Sunday 19 August 2012

The last day at FOQ

Today was the final day of Festival of Quilts. Usually Saturday is the peak and the crowds begin to thin out on Sunday as visitors want to return home a bit early.
This year Sunday was thinned out from the very start! No crowds to speak of, which means Paradise for the photographers and Hell for the traders. I spoke to a bookseller who said it has been the same at other shows this year. 'We just have to hang in there, and wait for better times'.

Anyway, today I want to share some photos with you. First let's take a look at embroidery details:

Simple but striking, Radiate Sketch by Helen Parrott, Sheffiled

Machine and hand embroidery mixed with beads.
Gorgeous Showers, by Sarah Showers, Rothwell


On her quilt, Tree of Life, Helen Cowans has used machine embroidery and beading.

Lilian Harris of Sevenoaks used her computer and sewing machine to make an excellent quilt with Blackwork embroidery.

Another topic I want to talk about today is quilting in Japan and England. Many Japanese quilters romanticise the English look and make quilts you expect to find in a Jane Austen story. On the other hand many English quilters are inspired by Japanese fabric or design. These quilts look exotic to  Europeans but 'unusual' to the Japanese; they would probably have made something different. 

Hiromi Yokota from Yokohama made a charming quilts with  baskets, Wrapped in Gentleness


She also made this quilt, Flower of 13115 Pieces & Peace. The title tells you how many hexagons there are!
Diane Cowell of Huntingdon made her Celestial  Flight out of various Asian fabrics
Janet Sheen from Haverfordwest got inspiration from Yoshiko Jinzenji's designs and made the striking 'Kimono Day and Night.

This Kimono pattern is much more frequently seen in quilts made outside Japan. I wonder why as it is a neat design for piecing.

I found two interesting entries in Quilt Creations.
Gillian Travis paid tribute to Swedish folklore with her set of Svenska Tillbehör
A Pearl Beyond Price, by Marvis Walker of Lightwater
Let me round up today's blog post with this heavily 'pierced' baby. I wonder if he is the fruit of pierced and tattooed parents! The midwife must have got a shock when out popped a studded baby!

Isn't needlework and quilting fun?!

2 comments:

Pippas quilts said...

Thank you for the photo's I agree needlework and quilting is great fun. Pippa

margaret said...

thanks for sharing your quilt show photos Queenie, wonder if thw Gorgeous showers is from the Rothwell which is just down the road from me, would love to make contact, will have to do a bit of investigation!!

The baby is amazing.