Festival of Quilts 2010 Academy Programme

Described as "the largest, most eagerly anticipated event in the patchwork and quilting calendar anywhere in Europe", the "Festival of Quilts" takes place at the NEC in Birmingham during August.

While Quilters who have previously visited know that it provides huge inspiration, with the Victoria and Albert Museum (see previous post) showcasing some of their quilt collection this year in Quilts 1700-2010, we hope that the "Festival of Quilts" also tempts those who don't aspire to necessarily make quilts but for those for whom the art and artistry of quilts, the history or the beauty and colour or texture is enough reason to visit. Last year over 30,000 people visited the NEC from over fifty countries - it certainly felt like it as someone who could not get from one end of the stand to the other!

So if your diary is handy - the dates are:

19th to 22nd August 2010

Opening Hours: 10.00am to 5.30pm (closes 5pm Sun)

For those who want to get on with the "making", one of the highlights is the collection of teachers whose workshops and lectures provide that inspiration to extend knowledge and techniques into new areas.

While the organisers Twisted Thread are able to show the Quick and Easy Workshops programme on their literature The Academy Programme is now so vast that the easiest way to view it is online. We thought we'd give a taster of some of the masterclasses, lectures and workshops that you can sign up for on the Twisted Thread site.
Non Quilters Guild members can start booking from today!

Marti Michell


We are delighted that Marti Michell together with her husband Richard Michell (and seen here with their daughter Stacey who runs Shades Hand Dyed Fabrics) will be joining us on The Cotton Patch stand for demonstrations of her templates and advice on how to Machine Quilt in sections, make a real log cabin...I mean make a Log Cabin Quilt and lots more!



Marti will be reaching for the stars with A Constellation of Star Quilts (Reference 271)

You won’t want to miss Marti’s star studded trunk show. It is full of tips
and tricks for making Evening Stars, Feathered Stars, Kaleido-Stars and
stars you might not think are stars, even Seven Sis-stars. Oh my stars, you’ll be star-struck!
Lecture (1 hour)
Saturday 21st August 10.00am to11.00am

Machine Quilting in Sections / Quilting As You Piece (Reference 294)
You’ll learn the difference, the similarity and how both methods can help you finish your quilts on your home sewing machine! If manoeuvring a big quilt through that little opening in your sewing machine is overwhelming, this lecture has answers! There are always new quilts and tips.
Lecture (1 hour)
Sunday 22nd August 10.00am to 11.00am

Why Use 8 Fabrics When You Could Use 80? (Reference 249)
Who knows whether you have lots of fabric because you love to make scrap quilts or you love to make scrap quilts because you have lots of fabric? It doesn’t matter, you’ll love Marti’s scrap quilt trunk show. Plus Marti will review the top 10 reasons why you need more fabric!!!
Lecture (1 hour)
Friday 20th August 4.00pm to 5.00pm

Kaffe Fassett

Kaffe Fassett - what can you say about a man who has contributed so much to pushing the boundaries of colour within the traditional designs of patchwork that hasn't already been said? So often people know that the colour in their quilt is not quite right but
don't know what to do to make it so...Kaffe Fassett has that talent (as we discover when we try and substitute a fabric in his quilts and find it quite tricky!).

Kaffe is shown (below) with Nik from The Cotton Patch signing books on the stand at the Festival of Quilts in 2009 - Kaffe has his own stand this year but will also be doing book signings on The Cotton Patch stand.

Kaffe is also doing a Soup Supper talk entitled Concentrate on Colourwhich is designed to inspire and motivate. The presentationhighlights works from his latest projects, these include his patchworkquilt, fabric, needlepoint, mosaic, painting and knitting designs. For more details and how to book please visit the Twisted Thread site.

The Kaffe Fassett lecture is designed to inspire and motivate. This year Kaffe will be talking about Diamonds...could be a girl's best friend...

