' won BEST IN SHOW. 

Exhibit 822 caught my eye, probably because of the Japanese influences initially.  The garments, "Gifts 'Round the World'" by Elizabeth Shapland of London included curved piecing, applique, beading, hand-quilting with speciality threads and Japanese-style knotted insert strips.

One of the quilts I would have loved to take away with me, one I could both admire and live with, was "Moonstruck", below, by Jean Chesnek.  I found the colours, curves and quilting to be very pleasing and was interested by the idea of rust-dyeing.

Finally today then, Christina Henri's "Roses from the Heart" project.  Since 2003, Christina, a conceptual artist from Tasmania, has focussed on the lives of convict women transported to Australia.  Her mission is to gather and exhibit 25,566 bonnets, one for each woman and including those women and babies who died on the way.  I'm sure you will have read about this project but to see all those bonnets spread out on the floor initiated an emotional reponse and I was moved to contribute.

 

If you're off to the Festival of Quilts this weekend I hope you have a great time and I look forward to reading all your thoughts and responses - it's a very personal thing isn't it?!