Tales & Tails By Kathleen Matthews
|
Quilts UK is one of the best loved and
longest running shows in the quilter's calendar, set in the picturesque
Worcestershire countryside with the stunning backdrop of the
glorious Malvern Hills. The Midlands location of the Three
Counties Showground attracted visitors from all over the UK and
abroad, who were treated to a fantastic show of quilts, styles,
ideas, designs and techniques, and a shopper's paradise of
patchwork and quilting fabrics and supplies stalls.
The variety of show categories at Quilts UK is very impressive;
Bed Quilts, Charity Fund Raising Quilts, Cot Quilts,
Group/Friendship Quilts, Large Wallhangings, Miniature/Doll
Quilts, Small Wallhangings, Theme Quilts - 'Farmyard Fun',
Two-Person Quilts and Under 16 Years Quilts. Lots of quilts, lots of
prizes and lots of fun!
Mid-Somerset Life (detail) By Midsomer Quilting Group
|
Cot Quilts
Eight cot quilts attracted lots of oohs and aahs and themes, of
course, included softness, sleep, dreams and fairytales. In second
place was Jacquie Harvey's In the Pink. This strippy quilt in
lovely random-dyed cotton sateen and a toning print gave the
impression of using many more fabrics, but without looking too
busy. The flowing hand-quilted designs and cute scalloped edges
were delightful. In first place was Kathleen Matthews' Tales
& Tails, which was hand-dyed and painted, machine quilted
and appliquéd. What an amazing montage of Disney© favourites
this was. Endearing, detailed images for children and adults
alike, this quilt was very colourful and beautifully embellished
with machine embroidery; a real heirloom of the future.
Fandango By Barbara Wharton
|
Group/Friendship Quilts
A collection of ten quilts of great variety, this category
was visited by people literally arriving by the coach load to
see their own and their group's handiwork on show. The pride
felt by the makers and visitors was palpable and infectious, and
great fun. In second place was Mid-Somerset Life by Midsomer
Quilting Group, which was made to depict Somerset life. Each
member made a strip in their preferred technique, and the
quilt will go on to permanent display in the Radstock Museum,
Somerset. This group is newly formed and they should be
proud of their achievement.
Harlequin (detail) by Gwenfai Rees Griffiths
|
Swansea Quilters took the hall by storm with their Postcards
from Swansea. Members were given a list of subjects and
asked to represent elements of Swansea in the form of a series
of 39 quilted and embroidered 'postcards' to welcome and
encourage visitors. On the back of each one, a moving, personal,
amusing or quirky message was added. Quilt Angels were
on hand to help us view the messages, but if only this quilt
could have been hung so we could see both sides! This was
well made, great fun and no doubt an inspiration to many.
Large Wall Hangings
With just 23 quilts entered into this category, colour was
definitely the winner here. In fact, Barbara Wharton's Fandango
won the prize for Use of Colour; it was a vibrant design, by Rachel
Wetzler, in browns, pinks, beiges, blues and a little carefully placed
green. It managed to be bright and yet subtle; very clever.
Cactus Flowers By Karen Goddard
|
Circle of Friends by Kathleen Matthews attracted a great deal
of admiration, no doubt because of the sentiments behind it.
Depicting the changing number and strength of friendships
through life, this was a colourful, charming quilt based on images
from Japanese scarves and paintings, painted, dyed and
appliquéd in a circular design. In second place, Gwenfai Rees
Griffiths' Harlequin was another bright and vibrant wallhanging
with an imaginative variety of quilting designs that seemed
to link modern and traditional quilting motifs seamlessly.
Linda O'Sullivan from the USA came first in this category
with Celtic Flamingos. She also won the Hand Appliqué prize
and deservedly so; combining colourful 'stained glass' Celtic
knots, subtly mottled 'quirky' birds, dark tone-on-tones, Paisley, striped and dotty fabrics, this was
a masterpiece of stash-busting and a real feast for the eyes!
Pueblo Bianco By Janet Grist
|
Minature/Doll Quilts
Miniature quilts are a labour
of love, and you probably need good eyesight and nimble fi ngers
too! Amazingly, 17 quilts were entered and made a delightful and
fascinating display. In third place was Sandra Goldsbrough with
Lincolnshire Seascape - Dunes, which was hand appliquéd and
embellished. I thought this would make a very pretty, dreamy
picture for a bathroom wall. Cactus Flowers by Karen Goddard
won second place; the dyed fabric matched a flowering cactus, which
was foundation pieced and hand quilted. The pieces were tiny, but
perfectly formed.
In first place was Pueblo Bianco by Janet Grist. The
tumbling shapes represented the white villages of Southern
Andalucia and gave a wonderful impression of that landscape.
Hand dyed, hand and machine pieced, hand quilted and
embellished, this was beautifully executed in sympathetic colours
and textures.
Chilli Pepper by Bethan Parmee
|
Small Wall Hangings
popular category with 77 quilts entered this year. And small was
indeed beautiful, with the level of workmanship very high. Chilli
Pepper by Bethan Parmee was adapted from a Helen Deighan
design, and won a Judge's Merit and was a favourite amongst
many visitors. The colours were lovely and the black background
really made the motifs 'pop out'.
Indigo and Sunflowers by Delia Cecil also took a Judge's Merit.
Created from tie-dyed fabric, it was simply stunning - the happy
dyeing accident created a design evocative of sunflowers, which
Delia machine embroidered and quilted to create a field of very
realistic looking flowers.
Lili'r Bont By Rebecca Collins
|
Rebecca Collins' Lili'r Bont took second prize; a really lovely
quilt that resembled a beautiful water lily. The centre was pieced
from diamonds using a clever choice of fabrics to create the
softly flowing flower effect.Gently curved, sweeping, feather
and flower quilting lines echoed and emphasised the design very
elegantly. And in first place came Diana Brockway's Wreck,
winner of the Visitors' Choice at Trentham Gardens 2007
First published in Popular Patchwork Number 7 - 2007
|
