Gwent Quilters Exhibition, Newport, June 2014

It seems to be the 'quilt exhibition' season.  A few weeks ago I visited Newport, Wales, to see a display of over 100 quilts by Gwent Quilters.  Here are a few of the pictures I took.

"Scrappy Triangles" by Brenda Edwards

I must have spent at least ten minutes just gazing at this quilt - I think it is amazing.  Brenda has done a great job.  I have seen it on display before and I was mesmerised by it then.  I recognised it as a scrap quilt design 'Strictly Triangles' available in Katharine Guerrier's book 'Scrap Quilt Sensation'.  I have had the book for ages and just can't decide which quilt I want to do, but Brenda has done a great version with great use of bright yellow to give it some zing.  If you are a fan of Katharine Guierrier, she is having an exhibition of her work at Cynon Valley Museum and Gallery, Aberdare, Wales, 20th July until 19th September 2014.

'Rhapsody in Blue' by Pat Cleary (One Block Wonder Quilt)

At the moment I am slightly obsessed with one-block wonder quilts, and there were quite a few to see at this exhibition.  These are quilts where, with the use of fussy cutting, you can make clever quilts out of one single fabric.  My research so far has worked out that you need to be very selective with the fabric you choose.  I love the colours Pat has chosen. Another one for the 'bucket list'.


'Cosmos' by Maureen Packer

This was a small foundation pieced sampler by Maureen Packer.  It is a pattern by George Sigiliano based in the USA.  I like the dramatic impact the black fabric has against the bright colours.

'Christmas Folded Stars' by Gwyneth Proctor

This elegant hanging is by Gwyneth Proctor.  It was part of a Gwent Quilters Challenge, using cut and fold quilting techniques by Carol Nartowicz. The pattern had a subtle three-dimensional design element, which may be hard to see in the photograph.  I would have never chosen this combination of colours, but I think they work perfectly together.


Scrappy hexagon quilt

Finally, for all the hexagon fans out there, here is a scrappy hexagon quilt.  The hexagons were about 1.5", and the overall quilt about 4' x 5' (this is from memory!).

Chantilly Fat Quarters by Lauren and Jessi Jung for Moda

What is a quilt exhibition without a few purchases?  I bought this little bundle of fat quarters from the Chantilly range by Lauren and Jessi Jung for Moda.  Do you see that red and white spot - how has this fabric avoided my radar over the past 18 months?

International Quilt Festival Luxembourg 2014

'Shooting Stars' Birgit Schüller, 2009

The other day I told you about the wonderful quilts I saw on my visit to the Association Jurassienne de Patchwork exhibition in Switzerland.  Well - whilst in the area I picked up another quilt show leaflet, this time for the 6th International Quiltfestival in Luxembourg in Wilwerwiltz, 2014.  This is where taking a holiday in a campervan really pays off - Switzerland to Luxembourg (via Germany and Belgium) is 'doable', so we headed north to the 4 day event.

International Quiltfestival in Luxembourg 2014

It was really a delightful festival.  It was set in the countryside with displays in a handful of local villages surrounding Wilwerwiltz in Luxembourg.  It encompassed a wide range of quilts from international professional quilters to projects organised by local church groups.  There was something for everyone.

Sheena J Norquay, Inverness, Scotland

One of the displays was by Sheena J Norquay, who had travelled from Inverness in Scotland.  Most of her pieces were based on small, colourful squares of fabric.  On reading information about her work I soon recognised them as they were the same sample squares which I had used from the online store Strawberry Fayre fabrics for my Scrappy Single Irish Chain Quilt.

'Blummenzauber' by Christiane Langmantel

It won't surprise you that this red and white quilt by Christiane Langmantel was one of my favourites.  It is from an original design 'Floral Beauty' by Irene Blanck, which you can purchase from her website. I love the dog tooth border, and some of the blocks use some cute checked fabric - what a great quilt.

Minature Quilt - Yvonne Schmitz, Button Quilters, Luxembourg

This miniature quilt is a good example of how the internet does not always represent a quilt accurately.  Yvonne Schmitz of Button Quilters had made several miniature quilts, and the pieces in these sampler blocks were TINY!