Diamonds (Reference 258)
Kaffe Fassett
Play with colour in design from a Kaffe Fassett quilt structure under the supervision of Kaffe and his assistant Brandon Mably. Most class time will be spent teaching the arrangement of fabrics to develop each student’s own personal colour palette in making one of Kaffe’s original designs. Students will need to bring lots of fabric to play with! Although Kaffe and Brandon teach the same principles of colour, the class structure will be different and you will come away with two totally different wall-size hanging quilt arrangements.
You will be arranging your work on a piece of flannel that you will just fold up at the end of the workshop, ready to take home and sew.
You may elect to keep your projects wall sized or expand them to full size once you return home. The quilts are primarily scrappy so the workshops are for scrappy quilts done in fairly low contrast. Kaffe and Brandon will be taking you through the same process they use for designing their quilts.
1 Day Masterclass
Any Level
Saturday 21st August 9.30am to 4.30pm

Amy Butler

Last but by no means least....Amy's influence on the world of design just keeps on growing. We recently saw that Amy has teamed up with Graham and Brown who manufacture the most gorgeous wallpapers so your next quilt may match your wallpaper! Amy showed some of the rugs she has designed at the Soup Supper at last year's Festival of Quilts - they are a perfect foil for her designs. Wow! So now its quilt, bedding, wallpaper, rugs.... find out what inspires her and her creative process at her lecture. She'll also be available and will be signing her books on The Cotton Patch stand. Below is one of the rugs from her collection -

Inspirations with Amy Butler
(Reference 244 and 274)

Spend an hour chatting, laughing and getting inspired with American fabric and interiors designer Amy Butler. Get an inside look at some fun, behind the scenes imagery and stories chronicling Amy's latest creative adventures through her travels and studio life.

Lecture (1 hour)

Friday 20th and Saturday 21st August

1.00pm to 2.00pm

One of Amy's beautiful handmade 100% New Zealand wool rugs.

V and A - Quilts 1700-2010 - One Not to Miss!

If there is one thing that needs to go in the diary, friends contacted, plans made, tickets purchased and train seats allocated in 2010 its the forthcoming exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington, London entitled Quilts 1700-2010.

The marketing department seems to be doing a great job as we've seen mention of it in the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, the Times and plenty of other places. We're very excited as a few of us will be going to the preview on the 17th March.

The exhibition is a unique opportunity to view the V&A's unseen quilt collection as well as key national loans.

The Curator's blog makes for great reading as the opening of the exhibition is about two weeks away. You know how it is for most of us, its Christmas Eve and the quilt binding is still being sewn on as Father Christmas is appearing boots first down the chimney...talk about last minute. So imagine how much work will be going on getting the exhibition ready in time!

The exhibition includes some quilts featured on beds such as the 2002 Quilt entitled "To Meet My Past" by Tracey Emin.

We recently discovered some interesting family history (we had no idea until a few weeks ago) of relatives who were silk merchants and other who were involved in the dyeing industry in London - including such exhuberant and interesting characters as Charles Candy otherwise known as Beau Candy or Sugar Candy (this was in the late 1700s, early 1800s so the time of Beau Brummel, lots of silk cravats and dashing Regency style gents!). The thought of visiting an exhibition based on quilts made from fabrics manufactured during this period is fascinating.

In doing the research it was interesting to discover that William Shipley, who formed the RSA (the Royal Society for the Arts, Commerce and Manufactures) which is now 250 years old and which is based at John Adams House in London, recognised the importance of the manufacture of silk and cotton in England. Dyeing prior to the mid 1750s was mostly done in France. However, the expulsion of the Huguenots from France (the biggest migration in history, many of whom, including my relatives, moved to England in the 1600s and 1700s) led to those skills being brought to London and the development of the dyeing industry along the rivers such as the Wandle and Lea which feed into the Thames in London. Without that impetus England may never have had the level of fabric production that we did during that period. Whilst fabric production in the UK is minimal now we're glad that some of the design and certainly the development of fabric designs still happens here.

