Festival of Quilts

I went to the Festival of Quilts at the NEC, Birmingham, on Thursday with my friend Esther.  It was a wonderful day out.

The Festival of Quilts is the biggest and best quilt show in the UK.  It has exhibitions by professional quilters, and invited displays from graduates who displayed at New Designers.  It has extensive, specialist shopping opportunities for quilters, which suited Esther as she was able to buy several dress lengths of vegetable prints (sweet corn, peppers, apples etc)  to complement the carrot dress she was wearing.  Esther dances salsa and wanted some dresses made from vegetables that can be made into the food "salsa".

I had my money's worth from looking at the Through My Hands exhibition.  Laura Kemshall had done 2 new quilts which clearly demonstrated excellent use of digital print.  She is a brilliant artist and had a colour painting of a dead swallow in her hands, printed in colour then enhanced with foiling into which she had quilted "don't go".  The colour reproduction of digital print was worked to best effect, then hand finished with textile techniques, so that it is the skill of the artist that creates the effect, supported by digital technology - rather than digital technology leading the effect.  Her other quilt was a self portrait of her holding the dead swallow, drawn in monochrome (charcoal I think) with lots of tonal variation, which once again is well defined with digital print.  Laura Kemshall is a master of combining hand skills with appropriate use of technology.

Finally I went to see the new graduates display.  About 8 new graduates from New Designers are invited to display their work at FOQ.  Katie Valentine from University of Herts was selected, displaying her digital print vintage quilt.  It was very pleasing to see her there, although I was the first person from UH to pop in to say hello to her.