Quilts quilts and more quilts... I went the quilt show at Harrogate at the weekend and while it is definitely more of a selling trade show the standards of the quilts displayed was excellent and very varied.
Sadly though there weren't that many quilts on show 80% of the hall is given over to stands selling and promoting quilting accessories - fabric, ribbons, books, handbags (?) - more fabric and every conceivable piece of equipment one could possibly use to fashion a quilt... there may have been bargains to be had but I didn't find any..
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| Elizabethan Flowers by Jane Rollason - exquisite!! |
It was full of ladies of a certain age myself included and was very busy. The work on display was good - there were a couple I was really impressed with - a stunningly beautiful hand dyed silk, appliqued and painted piece by Jane Rollason
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| detail from Elizabethan Flowers |
Another interesting piece was some really vibrant embroidered felt work on a stand staffed by a very friendly chap and a much less friendly Australian woman who was responsible for the work on show - she wasn't inclined to conversation so I didn't manage to find out very much about where they were from ... shame really but there was lots more to see.
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| hand embroidered felt in fantastic colours with masses of embellishment - gorgeous |
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| some more embroidered felt bits,, |
The quilts I have pictured here were my favourite ones in the show and there were quite a few more I really liked - I wish there was more information to be had about how the quilts were conceived, and the processes involved when piecing them.
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| Home coming the return of the white Rabbit by Lizzie Wall |
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| detail of Home Coming of the White Rabbit - so intricate |
While I was completely wowed by a lot of the work - some of it was sooo amazing I was also looking for inspiration and ideas about how to make quilting more contemporary less 'twee' and how different techniques could be employed to achieve this. I was on the whole, a tad disappointed, most of the work was quite traditional, floral, geometric, symmetrical... so is there a gap in the market here?
I looked at the work on display and thought about the quilts I have made - all quite traditional, still very lovely but I want to develop - I want something a little different so what is it that needs to change... this is my new mission - perhaps by studying whats there now and thinking outside the pattern , maybe a little role reversal, maybe some alternative texture, picture quilts, story quilts... I'm sure there's nothing new but I might come up with some nice ideas to play with... its an idea forming hopefully evolving .... in the meantime there was some lovely work on display ....
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