'Walking in the Sunshine' by Gritty Winandy

I love the amount of yellow used in these oblong string blocks, which is probably why it has such a sunny title. 

Detail 'Shooting Stars' by Brigit Schüller

The photo of the quilt at the top of the page is by Brigit Schüller a longarm quilter from Germany.  Again, the photos do not show off her amazing longarm quilting skills and the thousands of rhinestones that decorate the quilt


Veronique Straus - Halztauer

Perhaps the most fascinating part about the festival was the creative ways each group had chosen to display their quilts.  Some were in barns, some were outside, others in community venues.  They had set the rooms with accessories which really enhanced the experience.  This quilt captured my interest by the way it had been mounted in a rustic window frame with a shelf.


International Quiltfestival in Luxembourg 2014

Whilst it felt that the event was in the middle of the countryside, it was very busy and it really brought the village alive.  They really made the most of the venues and we all appreciated the time they had taken to help us enjoy the displays.

International Quiltfestival in Luxembourg 2014

Naturally there was a large tent selling fabric and quilting supplies from stores from Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. This event was near the very end of our trip and the Euros in my purse were very low.  Unfortunately (for the stalls and me!) there was not a cashpoint in the village, the bank was shut, and none of the stalls seemed to take credit cards.  I came away with just one fat quarter of fabric, but plenty of inspiration.

This is only a glimpse of what I saw, for more inspiration from the 6th International Quiltfestival Luxembourg 2014 visit Paula at BatikQuilt and  Stufen zum Gericht.

Patchwork Exhibition - Association Jurassienne de Patchwork, Delémont , Switzerland 2014



Association Jurassienne de Patchwork,
Patchwork Exhibition, Delémont, Switzerland 

When planning a trip in a campervan you can be quite flexible with the route you take, but it is good to have a few key sights you want to see before you leave.  If we are heading off, I always check to see if there are any quilt exhibitions in the area we are heading.  This time we were lucky as the Association Jurassienne de Patchwork were having a display of their work in Delémont, Switzerland, 24th May - 9th June 2014.

AJP Collectif - Lanterne Magique, 2012

You never know quite what you are going to see when you turn up, but from having been to a few 'international' quilt shows, quilters seem to be the same all over - friendly, talented and good at making cakes!  Here are some of the quilts that were on show ...


Quilt 'Oasis' by Maria Vuillemier 2012

Several of the quilts on display were by Maria Vuillemier, and they were the ones I was most drawn to.  She had certainly been busy!

Quilt - 'Code 25 - Écriture morse', Maria Vuillemier, 2013

This quilt, 'Code 25 - Écriture morse' by Maria Vuillemier was a really interesting quilt.  On the left, the tiny blue dots and dashes provide the Morse code to decipher the message on the right.  When it came to my 'Viewers Choice' selection, this quilt got my vote.


Quilt 'Blanc Noir Rouge' by Gaby Stebler 2014 

My husband chose this White Black and Red quilt by Gaby Stebler as his 'Viewers Choice'.  I love the way she has used the fabrics to create an optical illusion.



Quilt 'Fusion' by Violette Moser, 2012

This small quilt by Violette Moser caught my eye as it reminded me of some of the designs you might find on an alter frontal in a church or cathedral.  See how even she has managed to keep those curves - amazing.


Association Jurassienne de Patchwork,
Patchwork Exhibition, Delémont, Switzerland 

 

Welsh Wholecloth Quilts - Welsh Quilt Centre Exhibition, Lampeter 2013

Cwrtnewydd Fans Art Deco Wholecloth Quilt, c 1930
Welsh Quilt Centre, Lampeter, Wales

Alongside all those colourful Kaffe Fassett quilts hanging from the ceiling which I showed in my last post, were a lovely selection of traditional hand made wholecloth Welsh quilts, from the Jen Jones Collection, which makes up the majority of the Welsh Quilt Centre permanent exhibits.  It was hard to resist getting onto the bed and having a snooze with all those pink hand quilted quilts!

