FoQ 2011....

What a wonderful time I have had....I've seen Festival of Quilts from all sides as a spectator and behind the scenes helping and watching what goes on when you rent a stall/booth.

I had the wonderful pleasure of being driven from my own doorstep directly to Birmingham by Linzi (Linzi Upton of 'The Quilted Yurt' fame), how lucky am I?

We travelled down on Wednesday to set up Linzi's stall demonstrating the APQS Lenni longarm quilting machine.

I went to lectures and took classes but most of all I had the whole four days to drink it all in. What a fabulous display of quilts, themed, traditional, art, pieced, wholecloth, hand quilted, machine quilted and longarm quilted.

What a privilege to be able to enter the show floor at 8.30 in the morning and study the quilts before the general public arrived.

I am amazed by the number of people I met and already knew through my blog and the forums, you know who you are, it was great to meet you all!

What a shopping experience too....I am not going to divulge all of my hoard here but there were many bargains to be had!

We attended the fashion show, what a wealth of talent, a spectacular show!

The Tent Makers from Cairo were amazing....the quilters sat cross legged and seemed to make quilts without patterns using huge scissors and sewed so fast, they can make a small quilt all by hand in around ten days...

Tent Maker's Quilts from Cairo

Here is a selection of my favorite quilts from the show....

I may come back later and edit in the names of the quilt makers!

Firstly from my travel companion Linzi.....

'The Hare'......

And 'Celtic Connections'

Winner of Pictoral quilts 'Hot Africa' by Janneke de Vries-Bodzinga

The Rhinoceros by Pam Holland....I attended a wonderful class with Pam....

 

Look at that eye in close up....all those tiny hexagons...

Ammonoidia by C J Barnes.....amazing, looks like leather but isn't!

Aren't these two handsome fellows?

If you know me then you know I have to include a wholecloth....but this little beauty is only around 8 inches square...honestly!  This quilt won the Miniature class and was made by Kumiko Frydl from Texas....Blue like Wedgewood!

Before I knew it was Sunday and time to dismantel the Lenni and pack it back into and onto the Landrover but we stayed on another night. 
We had been directed to the most wonderful 'Brummy Curry' House where we ate till we were stuffed on two separate occasions.....I would like to say how impressed I was by all of the local Birmingham people who we met during our trip, they were courteous and friendly, it was a pleasure!

I had a great time, Thanks Linzi!