Month: September 2015

Posted on

The Festival of Quilts 2015 – Part Five – Winners in each Category

The Festival of Quilts has a section cordoned off, where the winning quilts are already hung, but are covered – draped with cloths – until 2pm on the first day. I stood in anticipation alongside the crowds of onlookers waiting to see the best quilts in each category. Having seen the rest of the quilts in show, I knew the winning pieces would have to be something very special to win a place under the cloths. I wasn’t disappointed, they were amazing. Every inch of every piece represented hours and hours of painstaking work. Stunning colours, textures and surface design.  This year I especially liked the pieces made by the schools and the young quilters.
Here are the winners. Enjoy.

Art Quilts – My Lady by Susan Orchin
Schools (Primary 5-11) – Patchwork Magic by Belmont Grosvenor School
Traditional Quilts – Kaleidoscope by Janette Chilver
Miniature Quilts – Tempest by Kumiko Frydi
Schools (Secondary 12-16) – The Magic Circle by Watford Grammar School for Girls
Group Quilts – The Show Stoppers by The Exhibitionists

 

Young Quilter /Embroiderer 12-16 – Colores En Elvento by Sonsoles Ponti-Aguirre
Quilt Creations – The Chess Set by Mavis Walker

 

My First Quilt – Derelict by Catherine Groves
Two Person Quilt
The Quilters’ Guild Challenge – Log Cabin Crazyness! by Joy Salvage

 

Contemporary Quilts – Without Colour I Have No Voice by Lesley Brankin
Pictorial Quilts – Turtle Bay by Claudia Pfeil

Check out my other posts for more on the wonderful textile creations at the Festival of Quilts.

Posted on

The Festival of Quilts 2015 – Part Four – Miniature Quilts

Every year I am drawn to the intricate beauty of these miniature quilts. Their detail and precision is mind blowing. The older I get the poorer my eyes sight is getting (yes I am past that wonderful age of 40). I aspire to have the ability to create a quilt of the caliber displayed at the Show, but for the time being I am happy to just look in awe at the skill of these stitchers. Each piece is a maximum of 30cm on its’ longest side (to be classified as a miniature), but many quilts shown below were much, much smaller.
Here are my favourite Miniature Quilts from the Show.

 

Guiding Star by Sarah Hadfield
Up North by Christine Jurd
The Observers Quilt of Birds by Sue Bibby

 

Box of Jewels by Dorian Walton
Maxiature by Rosemary Cousins
Red Circles in Red Squares II by Jane Wheeler

 

Amish Feathers by Judith Beevor

More posts from the Festival of Quilts to follow.

Posted on

‘Apron Strings!’ Exhibition by Connie Flynn

‘Apron Strings!’, a solo exhibition by Connie Flynn at Courtyard Arts.
I’d heard about this exhibition only last week so I was keen to see it before it closed.
I purposely hadn’t read too much about it before visiting so I had no preconceived ideas about what to expect other than embroidered aprons (which in itself is wonderful). How wrong was I. I was blown away with her work. Enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pieces below are half aprons – the rectangular kind with ties that wrap around the waist. These pieces have been worked on both sides using every textile material to hand, from hand made felt to re-purposed tea towels.

 

 

 

 

Connie Flynn

I had a good chat with Connie about her past and future exhibitions. I suggest getting in contact with her if you want to know more (her work is a breath of fresh air). She also offers workshops – I was a quick to add my name to her mailing list!  Connie is a very gifted lady and I have a feeling we will be hearing more about her in years to come.