Tuesday 12 August 2014

Fabric Purchases!

Since I was last here I've been away for the weekend. I went to the Festival of Quilts for two days with a couple of friends, staying overnight in Birmingham... old news really as there have already been plenty of blog posts about the show. I usually only go up for one day, so it was rather nice to have the luxury of not feeling like I needed to rush around packing everything into a single day as well as being able to spend time with my friends. Although if I'm honest I had pretty much seen all I wanted to see, bought what I needed to buy and even took a 1 hour workshop all on the first day.
 
 
There were some fabulous exhibitions of work in the galleries from established artists but the one that stood out for me was the solo show by Hungarian artist Eszter Bornemisza, whose delicate, fragmented pieces crossed that boundary from quilts to fine art... actually I'm not sure they could really be classed as quilts but they were stunning.

 
I was also rather taken by the quilts of Ineke van Unen just for their exuberent use of colour.

 
Unfortunately not so many of the competition quilts really grabbed my attention. Maybe I'm just getting too critical but despite some exquisite workmanship, I felt many were let down by design... and far too many look as though they should be on beds, not walls! My preference is for the abstract rather than pictorial and I did rather like this winner of the contemporary quilt category... all made from old shirts and ties!
 
My shopping on Saturday was limited to what I actually needed and I bought a few Kaffe Fassett shot cottons in shades of purple for a cushion I'd been commissioned to make. I spent most of yesterday cutting them up and combining them with some of my stash to make this patchwork cover based on Janice Gunner's wonky log cabin designs.

 
Today it was quilted, piped and made up into a cushion which I'm now a bit reluctant to part with...

 
It matches the sofa in my living room rather too well. But if I keep it I'll only have to make another and I don't really think I can be bothered!

 
My other necessary fabric purchase was to find something that looked vaguely like cat fur. Jacob rather likes the cat pictures by Louis Wain and wanted a tea cosy for his small teapot that matches his tea mug. I made the tea cosy this afternoon but I'm not entirely happy with it... there's not really enough definition. Back to the drawing board with that one...

 
 
But probably not just yet... because I've a third fabric purchase to deal with. This was not on my list of fabric that I needed to buy, but of course having the luxury of a whole extra day to wander around meant I spotted some totally unecessary fabric that I just had to have. This is destined to become another reversible skirt...

 
Watch this space!

14 comments:

  1. It was lovely to see you briefly on Saturday. Your cushion is beautiful, the commissioner should be delighted!

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  2. Can't wait to see the reversible skirt in that adorable material!!!!

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  3. The tea cosy is amazing.
    And i hope you bought lots of reversible skirt fabric as i think lots of people might want one...
    Ax

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  4. Stunning Quilts, and such a cute tea cosy. Yep those cushions do match your sofa :)

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  5. I've been lapping up all the Festival of Quilts blog posts. Every year I intend to go but still haven't made it, so living it through everyone else keeps me going!

    I love your tea cosy and the cushion is gorgeous. I think I'd struggle part with it too. You really should make yourself one :)

    xx

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  6. Love the quilts, love the fabrics, love the cushion and I think the tea cosy is just perfect.

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  7. The reversible skirt is going took fab in that wonderful material, look forward to seeing it :-)

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  8. Blogging is great - I don't need to go to the Quilt Show and can see a wonderful selection of quilts from various blogs without leaving home. I love your patchwork cushion and the teacosy is such fun.

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  9. But Gina! I LOVE the cat tea cozy -- it's a perfect match for that mug! And it's so fun to get a different perspective on the quilt show -- you're the total opposite to me. If I want to see art for hanging on walls, I'll go to an art show. For me, quilts will always be for beds (maybe because I don't have much wall space?), so when I go to a show with mostly art quilts I'm always disappointed.

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  10. I just love your tea cosy, it looks cheerful and I know a cat mad teenager (mine) who would be a very happy to have a mum able to make one like it.
    Thanks for sharing the photos of the exhibition, I never get a chance to visit such events in person and it is nice to be able to see what you saw in your blog.

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  11. I originally thought the mug and cosy went together and had to look very carefully to see where they didn't. You've done a great job :)

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  12. Your tea cozy is cute and lots of fun! Nice fabrics......

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  13. I love the piece in the third picture, beautiful! I am glad that you had a nice time. xx

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  14. Good to read a bit about FOQ, sorry I missed it. Love the cushion and tea cosy, lucky Jacob and client. Better start making some for next year's COS!

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