On Friday John and I, accompanied by John's sister Hazel and her friend Sharon visited the Festival of Quilts at the NEC Birmingham. The journey was mainly on the motorways, M25, M40, M42 which helps with covering the miles quickly. It was hot and so we had the A/C on all the way. The countryside we passed was very dry and where the wheat and barley was being harvested there was clouds of dust to drive through. We were wondering if the sheep in the dry fields were getting any nourishment from the grass?
On arrival at the NEC we needed coffee before we starting our visit. After coffee we arranged a meet up time for lunch and we were ready for the day. John and I decided to start with the shopping as the quilt display areas were very busy. I didn't need much but I did buy some fabric to make a dress and fabric for a present I want to make for a family member. I bought Alice Caroline's book
There are 24 embroideries in total. I want to make this quilt but I won't be starting it until I've finished a couple of other slow stitching projects.
I also spoke to the staff on the Brother stand. My quilting machine is causing me problems. It's screen isn't working properly even though it was serviced earlier in the year. Instead of pressing on the picture I have to press lower on the screen. I had to go back later in the afternoon to talk to the chief engineer. He talked through the problem and ways to solve it but also asked who had serviced it. I use a Brother approved service place but the engineer confirmed that the servicce engineer hadn't passed his test to service my model of machine. He gave me a number to ring to book a service with an engineer who deals with the machine. I'll phone tomorrow to book it in. Fortunately I had finished the quilting on the frog quilt. This alone made the visit to the festival very worthwhile.
This year I didn't take as many photos as I usually do but I still have several to share. Lets start with the winner of the contempory quilt group
The maker is Tomomi Makabe.The quilt is 130 x 130 in size This quilt was inspired by the fighting fish, which has a beautiful shape as well as fighting spirit. I tried to create a three-dimensional effect with the long, colourful fins using reverse appliqué and incorporating textures such as Japanese cloth and shibori obiage. The materials used are silk, cotton, shibori obiage (pleated obi sash). The quilt is machine applique, reverse-applique, freemotion quilting, couching
This wasn't the Art category winner but I really liked it. This is Silent Eyes made by Sung Yeon Park
Where's the Tipping Point? Designed and made by Sue Sherman. This was the winner in the Pictorial group. The quilt is 226 x 272. Sue's inpiration for this quilt was; - As we learn more about climate change and habitat loss, we uncover critical tipping points—thresholds beyond which ecosystems may collapse and the damage becomes irreversible. This piece highlights the potential chaos of Earth’s future and explores specific tipping points we hope we never see. The materials used are, cotton, dyes, polyester and cotton threads Techniques used painting with thickened dyes; free motion quilting; slashing of finished quilt.
I loved the flying storks,
and the disappering animals....... It does make a point!
The quilt below is the winner of the group quilt category.
Dancing With Dandelions was made by Cowslip Workshops. The quilt is 245 x 245 This quilt was inspired by Tilda "Windy Days" fabric to make a happy, cheerful quilt. It was started over four years ago. It had a "little holiday" and was put aside for a while and was eventually finished in 2026. The quilt has an abundance of appliquéd flowers and the quilting has added even more! The quilt is made with cotton fabrics and cotton batting and was Machine pieced with hand needle-turned applique and hand guided long arm quilting
I like the dandelions.
The next quilt was the winner in the Group Quilts (Schools and under 18)
Wonky Houses was made by Quilters @ Bourne and it is 140 x 140 in size. The quilt was an opportunity for design and piecing a wonky house block, and then quilting their own design. It was the first make working over several sessions rather than going home with a finished itemwhich took staying power.The material used were cotton fabric and 80:20 wadding buttons. There was improv piecing and quilting using the walking foot.
The is quilt is the winner in Young Quilter 14 - 18 years Artemis II was made by Jacob Silverman and measure 114 x 74
The Artemis mission was my inspiration. The yellow represents the rocket’s energy and is contrasted against the flowing, calm curves of the moon’s terrain. The rocket is quilted with dense patterns to represent power. The Earth in the distance represents how far humans have travelled. It is made using cotton and polyester and piecing, appliqué, facing, machine quilting.
As I walked round I took photos of quilts I thought were fun. This is Secret Garden by the Undercovers.
We will remember made by Lisa Leverton and designed by Quiltworx
The quilt below was submitted to the group class. Designers and makers are on the label below.I liked this quilt as it took me back to my youth and canoeing on the river Wye. There is also a lot to see in the quilt.
This next quilt entitled Kabuki Dolls from my hometown was made and designed by Reiko Watanabe. It was such a different style from many of the quilts.
I took a photo of this one as it was created by Brad Wale who has a YouTube channel called Love you more. His videos make me laugh as he is generally laughing even when things have gone wrong and his laugh is infectious. He hasn't been quilting very long. I think one to two years tops and he decided to enter a quilt into the festival He talked about all his errors on his channel and panicked he wouldn't be finished but here it is. It is titled Reflection from within - my own terms and he designed and made it himself.
There was a display of small poppy quilts but I didn't go into the area to find out more as it was nearly closing time. I just took a quick photo of a very small number of these mini quilts.
I'm going to leave the label to speak. This quilt was attracting a lot of attention
It bought back memories of visiting London when I was about 9 or 10. We parked on a bomb site and the area around was still one of devastation even though this was many years after the end of WW2. I was born in 1953.
My final photo from the Festival of Quilts is of a Vulture.
Up close and personal.
I hope you have enjoyed my photos from the Festival of Quilts 2026. The four of us have already decided that if we are fit and well we will be going in 2027. I'd love to enter a quilt but if you visit my blog regularly you know my speed or lack of speed in completing projects. Maybe when I finally retire!
Take care
Lyndsey
