I had a lovely day out on Saturday, visiting the annual National Quilt Championships at Sandown Racecourse. The sun shone but it was not too hot and although the traffic on the M25 motorway/carpark was heavy our journeys too and from the venue did not spoil the day.
Starting with lunch… We sat outside on the main stand of Sandown Racecourse and enjoyed the panoramic view of London.
As members of Roundabout Quilters we were keen to go see our Group Quilt hanging in the exhibition. Our quilt, along with all the others was displayed well and it was especially pleasing to see other visitors stopping to look and making positive comments.
And look the quilt gained a Judges Merit! The first time Roundabout Quilters has entered a quilt in a show too! The Quilt will be first prize in the Charity Raffle we are holding as part of our bienneial exhibition in September (more details here).
Now for your delight and inspiration here are just a very few of the quilts on display at Sandown.
Part of the exhibition space was given over to Sandy Chandler’s huge wholecloth quilts. Here are close ups from two of her quilts:
Of course, there was opportunity for retail therapy too. I had a good therapy session… picking up fabrics for Myra’s Jelly Roll Waves QAL starting in a week’s time; backing fabric for the Square in a Square quilt tops I made earlier in the month; a book about Bargello quilts (this is a patchwork pattern on my bucket list!); a couple of fabric pieces for my stash and a little collection of notions (I know, ANOTHER ruler! 😀 ).
Roundabout Quilters met a few days after Sandown for a sewing evening. As well as being very happy with our first experience of having a Group Quilt hung in a national show we were in general agreement that attendance at quilt shows is declining year by year. I wonder if you have experienced the same? The biggest and most popular UK show is the annual Festival of Quilts held over a long weekend in August at the NEC, Birmingham. Perhaps there will have to be a reduction in the number of national shows held throughout the UK with the key event being the Festival of Quilts? As footfall declines and exhibition entries fall, vendors and exhibition goers alike may have to acknowledge that the number of shows on the calendar will need to be reduced.
On a positive note I wonder if a reduction in the number of national quilt shows will lead to a rise in the popularity of the exhibitions held by local quilt groups? Less travel and reduced costs for vendors and visitors alike, along with the pleasure of seeing quilts hung in a variety of spaces could be the way forwards. I’d be interested to know your thoughts on the present state and future options for quilt exhibitions.
Joining Lorna for the Let’s Bee Social link up at Sew Fresh Quilts. Lorna is sharing her latest animal pattern called ‘Lamb Chops’!
Allison
As usual, I have more than one project on the go! Three have all reached the same stage at the same time: as a result I’ve spent quite a lot of time spreading out fabric and wadding on the sitting room floor trying to figure out how to piece backings and working out if my wadding pieces will be big enough. Here is the backing (including label!) for the ‘