The Directors of the show: Patricia MacIndoe, Isabel Paterson and Ruth Higham
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I ran into Ruth Higham, co-organiser of the Loch Lomond Quilt Show,
the other day and was fortunate enough to get a preview of forthcoming attractions at this year's
show. After filling me in on new and interesting developments in the programme, Ruth dashed off to attend
to her blogging responsibilities. Since fellow organiser, Patricia, is a selfconfessed luddite and the third member
of the team, Isabel, is already computer literate, Ruth has taken on the mantle of LLQS blogger. “It's great fun and
anyone can post a topic relating to patchwork, quilting or appliqué. Come and join us and blog with the best!”
were her enthusiastic parting words.
A quick trip to their site at www.lochlomondquiltshow.com gives you
a link to their blog and I'm sure they would be delighted to hear from anyone with a shared passion for quilting. For
the technophobes reading this article, don't be put off. A blog is nothing more than an online diary. The difference is
that readers get the chance to add their comments if something inspires them or strikes a chord. The word blog is
simply a contraction of “web log” and the beauty of this medium is that you can reach a vast audience, promoting
the joys of quilting and patchworking worldwide, raising the profile of quilting in the Scotland and the UK as
a whole.
Paisley Shawl(c1865). Reproduced with kind permission from the National Trust for Scotland and the Paisley Museum
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So what's in store for visitors to this year's show?
Pauline Burbidge is giving a one day master class limited to just
four people. Early booking is therefore essential, email Ruth to book. This is a new addition to the show and
a fantastic opportunity to work directly with a truly gifted artist.
Eight other workshops take place on four consecutive days with themes as
diverse as A Taste of North Country Quilting led by Lilian Hedley;
Quilting with a difference: A Celtic Theme by Nikki Tinkler; and Scrap
Quilts with Margaret Morrow. Attendees also will be fortunate
enough to have the opportunity to attend a class led by Pat Archibald,
who is taking time out from her studio to share her love of Auspicious
Symbols. Students will use the format of a long, narrow Chinese scroll to
create a montage of a city skyline at sunrise or sunset on which they
can stitch their choice of auspicious symbol high in the sky. Pat's choice
of theme for her workshop was inspired by her recent exhibition
entitled Colours of Hong Kong, which took place in October 2007 and was
covered in Popular Patchwork.
Paisley Shawl(c1860). Reproduced with kind permission from the National Trust for Scotland and the Paisley Museum
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In addition to seeing collections from many of the workshop leaders
(Lilian Hedley, Pat Archibald, Nikki Tinkler, Janice Gunner, Margaret
Morrow and Pauline Burbidge), at the various Church venues in the
Vale of Leven, there are several other exhibitions to lure visitors
including: Turning Point Textile Design Group; Highland Art
Textile Wall hangings; Jen Jones' Welsh quilts and Delia Salter's The
Shipping Forecast. See the website for the full programme.
Clyde Olliver will be exhibiting his incredible collection of embroidered
artworks using stone, slate and twine. Ruth said that they are also very
fortunate to have US quilter Tina Gravatt as a guest exhibitor. Tina
is in Scotland on a study break at University of Stirling and is widely
known for her heirloom miniature quilts. The “miniature” element of
Tina's work has worked in our favour as she was able to bring enough of
selection for the show within her baggage allowance. For those of
you with a passion for hand quilting, Lilian Hedley will be launching her
latest template book entitled Borders & Stripy Quilts at Loch Lomond and
will be demonstrating on site next to the four antique quilts that are
travelling with her to the show.
Know before you go
This year's show runs from the 14th
to 17th May and you can book up for workshops via the website. Once again, the team are organising a series
of evening events with a Scottish flavour, including dinner on the
Wednesday night at the Kilted Skirlie restaurant, a cruise of Loch Lomond
on the Thursday and a ceilidh and meal on the Friday.
Weaver's Cottage in Kilbarchan. Reproduced with kind permission from the National Trust for Scotland and the Paisley Museum.
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There are four competitions and the annual Q in the Park, details of
which are posted on the website. Accommodation at Loch Lomond and
the surrounding area can be found on Visit Scotland.
For those of you looking for a fulsome textile experience, you
might also want to visit some of Scotland's other textile attractions
in the vicinity during your trip. Just over twenty miles away is the home
of the paisley pattern, named after the town Paisley in Renfrewshire.
Local weavers, using Jacquard Looms, adapted designs from silk
and wool Kashmir shawls imported with soldiers returning from India.
The instantly recognisable teardrop shape is Persian in origin but it was
the town of Paisley, known for its intense manufacturing of printed
cotton and wool, which gave the pattern worldwide exposure. There
are many examples of the original shawls on display at the Musuem
and directions can be found by visiting Paisley's Community Website. The
pictures shown here are printed with permission from Paisley Museum.
Not far from Paisley is the National
Trust for Scotland's Weaver's Cottage which is open from March to September (best to check summer
opening hours directly by calling 0844 4932205). Built in 1723, Weaver's Cottage houses the last
of 800 handlooms once working in the village of Kilbarchan. Today, the 200 year old looms are used by
weavers who specialise in the making of tartan. They regularly spin and
dye their own wool using natural
dyes, many of which are obtained
from plants and herbs in the cottage
garden. See National Trust for Scotland for more information.
And last but not least, the Burrell
Collection in Glasgow has tapestry galleries billed as “one of the glories
of the Collection” housing a selection of tapestries displayed in four
consecutive galleries. Selected items from Sir William Burrell's collection of
embroidered textiles and lace can also be seen in a small Needlework Room.
See Glasgow Museums.
In the meantime however, if you're sitting at a loose-end, in between
quilting projects, why not go online and join the bloggers in Loch
Lomond. The more the merrier, as they say.
First published in Popular Patchwork May 2008
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