I had an enjoyable visit to the Festival of Quilts at the NEC in Birmingham last week and in the post here, I am going to share with you some of my favourites from the hundreds and hundreds of quilts on display. You can find a list of the winning quilts and makers here I have two particular favourites among the prize winners. Firstly, the winner in the ‘Art Quilts ‘ category: this is ‘Morning Fog’ designed and made by Sarah Lykins Entsminger. I loved its quiet beauty and subtle use of colour.
The second-prize winner in this category was a subtly printed and beautifully executed large quilt designed and made by Leah Higgins called ‘Shoreline 1’.
This close-up shows the printing patterns on the cloth.
It was also very pleasurable to stop at Leah’s table in the Creative Textiles Studio and see her demonstrating – and talking enthusiastically – about her breakdown printing techniques.
In the Quilt Creations section of the show, I loved the three-dimensional installation designed and made by Kate Crossley:
There was so much detail in this piece, you could look at it for ages! The various items suggest all kinds of references to life experiences. How nice that a quilt is so prominently displayed. The soft and muted colours contrasted with the dramatically sharp and sometimes rusted objects. A very intriguing artwork.
There were two colourful pieces in the Art Quilts section by Gillian Travis which I particularly enjoyed because their vibrant colours captured so well the colours of first clothing and second doorways in Mexico, which I visited myself some years ago when my daughter was living there.
In the ‘Traditional Quilts’ section of the show, I felt very drawn to the ‘Diamonds are Forever’ quilt, made by Maggie Breakspear (inspired by the quilts of Brigitte Giblin):
In the ‘Sustainable Quilts’ category, I was genuinely riveted (pun intended) by the extraordinary use of fabric pieces from jeans in ‘Riveting Restrictions – From Waste to Wonder’ designed and made by Marja Matiisen. It is a dramatic and beautiful piece from a distance:
At close hand, the viewer can see the detail of the many rivets, zips, buttons and top-stitching on the pieces used in the quilt. The skill employed to stitch such difficult fabrics is astonishing!
Next week, I will include more of my favourites and show you the quilts I entered in the competition. See you then.
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The two quilts above inspired by Mexico make me think of my own quilt, made in response to that nation. The ‘Colours of Mexico’ quilt pattern is here
Amanda Jane Textiles 