Exhibition!

This weekend saw the return of our popular bi-annual exhibition at Walcote Village Hall.  We had a special exhibition committee who had tried very hard to plan everything in advance so it would run smoothly.  Every year we tweak the organisation to try and get everything to be as good as we can make it, and this year (apart from a Saturday morning cake crisis!) think it all went very well indeed. 

Here are Di and Gill ready to welcome people in and hopefully to sell them some raffle tickets. 

June had worked hard to make the raffle lots of fun.  No chocs, bath salts or potted plants here, just fabric, fabric, fabric and a few little surprises!  Each little bag held fabric themed round a month, eg. for September, fruit and pie fabric, with a bonus sachet of Bird's custard!  Perfect! 

An important feature of the the show is the refreshments, which proved very popular! 

The tombola of handmade items was very popular too.  There were all kinds of prizes, from bags to coasters, table runners to tea cosies, sewing baskets to purses.  Every single item was won by the end of the show. 

There was a sales table too, with lots of items for sale, some handmade, some second hand plus books and fabric.  This had so many bargains, it had to be replenished by Sunday morning.  Bargains are always popular. 

We were very pleased to welcome our trader Roxanna from 'Hannah's Room' with her delectable selection of batik fabrics.  Few of us managed to resist the temptation of these gorgeous fabrics.  Plus Roxanna is always full of inspiration and fun.  Thank you so much for coming. 

Lots of people were fascinated by the demonstrations.  Lynda showed a jelly roll quilt pattern, Pam how to appliqué using fusible web, Julie the Accuquilt cutter, Gwyneth English paper piecing and Julie foundation piecing.  No matter how much you know about patchwork, there is always more to find out. 

Here is the Project Linus table, with donated quilts and tops, and some of the heart warming thank you letters and cards from lucky children who have received 'a hug you can keep'. 

And now for the quilts.  I haven't got photos of them all, and the section I have is pretty random.  It clearly shows the wide variety of styles, skill levels and colour choices. The two quilts in this picture were actually made from the same pattern - the colour choices make them look very different. 

The brown quilt at the back is a 365 challenge quilt - the challenge was to make a block every day for a year! 

Pink confetti at the back and cute dogs at the front. 

An alphabet memory quilt with photos printed onto the fabric on the left and a replica quilt on the right. 

There were also smaller quilts, wall hangings and bags.m

We had lots of visitors who were fascinated by the variety. 

The quilt at the back is a golden wedding quilt.  It was made quilt as you go. 

A gorgeous traditional quilt in the background, with something a bit more modern in the foreground. 

We had a lovely surprise when someone brought in an old quilt which had been found in her great aunt's effects.  It was a Grandmother's Flower Garden top made over papers in silks and satins.  Some of the papers were still in the patches and had been made from letters, envelopes and household stationery. We were thrilled to find a written date of 1876 and a postmark of 1880.  The top was complete, but had not been finished, which was a shame.  Some of the silk patches had frayed and split, but most were beautiful and vibrantly coloured.  The owner was delighted to find out so much about this item, and vowed to do some more research into her family tree and see if she could identify the maker of this special heirloom. 

Every visitor was given to slips to vote for their favourite small and large quilt.  Here are the winners. 

Vicki won the small quilt category with her fabulous giraffe quilt.  This was an original design.  She is proudly holding her prize donated by 'Hannah's Room'. 

Di won second prize with this innovative country scene.  The stepped bottom edge really sets it off. 

Maria wasn't around to pose in front of her cockerels, unfortunately.  These are all so much fun and so deserving of first prize for a large quilt. 

And second prize for a large quilt goes to Madeline with her patchwork of the crosses.  At the moment this is still a top - I can't wait till it's finished! 

Thank you to all those who displayed quilts and especially those who helped set up and take down the show.  It was a huge success from every point of view and we can't wait to repeat it in 2019!