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Quilt by Vanessa Sherston-Baker, made for her son when he was young. Shown as part of the
QG "Talking Quilts" project whereby grass roots quilters choose one keynote piece they have
made or own and the interview is recorded and transcribed along with a picture of the piece
and its maker to be preserved for posterity. |
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| Diversity in Europe: work from the European Guilds |
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Display of quilts from the permanent collection: there is a pattern for the one
on the plinth |
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| Modern Quilt Group booth |
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| TQG Challenge pieces, detail |
I am a very keen member of the Quilters' Guild and the Festival which was instigated by lobbying of the Twisted Thread exhibitions company by various Guild committee members is a splendid showcase for the numerous aspects of its work. Juried students show their work and one is chosen to receive a bursary and show their work at the next year's festival. This year a friend's daughter, Penny Jeffries had her own white walled space to display her work. To my chagrin though I was a frequent visitor I don't have a photo - too much chatting. There are specialist groups within the Guild and I belong to the Modern and Traditional groups. There are also groups for the miniaturists, a large contemporary group and the Quilt Study group to research the history of quilts and quilting. Not least are the Young Quilters and the work that the Guild does to provide workshops and encouragement to the next generation.This year it was the turn of the traditional group - TQG- to mount an exhibition and vintage quilts from members' collections were displayed alongside small modern examples. The Spotlight gallery displays the work of people who deserve more recognition. This year some excellent young quilters got to display a piece. The UK guild has links with other European guilds and a piece from each country is chosen for display and in turn the Guild sends work to international exhibitions and museums.
The Guild holds a large collection of quilts and related items and this year enjoyed a much larger space to display items with provenance reflecting the lives and social positions of various families. The Guild organises the stewarding and judging of the show which is not a juried event and runs a rigorous two year judging course which friend Judi is just coming to the end of.
So the Guild is an organisation well worth supporting and I have enjoyed the company of fellow quilters from a much wider field and greatly increased my understanding of quilting and of women's lives.
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TQG booth wide red/black and white challenge pieces
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1 comment:
I wish we had such an organisation here in Tokyo. In Japan it is only "teachers" with hoards of "followers". Even at quilt shows, they are presented in groups. I once joined a group but quickly found out the teacher insisted on controlling what the students do ... down to patterns (which you had to pay for, even if you could draw your own), and the choice of fabrics ... which it just happened the teacher had available for purchase. Needless to say, I did not last long in that group.
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