Green and Red Wholecloth Quilt, early 20th Century,
Welsh Quilt Centre, Lampeter

As I hope you can see, these quilts are ALL about hand quilting, and traditional wholecloth Welsh quilting patterns.  The majority of those on show were a cotton sateen, usually with a floral patterned fabric on the reverse.  The sheen on the sateen really shows off the quilting patterns well.

Detail - Green ad Red Wholecloth Quilt, possible Wedding Quilt, 
Welsh Quilt Centre, Lampeter

The detail on this Green quilt shows a heart pattern at the centre, surrounded by spirals which represent long life or eternity, most probably a wedding quilt.  What a wonderful gift to receive!

Detail - 'Jester Quilt', c 1920, Carmarthenshire 

This Jester Quilt really shows the quilting well, and even with my 2D photo on the internet, you get quite a good impression of the depth of the wadding. Alongside the completed quilts, there were samples on show the inside of these traditional quilts.  As you can see, the 'wadding' is sheep's wool.  In this sample it doesn't even look as if it was prepared in any way, and possible even just collected from the hedges in the fields.  As a result, the quilts have a lovely cosy depth to them. 

Sheep's Wool wadding in traditional Welsh Wholecloth Quilt

On the day we visited, Sandie Lush running a hand quilting workshop.  Sandie is a very good tutor if you want to learn about welsh quilt patterns and hand quilting, so if you get the chance to go on one of her workshops you will learn so much.

Cow keeping warm under Strippy Welsh Quilt

Finally, I picked up this card in the shop, showing a favourite cow wrapped up in a hand made quilt, on a Welsh farm.  It really emphasises the practical purpose of a quilt - to keep warm!

Kaffe Fassett Comes to Wales - Quilt Exhibition, Lampeter - Part 1

Kaffe Fassett Quilt Exhibition - Welsh Quilt Centre, Lampeter, 2013

During our trip up to mid-Wales we took the opportunity to visit the Welsh Quilt Centre, in Lampeter where they are hosting an exhibition of Kaffe Fassett quilts, on until 2nd November 2013. 


Welsh Quilt Centre Exhibition - Kaffe Fassett Quilts

It was a beautifully curated exhibition, with the quilts suspended from the ceiling, so you could see both the front and back. 


Imari Plates Quilt - Kaffe Fassett

Kaffe Fassett is known for his unmistakeable colourful quilts, and the colour and his fabric designs do most of the talking.  It is hard not to be drawn in by the vibrant colours.  On the other hand, fanciful quilting techniques are not the order of the day, partly maybe because they would be lost in all that colour.


Kaffe Fassett Applique Folk Art Quilt, Welsh Quilt Centre 2013

Lots of clever ideas using tone and colour, and plenty of inspiration.  I imagine few of us have been able to restrain ourselves from buying a few fat quarters of Kaffe Fassett's fabric.


Calico Kate, Quilt Shop , Lampeter, Wales

No fear.  Right next door to the Welsh Quilt Centre is a lovely quilt shop, Calico Kate.  There are eight rooms of quilt fabric, including a WHOLE ROOM of Kaffe Fassett prints.  What a find!  I came away with a few Fat Quarters - it was the least I could do to keeping the economy going.

Kaffe Fassett Quilt Exhibition, Welsh Quilt Centre, Wales

After spending a couple of hours in the shop and at the exhibition it was time for lunch.  Do you see some more subdued quilts in the background?  You will have to wait until next time to hear about those ...

Nearly Insane Quilt - Block 6, Ohio Star Variation





Block 6 , Nearly Insane Quilt, Ohio Star Variation



Here is another Ohio Star variation representing Block 6 of the Nearly Insane Quilt.  It feels like deja vu.

 

Only 21 pieces in this one, which classifies it as EASY. As I do most of my stitching whilst travelling, these 'easy' blocks do not take too much of my concentration, and there are some that I don't even remember doing, as they come together so quickly - this is one of them.    I know the next one has a few more pieces ...

 

I have used a Scandinavian style fabric in the centre, where the pattern looks like it has been pieced, to add a bit of complexity to this block.

