Festival of Quilts, Birmingham

I'm back home in England, busy with some new projects to show you shortly. I just need to take some pictures.

But I wanted to tell you about the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, which I attended last Saturday. It is only the second time I can visit since it began, mainly because I am usually on holidays in France.

This year I went with Kandy Newton, who is running the internet group British Quilters List (BQL) and whose challenges I have been making for the last 18 months. When I started I thought nobody would know if I messed around with a pattern, until I realised the designer wasn't far, and I could cross her in the street.

We hadn't really met before Saturday, but I felt really happy to know her. She is full of energy, and talent, ... and quite tall, lucky her. We didn't stop chatting and it was very interesting.

Back to the show and I must confess that I forgot a camera, but I took some notes of the kind of things I liked in the quilts I saw. Of course I didn't see all of them as I only went for the day, and was taken by all the shops and the nice people I met.

So my favourites fabric associations were, in no particular order :

- pink, green with dark blue,

- white monochrome,

- red embroidery on white,

- dark blue fabric with orange quilting,

- some beige, green plants, yellow, and water flowing,

- cream background with orange-red, brown-grey,

- japanese: cream background with light touches of colour,

- some simple background that shows well the quilting.

And I loved all the bags and little projects offered by the shops. I resisted all the books and magazines, but not the fabrics. Only one ruler bought, and no thread although I wanted to buy some.

I'm also tempted to buy a roll of wadding, and a bag with wheels to carry my sewing machine. I'll think about it until the next show, Malvern in the autumn.

As a final note I must say that the weather is very grey here in England at the moment, and it feels like autumn, Not perfect at all.

Enjoy your sewing.