What I got at Festival of Quilts

was a nasty stonking cold! It started on the train on the way home on Saturday, and even today I am still full of it. Still, coughing and sneezing like mad, but planning my next project, which I can do sitting down!

There were so many wonderful things to see at FOQ and so many others have written about it on their blogs that it's difficult to find anything original to say. So apologies if I'm going over old ground!
I spent quite a lot of time browsing the competition quilts in the Contemporary and Art categories so that I could try and fathom out what the difference is between the two. In the end I came to the conclusion that there really isn't any discernible difference at all. There were also quilts in the Pictorial category that I thought could have been entered in either of the other two categories. The traditional quilt that won first prize, was just that, a beautifully made traditional quilt and there were others in that class that were totally traditional. However there were also quilts in that class, that I thought could easily have been entered in the Contemporary class. But hey, what do I know about it given my lack of experience!

I'm not sure about taking photos of other people's work, but there are a few that I did want to capture. It's difficult to pick a favourite so I won't, but there were a few that I thought had the "wow factor".

This quilt by Rosalind Gregory was called Becky's Dresses and was a collection of hand smocked dresses appliqued onto the back ground by hand.  Apparently these were actual dresses made from various Liberty Lawns which had been worn by the makers daughter as a child. The photo really doesn't do it justice, but it was truly delightful and attracted a large crowd.

This quilt was made by Julie Makinder and again the photo really doesn't do it justice. It incorporates hand dyed, hand printed fabrics and incorporates photos inspired by the colours of the Cornish landscape.

Another quilt inspired by Cornwall by Carolyn Saxby from St Ives. I was so pleased to finally get to meet Carolyn who has such a wonderful blog and which is such an inspiration.

This quilt was made by Alicia Merritt and the colours were truly vibrant and the quilting was just wonderful.

If I must choose a favourite, then I think it would be this beautiful quilt by Sheena Norquay. I just couldn't tear myself away from it and while I had my nose pressed up close to see the free machine quilting, I got into conversation with a young woman who was equally enthralled. She thought that this type of quilting needed a special expensive machine and that it could not be done on an ordinary domestic machine. I soon put her right and I hope she was inspired enough to go home, drop her feed dogs and have a play! Exactly what I should be doing!

As for my project, ah well, I was tempted by some beautiful hand dyed silk yarn on Oliver Twists stall and it is just right for weaving a silk scarf. So that's what I'm doing next!