 

150th Anniversary Dear Jane Quilt Bag

Since my trip to the 150th Anniversary Dear Jane Quilt Exhibition in Nantes, France, in April, my Dear Jane bag has been my storage of choice for the fabrics I am using for the Nearly Insane Quilt.  It is lovely and big, and they have been piled in and piled out many times.  The bag is also inspiration for perhaps the next project ....

NUMBER OF PIECES: 21
DIFFICULTY: 1 /10
SMALLEST PIECE: Square, 1/2" (12.5mm) x 1/2" (12.5mm)
LARGEST PIECE: Square 2.5" (63mm) x 2.5" (63mm)
TECHNIQUE: English Paper Piecing (EPP)
FABRICS:
Red and White Scandinavian Snowflake Fabric 
Red and White Floral (Unidentified, purchased from The Shuttle)
Prairie Paisley by Polly Minick and Lauri Simpson for Moda
White on Cream swirl print (unidentified)

Linking Up with WIP Freshly Pieced

Machine Embroidered Quilt Labels

As you have probably gathered by now, I tend to do mainly hand stitching, and like to maintain that integrity throughout the project, by hand piecing and hand quilting.  However, when it comes to doing my quilt labels, I like to use my embroidery machine.



Husqvarna Designer 1 Embroidery Machine

In the past I have done a lot of creative machine embroidery, and have the sewing machines and threads to prove it!  Therefore I like to take the opportunity to use my embroidery machine to make my quilt labels.  With the completion of my Red and White Pinwheel quilt, I had the opportunity to blow the dust of this machine and reacquaint myself with the software, to make a little label for my finished quilt.  Watching these machines is mesmerising, and it never ceases to seduce me.  For this label, I didn't even have to put the pedal on, I just used the Start / Stop button!

Stitching Quilt Labels in the Embroidery Hoop

I have got into the habit of doing my quilt label stitching in the same colour as my background fabric, like I did on my Single Irish Chain Quilt, and again, I have gone for white on white for this quilt.  I think it is important to put a label on, and I would rather have a stitched label than a handwritten label, but I don't like them to shout too loudly from the quilt.  If you can even see it, I have just put my name, date, and location on the label, with a little stitched diamond border around it. Subtle.

We all like to do things differently - how do you like to mark you quilts?



Dear Jane 150th Quilt Celebrations, Nantes - Continued ...

As part of my visit to the Dear Jane celebrations in Nantes, France, I had booked myself onto a 'Dear Jane' Block workshop, to find out the different techniques that can be used to make the quilt.  There were several events arranged, including a talk about the 'Dear Jane' quilt, but with only one day at the show, I decided on the workshop. The block we made was appropriately named 'Tour de France' which is Block F-13, and we used a lovely navy spotted fabric for our sample, which is part of a range designed by Brenda Papadakis for Windham Fabrics.


Tour de France (F-13) Dear Jane Quilt

Originally, Brenda Papadakis, who published the 'Dear Jane' book was to give the talk and run the workshop, but nearer the time she was unable to travel, due to a broken arm.  However, her 'Dear Jane' Ambassadors from all around the world attended and did an excellent job, with Caroline Van Maele (Belgium), Julie Clark (Australia) and Brenda Roumie (UAE), all keeping us on track.  It was also nice to meet some true 'Janiacs' from all around the world, including Paula, who even had her 'Dear Jane' quilt in the exhibition!  I think I was the only one who had NOT done a Dear Jane block, let alone a quilt!


Dear Jane Workshop, Nantes, France, April 2013

Even in her absence, Brenda was very thoughtful, providing us all with a Dear Jane 150th Anniversary badge, a Dear Jane ruler, and a Dear Jane Bumper Sticker.  She even phoned France from the USA during the workshop to check everything was going well!  Along with all these lovely gifts, and the new techniques I have learnt, I thought I had better get the whole kit, and purchased THE BOOK, the Dear Jane rulers, and an Anniversary bag that was available at the "Pour l'Amour du Fil" (For the Love of Thread) show, in France. 

Dear Jane Booty

There is nothing to stop me now.  All  I need to do now is choose my colour scheme - and FINISH the Nearly Insane Quilt!

