Yesterday I visited the NEC for The Festival of Quilts 2014 and what a wonderous day it was.
Last year I went down to the NEC on the Saturday and Sunday and stayed over at The Village in Solihull. I was thinking of doing the same this year, but a local patchwork group invited me to go with them to the Festival of Quilts 2014 by coach.
My day began with the alarm clock at 4.45am! After getting ready and a quick breakfast it was off to Driffield to meet the coach. We left at 7am and headed south towards Birmingham. Traffic was really bad and there were loads of roadworks, so we stopped for a quick coffee at the services.
By the time we got to the NEC it was nealy 10.50 and the doors had already been open 20 minutes. It was so busy and I was so short of time to see and do everything I wanted to. As the Festival of Quilts 2014 is such an impressive show it was a real impossibility to see everything.
I ran around up and down the quilt aisles snapping pics as quickly as I could, I certainly didn’t have time to spend looking and enjoying. One of the highlights though was seeing a beautiful quilt by Claudia Pheil. Claudia, from Germany, will be teaching here at The Royal Bridlington in December 2015.
Next was a mad dash along quilters aisle – to visit the tutors who teach here at The Royal Bridlington. I saw Jennie Rayment, Angela Madden, Sally Holman, Dawn Cameron-Dick, Philippa Naylor,Gail Lawther, Susan Briscoe to name but a few.
Quick trip to Wetherspoons for a drink then back to the stalls. Still really busy and getting very tired now. Although it would have been wonderful to get some shopping done (or as we call it have a F.A.R.T. or Fabric Acquisition Road Trip) I in the end gave up and went back to see the winning quilt before having to leave to head back to the coach which was scheduled to depart at 4pm.
Although the coach trip was fine, next year I shall be going back to my original plan of two days – its just far too much to do in one at The Festival of Quilts 2014.
I have loaded my pics on my blog and here is the link -.http://quiltandcraft.blogspot.com/2014/08/festival-of-quilts-nec-2014.html Enjoy!
One Response to “Festival Of Quilts 2014 at the NEC”
August 12, 2014
Paul MallettQuilters do it running round farting…!!
Sorry you only had a day to see the quilts. My wife and I came by coach for a day on the first year of the show, and have come for the entire period ewach year ever since.
I was stewarding for a couple of days this year and met so many people who had just come for the day and were putting themselves under pressure to try and see as much as possible. The show is like a massive art gallery which should be appreciated at leisure – with the occasional cup of coffee, fabric stroking, and retail therapy as well!!
It is such a great opportunity to meet up with friends there, too, or chat to the exhibitors about their work.
Its a personal thing, but this year I got that scalp-tingling feeling when I saw Ann Johnston’s a.m.a.z.i.n.g Sierra Nevada quilts, and Maria Elkins devastatingly sad, “Surrender”, in the SAQA gallery. Other than that I was delighted to meet Sara Impey for the first time, and to see and hear the reactions of the visitors as they were shown both sides of the “Best in Show” quilt!
See you there every day next year, perhaps?!!