Friday 9 August 2013

Festival of Quilts 2013 - Day 1


I'm just having a little pause and taking the opportunity to post a report on my first day at Festival of Quilts 2013. This year I am staying for the full four days and thought I would therefore have plenty of time to see everything but, with lectures and workshops (and the limitations of having a foot in a pot), I'm not sure that even four days will be long enough. This is an incredible show with a wonderful variety of exhibits, to say nothing of the traders (yet).
Yesterday I heard Alice Fox speak about her work, and especially her artist in residency at Spurn Point Lighthouse. It was lovely to learn how her work developed and today I hope to see her again in the “virtual studio” where she will be demonstrating some of her mark-making techniques. I am inspired to go to the beach and see what I can find to use in textile projects.
I met up with several friends and bloggers yesterday which was lovely. Julie Mackinder pointed me in the direction of the exhibition of Banjara: Historic Indian Textiles, collected by Jan Petranek. These were intricate and aged pieces of cloth, created for everyday use and now preserved by Jan. I took a few pictures but please excuse the reflections of the lights.
I was delighted to meet up with Janine, one of my Indigo Sisters. She was with an interesting collection of quilts entitled Crossroads – A Middle Eastern Festival. There was a wide variety of quilts reflecting this area of the world and demonstrating dynamic colour choices and themes. Janine was able to tell me some of the history of quilts in the Middle East and I was especially interested to hear how all the cotton filling was removed from her quilts during the summer and aerated and left in the sun, fresh and ready to be put back into the quilts, which were then re-quilted, for the winter.  
Lots more to share but it's time to eat :-)

7 comments:

  1. Fantastic, I can hardly believe that you met Janine! And how interesting is her quilt. Please say hallo from me.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful quilt! I wold love to see them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a lovely treat. 4 full days and catching up with friends. Many exhibitions to see too I would think. Catching up with Janine must have been very special.

    ReplyDelete
  4. oh, "hello" to Janine from me too. "hello" to Myra, Judy and Blandina, nice to get together, even if it is only here. the quilt show looks fantastic, we need to see your shopping at the end! take care Lis - don't get sand in the foot.

    ReplyDelete
  5. i saw a lady who i thought looked like you, but she was walking normally so i didn't scare her by rushing up!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you for telling me about the first day of your stay. The second wasn't too bad either, was it?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sounds like a fantastic few days. Take care of that foot!

    ReplyDelete

I really appreciate your lovely comments, ideas and opinions, they make my day. Thank you for visiting Piece'n'Peace,
hugs, Lis x