 

Pictures of the Dear Jane Exhibition

 

Oh La La! It's Minick and Simpson

Whilst I have been away in France, my hands have not been idle.  I have managed to complete some more of my little 2 inch cornerstone blocks for my Nearly Insane Quilt.  I have about 85 full size ones to do in total. I have done about 14 so far.

Cornerstones, red spotty fabric
 'Christmas Past' by Minick and Simpson

This has been made quite tolerable because I am using my favourite red spotty fabric 'Christmas Past' by Polly Minick and Laurie Simpson.  Have I mentioned it before?

BTW - It also just so happened that Polly and Laurie were actually at the "Pour l'Amour du Fil" (For the Love of Thread) show, in France, organised by the magazine Quiltmania.

Laurie Simpson and Polly Minick (with The Christmas Quilt)
Pour l'Amour du Fil, Nantes, France 2013

Naturally I had to visit their stand, and they were kind enough to humour me as I showed them my little 'Minick and Simpson' cornerstones squares. They were also kind enough to let me take this photo of them to record the moment - in front of 'The Christmas Quilt' by Laurie Simpson (handstitched, I believe), which features the red spotty fabric itself!
Quiltmania have published their book 'Quilts and Rugs' available from the Quiltmania website, which also features this quilt.

With all the quiet hand stitching I do, it's nice to have a little quilting thrill like this once in while.

"Dear Jane" 150th Quilt Exhibition, Nantes, France

A few weeks ago I was hopping from blog to blog, when somebody mentioned their excitement about entering their 'Dear Jane' quilt into a special exhibition of 'Dear Jane' quilts in Nantes, France.  A little further investigation, and I discovered that the "Pour l'Amour du Fil" (For the Love of Thread) show was being organised by the magazine Quiltmania.
Regular readers will know that I am currently working on my 'Nearly Insane' Quilt, which is of a similar genre to 'Dear Jane', so I was intrigued, especially at the thought of seeing over 100 'Dear Jane' quilts together.


'Dear Jane' 150th Quilt Exhibition, Nantes, France 2013 

I regularly go to the quilt shows in the UK, but this was my first 'European' show, which involved a ferry crossing from England to France and a little trip in our camper van. The exhibit of the 'Dear Jane' quilts was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.  As you walked into the room, you could not help but gasp in amazement!  Over 100 quilts, all the same, all different.

There was a Hand- Dyed 'Dear Jane' Quilt

Dear Jane Quilt (Hand-Dyed Fabrics)
Paula Klein, Luxembourg



There was an Indonesian fabric 'Dear Jane' Quilt

Dear Jane Quilt (Indonesian Fabrics)
Annie Tromp-Doornink, Netherlands

There was a Low Volume 'Dear Jane' Quilt

Dear Jane Quilt (Low Volume)
Ineke Marijissen Van der Molen, Netherlands

There was a Liberty Fabric 'Dear Jane' Quilt

Dear Jane Quilt (Liberty Fabric)

There was a Red and White Dear Jane Quilt

Dear Jane Quilt (Red and White)
Nathalie Pierre, France



There were the traditional Civil War Fabric 'Dear Jane' Quilts

Dear Jane Quilt (Civil War Reproduction Fabrics)

Michel Galan France

There were modern, bright with black background 'Dear Jane' Quilts

Dear Jane Quilt (Modern Brights)
Chantal Guyon, France



There were modern, bright Batik 'Dear Jane' Quilts

Dear Jane Quilt (Batik)
Diane Rhode and Judy Doenias, USA



And some really lovely, unique colour combinations



Dear Jane Quilt (Greys, Reds)
Rineke Imenshot, Netherlands

Originally, Brenda Papadakis was due to attend to give a talk and run some 'Dear Jane' workshops, but due to a broken arm, was not able to travel to France from the USA.  However, there were many of her ambassadors at the show, and it was fabulous.  The impact of the display was so brilliant, thanks to the organisers and contributors for putting on such a brilliant exhibit. Never to be forgotten.

They were all lovely. Do you have a favourite?

Sharing the inspiration of this lovely event with Freemotion By the River and Quilt Story

See more of my Quilting Adventure here