The Festival of Quilts is held in the National Exhibition Center in Burningham, England. It is the largest quilt show in Europe. The show was canceled in 2020 because of the Covid-19 but with many precautions, they held a safe and successful event this August.
In a previous post, we shared pictures of some of our favorite quilts that hung in the show. There were so many that inspired us that we decided one post was not enough.We thank all the makers of the quilts for providing photos of their quilts so that we could share them here with you.
Colour Quilt by Lynn Setterington @lynnsetterington
Colour Quilt was created from recycled debris net, which is a material found on many construction sites in the UK. The maker’s home city, Manchester, is currently undergoing a building boom. Suicide rates among workers within the construction industry are staggeringly high. Setterington has been trying to bring attention to the mental issues surrounding the workers through her use of the net in some of her art projects. We love the vibrant colors and texture of this innovative quilt.
Cross Section of a Tree by Yuliya Reshetnickova @quiltcreation
This quilt was made as part of an environment exhibition of improvisational quilts. The exhibit was dedicated to the topic of deforestation. Reshetnickova’s hope is that we can start to ‘treat the green lungs’ of our planet.
Container City by Colleen Butler @quiltobsessionsa
The machine quilting on this piece creates the perfect juxtaposition between lines and curves. We love the color choices Butler used for her ‘container city.’ This quilt received 2nd place in the Modern category.
Kenny and Dolly by Joanne Crossland @lunaloo236
Crossland made this quilt as a pattern tester for Jenny Haynes @pappersaxsten. We love the animal print fabrics she used to create her version of the quilt.
Bubble Gum by Jan Bevan @janbevan
The quilt was started in a workshop with Jenny Haynes@pappersaxsten. The pattern is called Wax Lyrical. The intricate machine quilting in Bevan’s ‘bubble gums’ elevates the design and adds dimension.
Adventures in Orphism by Sarah Humphreys @edwardandthewhitebear
Adventures in Orphism is Humphreys interpretation of Sonya Delaunay’s paintingPatchwork Composition. Humphrey says about Delaunay, “I was interested to read that working on a patchwork quilt for her son inspired her move into Cubism. I felt a certain symmetry in making a quilt inspired by her painting.” The quilt was designed to have the visual impact of a Cubist painting from a distance, but the characteristics of a quilt when viewed up close.
Little Snippets by Abigail Sheridan de Graaff @cutandalder
While piecing this quilt together, Sheridan de Graaff challenged herself to see how skinny she could consistently piece the fabrics together. She was able to get the ‘inserts’ just under 1/16”. The machine quilting compliments the quilt design perfectly. This quilt received 1st place in the Modern category.
Macaroons by Sarah Hibbert @quiltscornerstone
Machine quilted by Christine Perrigo @ccpquilt
This quilt hung in jnQuiltcon 2018. The Festival of Quilts used an image of the quilt for all their posters and advertising for the 2020 and then subsequently 2021 show. Hibbert uses a technique for her quilt designs of creating simple paper collages and then translates them into fabric. She has a new book that teaches how she designs quilts using this unique process.
To see more quilts that hung in the Festival of Quilts, England, you can search the hashtags #fog2021 and #festivalofquilts2021 on Instagram.
You can find a plethora of modern quilt inspiration in the physical copies of Curated Quilts as well as visiting our blog and Instagram account.
By Brittany Bowen Burton