Claire's blog

Last Saturday I went with Mum for a day out at the Festival of Quilts at the NEC.  I’m not a quilter, but you can always get me along to a textile or craft exhibition and after seeing the fabrics, threads and books for sale together with the amazing exhibition and competition quilts I really fancy giving quilting a go.

Once we’d walked into the exhibition area this is the first quilt that caught my eye…

'Phoenix Rising' by Ferret

I loved the colours and the detail added by the quilting.

Close-up on 'Phoenix Rising' to show the detail added by the quilting

The next quilt was surrounded by people oohing and aahing – and no wonder!  It was a stunning minature quilt (about 12″ square) that had not only won the top prize in its category but had also been awarded Best in Show.  It was a thing of beauty, and so precise!

'Mission: Impossible 2' by Kumiko Frydl

This quilt using a Hawaiian applique design from the 1930s also caught my eye, I loved the colour contrast and convoluted design.

'Kaui o Na Molokama' by Pippa Moss

My geeky side was drawn to this quilt.

'W Bosuns and the Top Quark' by Janine Ayres

And the op art look of this one almost makes you dizzy when you stare at it.

'Punto Óptico' by Manoli Lozano

And finally, this one caught my eye just as the tannoy announcements from the organisers were begging us to leave at the end of the day.

'A Future and a Hope' by Lynne Quinn

At the end of the day we staggered blinking into the sunlight outside the NEC, shattered but clutching all lovely things we’d purchased (I got some more fabrics to go with the Bali batiks I bought a few weeks back – soon I’ll have enough for a quilt!).  I think we’ll be going back next year…