Harrogate Quilt Show

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..

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

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. 

hand embroidered felt in fantastic colours with masses of embellishment - gorgeous

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.

Home coming the return of the white Rabbit by Lizzie Wall

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 ....