Two members visited the Quilt Show at Ardingly on Friday 26th January
Ardingly Quilt Show - by Erica
This was my first time to Ardingly Quilt Show. I found it an easy drive from Croydon and once we were there parking was along the show ground roads, so no muddy puddles to dodge! Inside the lower level was packed with vendors selling what felt like anything a quilter could want. From sewing machines and long arm machines to Redwork patterns. There were fat quarters galore and styles of fabric including bright and bold blenders, novelty prints, soft cottage-garden prints and batiks, plus many panels.
I saw a few fabric lines that were new to me and I will definitely keep them in mind for the future, namely Cottage Cloth by Makower (it has the look of a shot cotton about it, lovely depth) and Poured Colour by Benartex (bright, rich marbelling, like the inside covers of classic books).
After perusing the stalls we made our way to the quilts upstairs. There weren't as many as I had expected, but there was no shortage of inspiration. I particularly liked the series of wall hangings that had been made to the theme of the Orient Express.
What I enjoyed about the collection of quilts on display was seeing the use of many different fiber arts. Painting, inktense pencils, hand quilting, dying - lots of food for thought.
One quilt had very fine organza applique and the artist noted that she had cut the pieces out with a soldering iron - perhaps this is a useful tip if anyone is considering this medium?
Then it was on to a hot lunch in the packed tea room.
After lunch we turned for home. It was a lovely way to spend a crisp, sunny winter day. There was even inspiration in the views of the showground.
Oh, and on a side note, the baby change facilities were excellent if anyone is thinking of going with a little one!
Ardingly Quilt Show - by Joyce
Jane K and I went today to the Ardingly Quilt Show.
We arrived soon after 11am and we’re amazed at how many cars were already parked and when we got inside the ground floor was absolutely heaving! Good news for the traders.
We made our way upstairs to look at the quilts exhibited first before splashing the cash.
Alicia Merritt had been busy digitally designing her own fabric and had stunning quilts on show. Mostly abstract and gorgeous colours. Having your own designs printed on fabric has come a long way in the past few years.
The journal quilt theme was Making a Scene. And one caught our eyes, Siren of the Sky, of Herring gulls noisily calling to each other. Inktense pencils had been used, we both have some of those so………
Janet Bevan had several pieces, spanning 20 years, one poignantly of her cat Lulu who had sadly died during lockdown. “The image is assembled with snippets of fabric built up on a fusible base, then covered with net and quilted”. Quite beautiful.
Gillian Travis had been dyeing and painting fabric with postcard sized pieces joined together depicting Burano Windows, with shutters, blinds, window boxes, all very colourful.
By now we were ready to sit down with a cup of coffee and we’d only been there a few minutes before Pat and a friend from Pilgrim Quilters joined us. We caught up with their news and then made our way downstairs to spend some money!
We found Charm Packs and fabric the colour of our initials for the Shirley Quilters challenges plus a few other bits and bobs for other projects we have on the go at home.
We had a great time looking at all the gorgeous fabrics and it was good to see the traders doing well.
Reading through I see I haven’t mentioned traditional quilts, but there were many on display with a wide range of designs imaginatively pieced together, some with quiet colour schemes and some with much bolder. There’s room for all ideas!