Europe’s Premier Quilt Show

Birmingham, England, will host this year’s Festival of Quilts from August 14 to 17. And from the list of attractions, it seems that you could easily spend all four days there. With over a thousand quilts and many special events, it promises to be a real treat.

For instance, the Quilt Academy offers a program of over 75 master classes, workshops and lectures, while the Quick & Easy workshops provide another 160 plus sessions aimed at beginners.

Well known textile artists, Ricky Tims and Susan Brandeis from the US and Dorothy Caldwell from Canada will each have their own gallery at the show. Additional galleries from leading artists and groups in Europe and the UK will also be featured. Among those are ColourFX Textile Art, the European Art Quilt Foundation and the Hungarian Patchwork Guild.

At the ‘Virtual Studio’, you can see textile artists at work. Students and artists will be working both wet and dry. The 'wet benches' will have a rotation of students and artists working live from Friday through to Sunday to develop multi-layered cloth. Using dyes, color removing agents, screen inks and metal leaf, they'll be working with a wide variety of tools including silk screens, brushes, stamps, rollers and so forth, so that you can see what can happen to the 'plain white canvas of cloth'.

Linda and Laura Kemshall will transport their design studio to the Festival and will be working from inspirational sources to develop exciting new work as you watch. Over the course of four days you'll see their ideas become reality from starting point to completed quilt. Watch them piece, quilt and embroider.

You’ll also have a chance to buy supplies. There will be more than 200 companies offering hard-to-find patchwork and quilting supplies.

Last but not least, lots of extra-curricular activities are planned for the hours when the show is closed. The Gala Dinner, as well as an evening with Ricky Tims, the Soup Supper, and a Salsa Evening are all on the agenda.

www.TwistedThread.com | Quilt Academy | Quick & Easy workshops

Edited by Ellen Schofield