We hope you are able to visit the Exhibition while it is on - it finishes on the 4th July 2010.

Quilts for Haiti 13th March 2010 - Calling all Quilters

If you would like to help out the people of Haiti who have had to cope with many natural disasters in recent years and of course this year with a terrible earthquake then why not join Chris Hammacott and Di Huck and lots of other quilters for a 12 hour Quiltathon in Carmarthen?

Or perhaps you've got some fabric, thread or wadding that you could donate?

Chris contacted us a few weeks ago and we were able to help with various supplies including some UFOs that were lurking in Jean Sewell's sewing room looking for a home! The picture above shows some of Chris's group with some of Jean's quilt tops that they will be able to quilt so that they can go to this very worthwhile cause.

12 HOUR
QUILTATHON
COMFORT QUILTS FOR HAITI
CARMARTHEN COMMUNITY EDUCATION CENTRE (Behind the Library)
10-10
13TH MARCH
COME AND JOIN US.

WE NEED STITCHERS, CUTTERS, PINNERS AND TEA MAKERS!

CAN YOU DONATE FABRIC/ WADDING/ SHEETS

WE PLAN TO MAKE AS MANY QUILTS FOR THE HOMELESS CHILDREN AND ADULTS IN HAITI
There will also be a ‘bring an unwanted Christmas present’ to raise money to donate.
Come for an hour or the day all help gratefully received.
Bring a plate of food for an informal lunch.
DONATED FABRICS CAN BE LEFT AT THE CENTRE

OR CONTACT CHRIS ON 01269 832272

http://www.ws-touchbase.com/

Sashiko Exhibition in York and Plymouth

An stunning exhibition of Sashiko textiles is on display at Collins Gallery in Scotland. Later in 2010 it will be at Plymouth. The link to the website for further details is here.

Japanese Sashiko Textiles
27 February – 10 April (closed 2 -5 April inc)

Originated by York Museums Trust and researched by Michele Walker, this is the first major touring exhibition of Japanese Sashiko Textiles to be mounted in the UK and the Collins Gallery is the sole Scottish venue for this visually stunning and comprehensive collection.

Sashiko (sashi-to stitch and ko-small) is a technique similar to quilting characterised by geometric patterns stitched in white on indigo coloured cloth. The motifs used indicate where the garment came from as well as the occupation and social status of the wearer.
Sashiko evolved from a need to re-use and repair, associated with the making of work clothes throughout Japan until the mid-twentieth century and today, Sashiko textiles are protected as Folklore Cultural Assets, categorised as Mingei or traditional crafts integral to a community’s culture.
The exhibition focuses on the lives of the makers, working- class women from fishing and farming communities , through items dating from the mid 19th century ,work by the Okio group (carriers of logs) and by Ciau Sato, a 90 year old from Sado Island.

It also explores the fact that Sashiko garments offered both physical and spiritual protection since the indigo dye was repellent to snakes and harmful insects while certain patterns , symbols and “talismans” were stitched on the inside of the garments to protect the most vulnerable areas of the body.
The exhibition comprises over 70 garments and related objects complimented by films and images by the renowned Japanese photographer, Iwayima Takeji (1920 – 1989).

Lenders of historical material include: The Japan Folk Crafts Museum, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, The Aikawa and Ogi Folk Museums, Sado Island, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and Fukuoka City Museum while contemporary work has been sourced from the NUNO Corporation and from textile artist, Tokunaga Miyoko who created garments especially for the exhibition.

Supported by an on-line publication, practical workshops in Shibori and in Sashiko led by Jeanette Sendler and Sara Keith, and a symposium with presentations by Michele Walker, Lou Taylor, Tim Parry-Williams and Sara Keith.

