After sunny Wanstead on Saturday I ventured along the "mad" A3 on Sunday to Sandown. I was a bit apprehensive, as I thought that last year's show was disappointing, but was pleasantly surprised to find the exhibits very colourful and varied.

There did seem to be more "Feature Displays" than competition entries and I must admit to liking most of these more than any in the competitions. A lot of the competition entries were long-arm quilted by someone other than the maker of the piecing of the quilt, which I didn't think was fair on those who had made all of their quilt. Also, there were quite a few professionals who had won prizes, again I didn't think this fair - it makes "ordinary" quilters not bother to enter.

However, I was really interested in Gillian Travis' display of 12 years of journal quilts - a fantastic record of her journey in quilting. Another impressive display was by Maureen Crawford, who over a period of 30 years has been going to every class/workshop she can to learn quilting skills and then work out how to make a quilt she sees and likes herself. Jo Bennison had another good display of long-arm quilts, her own quilting, featuring many styles and colours. Pam and Nicky Lintott's display of jelly-roll quilts was very colourful and impressive, as always.

After trawling the quilts I ventured into the traders' area and confess did make a few purchases, a couple impulsive but a couple needed. After spending longer than intended - well these things can't be rushed - I decided to face the A3 challenge again.

I was glad I decided to make the effort this year and will definitely go again next year.