Quilting Mecca, FoQ 2017

As has become a tradition, I was lucky again to have my very good friend Linzi come and share a roast dinner the night before our annual trip down to Festival of Quilts, in  Birmingham, UK. We booked for six nights, drove down and unpacked the van on Tuesday ready for setup on Wednesday. Many hands make light work, The APQS stand was all ready by lunchtime on Wednesday, so I had a leisurely afternoon before the show opened for the normal four days on Thursday.  There were over 800 quilts in the competition and many more in exhibitions and on stands. We met many old friends and made quite a few new ones too....

Before

Before

All ready for the show opening

All ready for the show opening

The APQS crew with a Millennium Longarm sporting our Quilt Path sysem

I was pleased to find that my small quilt Face Off had been given a 'Judges Choice' prize from Tatiana Samsonova.

 I was inspired by the beautiful face plates on vintage Singer sewing machines.  The three panels loosely replicate the designs and metals from three different models. The panels are permanently attached to a quilted backdrop. The panels and the backdrop have beaded piping to add detail and dimension to the finished piece. Drawn, Longarm Quilted by Kay Bell ~ Borderline Quilter

Linzi's beautiful quilt Beelzebub won a 1st prize in the Contemporary class

The winning quilts have all been shown elsewhere so here are a few quilts that caught my eye

Fantastic miniatures by Kumiko Fridl

This miniature quilt looked so much like fine china by Kumiko Fridl

A chance to get a selfie with Victoria Findlay Wolfe

We had fun with chairs, but you had to be there.....

 We ate way too much at the many different restaurants we have accumulated over the years and enjoyed a few Gin and tonics but before long the show was over and we were driving home very tired but happy and after another night in The Borders Linzi was on her way....