The first weekend of the East Kent Open Houses (link below at the end of the post) has taken place. My home was open to visitors on Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 5pm. I live in a 19th-century two-bedroom cottage, so turning it into a gallery was something of a challenge! The number 1 on the front door indicates my number in the guide book.
In the sitting room, there is just enough room to put up a quilt stand, so my ‘Rainbow Ladder’ quilt hangs there.
On the sofa under the window, there’s a display of three really big quilts, king-size and super-king:
An everyday laundry dryer works well for displaying single-bed and double-bed quilts – it is easier to see them than if they were stacked in a pile.
The quilted jacket (featuring fruits and vegetables along with embroidered names of cooked dishes) is hooked over an inside door.
In our kitchen/dining room, another laundry rack makes a useful display for smaller quilts.
The table, pushed against the wall holds cards, tea-towels and The Cheshire Cat ‘cut-and-sew’ kits. There are also albums containing all the Amanda Jane Textiles fabric designs.
Here’s a better look:
My studio next to the house is open too, with a new project partly up on the design wall and partly in pieces by the sewing machine.
It feels like quite a big thing to open your house and display your workspace and the things you have made in this way. It felt completely different to standing behind a table at a show (which I have done before). However, it was lovely to meet the people who came to have a look at the quilts. They showed an interest in what I had made and in finding out what the inspiration was behind a particular quilt, what techniques had been used and so on – rather different from selling online which is my usual method!
The East Kent Open Houses 2024 runs for two more weekends (19th/20th October and 26th/27th October 2024. You can find the guide at http://www.ekoh.org.uk
The Cheshire Cat kit – as seen on the table is also available here
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