For further information, please contact:
th Collins Gallery, University of Strathclyde, 22 Richmond St, Glasgow

Tel : 0141 548 2558 E:collinsgallery@strath.ac.uk www.collinsgallery.strath.ac.uk

27 February - 10 April 2010(Closed 2 - 5 April)
Address of Venue:Collins GalleryUniversity of Strathclyde

22 Richmond StreetGlasgowG1 1XQ
Website:www.strath.ac.uk/collinsgallery
Opening Times:Mon - Fri 10am - 5pmSat 12 noon - 4pmSundays ClosedPublic holidays - Closed
Admission:Free

Touring Venues:
31 July - 26 September 2010Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery,8 Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AJwww.plymouth.gov.uk

Felting Workshop At Wolverhampton Art Gallery

Fantastic results from the POP Jann Haworth Exhibition Workshop at Wolverhampton Art Gallery. Click here to see the rest of the photos and write-up from Kirsty E Smith who led the workshop.

There are definitely a few donuts that look good enough to eat!

POP Jann Haworth Exhibition at Wolverhampton Art Gallery

Some friends visited this exhibition at the weekend at Wolverhampton Art Gallery and said it was very interesting - if you're into textile art definitely worth a trip. The felting workshop on 6th Feb is full but the exhibition is on till April.

26 Oct 09 - 10 Apr 10

Hollywood-born artist Jann Haworth (b. 1942) is among the few women associated with the Pop Art movement of the 1960s. Her sewn cloth soft sculptures refer to typically American Pop themes such as fast food, film stars, cheerleaders, cowboys and comics, as well as to her experiences of living in England during a period of cultural transformation.

Developed in partnership with the artist, this exhibition is the first UK solo show of Haworth’s work in a public gallery since 1972. In 1968 Haworth won a Grammy award for her work as co-designer of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover. POP Jann Haworth contains behind the scenes photographic images of the making of the Sgt. Pepper album set as well as Old Lady I, the life-size sculpture that first appeared in 1967 as a Granny on the album’s photo montage cover.

The artist has restored several works expressly for the show, offering a rare opportunity to see Haworth’s early soft sculptures alongside more recent pieces including giant charm bracelets and corset canvases. Wolverhampton’s own still-life sculpture, Donuts, Coffee cups & Comics (1962) will be on display alongside other donut sets, for the first time since it was acquired for the Pop Art Collection in 2008.

Jinny Beyer at Houston Quilt Market 2009

Jinny Beyer has worked in conjunction with RJR fabrics for many years and her Palette is a fantastic basics range to have in your stash - the Snowbirds quilt (above) is a great example of how the whole range of 150 fabrics goes through the spectrum. Back in 1996 Jinny visited The Cotton Patch and at a lecture to 200 quilters in the Solihull Civic Hall (subsequently remodelled as John Lewis at the Touchwood Shopping Centre!) described how to use the palette effectively.

At Quilt Market Jinny described how you can use any 8 fabrics that are next to each other in the Jinny Beyer Palette and create an interesting quilt that has the essential ingredients of a "Deep Dark" and an "Accent". She demonstrated this by showing quilts that did not have these features and asked the audience to vote on their favourites. Consistently the result was that the quilt with those ingredients was favoured even though the majority of the other colours were there.

She also showed that a quilt that has a co-ordinating border does not have to have fabrics within it that are absolutely identical to the fabrics in the border. In fact interest is created by the eye creating the "leap" itself!

Finally the kind of fabrics that don't jump out at you as being "gorgeous" in their own right can showcase other fabrics. For example, I'd never pick khaki as a colour for a quilt but if you look at the vibrant quilt above you can see how the khaki actually highlights the vivid purples, reds and pinks and makes them come alive and stand out.

Colour and selecting fabrics for quilts can be daunting for many people. Playing with colours and using tools and experience of others to guide you can be a real help- why not check out Jinny's website with her tips on colour to give you some ideas for experimenting and going outside of your normal palette. Most importantly have fun - design walls are a great way to see how fabrics can work together - pin an old flannel sheet or the Clover Design Wall to a wall and stand back from it to see the effects of different fabrics. A more computerised approach is to use software like Electric Quilt - EQ6 to play around with colour combinations at the touch of a mouse button!