The Last Festival of Quilts Post - Promise!

You already know that I had a wonderful day on Friday, and that I met up with Nicky. I also met a couple of other people I had only ever chatter to online.

One is a new friend, Amanda, who blogs on Scissors and Thread. She found my blog on Brit Quilt very recently and had sent a comment, asking a question in it. I replied, and mentioned the FoQ in my reply. Shortly thereafter she came back with an email stating she was at a hotel by the NEC, having drinks and canapes (yes, I was briefly jealous) and would be making a weekend of it at the festival. I sent her my mobile number and a few short hours later Amanda, Nicky and I were enjoying a cup of coffee/tea together.

Amanda is lovely, enthusiastic and funny. I have had a look at her blog and she is a great quilter, though I have to say I loved the post where she and a friend went to a knicker making workshop and made their own knickers. I think that would be fun, very challenging, but a good laugh. I don't have a photo of Amanda on request. I respect that.

The other person I met up with was the uber talented, very kind and wonderful Trudi - one of the bee buddies at Brit Bee, the person who had the first month and gave us the HST challenge that set me off on my HST frenzy.

There we are, myself and Trudi. We seem quite similar in this photo - almost the same age (yeah, I'm the older one - again!), similar height, hair colour, glasses, grins. But, no, we are not related. And Trudi is far more advanced than I am in the quilting thing. Did you see what she made Lynne in the Brit Quilt Swap? Impressive! Trudi can be found at Quilting Prolifically when she is not on stand F49 at the show.

It was such a pleasure to meet one of my bee friends. We have been chatting with each other for months now, exchanging fabric for each bee block, laughing, caring and bonding. Three other's were at the show the day before - Judith, Ceri and Terri - and I do wish I could have met them as well. But we are already batting the idea of a get together for the twelve of us in the not too distant future. I will be there with bells on!

I will finish this post with some of the quilts that caught my eye at the show. Well, actually, most of them caught my eye but these are ones that truly made me stop and grin for one reason or another.

This is like painting with fabric it is so incredibly detailed and life like.

Love the way the rigging is quilted in.

This made me think of my friend Annabella in Marrakech.
It's just like one of her amazing photos.

Anyone not doing hexies? This one caught my eye because it is so beautiful
AND because of Lynne's quilt-along.

The balance of colour is great with all those wee little windows.

Loved this group quilt, all the houses and the sheer size of it!

The quilts from Japan were awesome and inspiring.

Such great piecing and colour graduation.

I went to the show with this quilt on my list of must sees.
It is made by Deborah over at Quilt Routes and The Blue Hare.
She has documented the progress as she made it and I was hooked from the start.
Photos do  not do it justice - it is simply amazing!

On the pebbles is a poem - Dust if You Must
I think if you click on the photo you will be able to read some of it.
It sums up life so well.
This quilt is genius and my very favourite thing from the show.

An that is it folks. Time to go into the kitchen and start preparing for the meal I will serve my in-laws at lunchtime today. The sun is shining. Food will be bbq'd and maybe, just maybe, I might get the tiniest bit of sewing done later on today.

Susan