During my short visit to the ‘Queen of Welsh Resorts’, I stayed in a hotel looking out onto the promenade and beyond that to the sea. There were some over-eager morning visitors:
The conference centre (where the Quilters’ Guild conference and AGM took place) is also placed in prime position looking out to the sea. So nice to step outside between sessions onto the wide promenade and breathe in the sea air. So nice to step outside between sessions onto the wide promenade and breathe in the sea air.
The town was ‘dressed to impress’ for visitors. I liked the horticultural displays, like this:
Meanwhile, inside the conference centre, there was so much to enjoy. Each conference is run by one particular region of the Quilters’ Guild, in this case Region 13. The conference had a particularly Welsh flavour, never more than with the appearance on Friday evening of a sixty-strong Welsh choir, who sang in both languages and proved that it was not necessary to understand the words, to take in the emotional impact of a particular piece.
In one session, Diane Gaffney of Textile Traders gave an interesting presentation about the hand-made textiles she and her husband bring in from many parts of the world. Click here to find out more. There were examples to see after the talk, like this Hill Tribe skirt:
I also learned from the Modern Quilt Group (a special interest group of the Quilters’ Guild) how to put a binding with a contrasting flange around a quilt, like the one below. Very useful. Click here for more about the Modern Quilt Group.
I spent a very pleasurable hour watching a demonstration of hand-quilting by Jean Jeffery, an expert practitioner. She marks her designs in pencil (and the quilt is washed at the end of the quilting process). Marking-out takes a considerable time; Jean uses traditional motifs, partly drawn using templates and also including some elements drawn free-hand.
Jean showed us how she hand-quilts with the work held in a frame on her lap. She gave us numerous hints and tips garnered during a quilting lifetime to help us with this kind of stitching. Such skill! I am determined to try and include this traditional stitching in one of my upcoming projects. Practice is everything it seems, so I shall have to start somewhere. Watch this space
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This is my ‘Daisy and Ivy’ (soft colourway) design. You can find it here.
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