The Festival of Quilts is Europe’s
leading patchwork and quilting event and this year I had the privilege of
attending with Hochanda. Attracting more than 25,000 visitors from all over the
world, honestly there were bus loads rolling in daily from Australia, it was
truly an international event.
Prior to the show, I was unsure
what to expect but to put it mildly I was blown away by the entire experience,
from the organisation and layout of the three halls down to the incredible
talent on show. Celebrating quilting in all forms, there were over 300
exhibitors providing endless stalls to purchase all your quilting essentials,
incredible galleries displaying what I can only describe as the most ore-inspiring
quilts I have ever seen.
One that stands out for me was The
Women’s Quilt. It was made up of 598 patches, a patch to commemorate 598 women
killed as a result of domestic violence between 2009 and 2015. The quilt is an
emotive and evocative quilt that commemorates the lives of these women and acts
as a poignant reminder that domestic abuse is unfortunately still the norm for
too many women. The Women’s Quilt remembers each woman as more than a
statistic, every patch has a unique tale about that person’s life. Truly a
thing of beauty that transcends art on so many levels.
Another that stands out was The
Quilt of Memories, an idea formed by Sylvia Priest whose husband was tragically
diagnosed with Leukaemia. Wanting to make sense of what was happening Sylvia
chose to create a quilt to honour all the people who have been lost to Leukaemia.
After speaking to others about this project, over 140 people got involved
sending in quilt blocks with initials of the people they wished to be
remembered. At this year’s show the quilt was used to raise further donations
for Bloodwise, the National UK Charity, for whom Sylvia is an Ambassador for,
but equally served as an opportunity for people like me to enjoy it.
There were also 17 competition
categories taking place throughout the event including Best in Show which was
the overall winner out of all the categories chosen which went to Philipa
Naylor for her miniature quilt entitled Measure for Measure.
To anyone who had the opportunity
to attend The Festival of Quilts 2017 – I’m sure you enjoyed it as much as I
did; to anyone who is considering attending next year – I most definitely
recommend it. The quilts were amazing and there was some amazing talent on
show. It is a real treat, the quilts were a work of art and an inspiration,
beautifully displayed and provided the opportunity to put faces to the names of
those we often read about. With lots to see, do and buy – it gave me and so
many others that I have since spoken to the urge to become more creative.
Lastly for those that do attend next year’s event, I definitely recommend
attending a couple of the workshops on offer, they are immensely enlightening
and the instructors are so approachable; they are only small classes and you
always feel like you can ask questions and you can pick up some handy hints and
tips from your fellow quilters!
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