We're officially in mourning that this summer's The Festival of Quilts won't be going ahead this summer. If you're already missing your annual hit of high-impact quilt goodness, fear not! Dive into our virtual tour of last year's winning quilts to top us up until we're all allowed to go out and fondle other people's quilts (with our eyes at least) in public again.
If you want to spark true debate at Gathered towers, just ask us which is our favourite category of quilt in The Festival of Quilts competitions, then stand back and watch the fireworks. Some of us LOVE the complete magic of the mini quilts (hands up here, as how do they make them so wee?!), others are in awe of the traditional quilt galleries, steeped in the quilting heritage that we learnt from the generations before us. Then there’s the camp that can be found gazing for hours, lost in the eye-tricks of the pictorial quilts.
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Being such complete devotees of the UK’s best-loved quilting event, it’s with great sadness that we learned that this year we’ll be missing out on our annual trip to the NEC to get our quilt on and immerse ourselves in the galleries (let alone snaffle ALL THE FABRIC at the shopping stands). We also happen to work alongside the hard-working and creative team at Upper Street Events who throw this biggest UK quilt event of the year each summer, so we know how much work had gone on behind the scenes on this year’s exhibitions when the global pandemic got in the way.
Enter the 2020 Festival of Quilts Virtual Quilt Competition
Oh yes, you heard us right! While this Summer’s Festival has been sadly postponed, you can still enter your quilts in the event’s virtual quilt competitions – entries are open now at www.thefestivalofquilts.co.uk
Check out their awesome plans for a Virtual Quilt Competition this year (above) and then dive into the complete comfort viewing that is this visual tour of the quilts that captivated us and won the judges’ hearts last year.
Festival of Quilts, we are all the heart eyes for you and we cannot WAIT to see you in 2021.
*Pencil in 29th July – 1st August 2021 in your diaries now people!
Claudia Pfeil won best Contemporary quilt after blowing the judging away with her “wow-factor” quilt,noting that, “the strong background compliments the overall design with a variety of different techniques which demonstrate excellent workmanship.”
Lynne Barker scooped the Creations award and settled any question of whether quilting and art overlap. (THEY DO!). The judges were beyond impressed: “This highly evocative piece promotes a huge emotional response. The use of threads, knots and their placement make a stunning contrast to the discs. The thread shows ripples of movement through the piece to contrast with the seeming regularity of the outside ‘armour’”
The Vlieseline Fine Art Quilt Masters winner by Ann Goddard.
The prize for best Art Quilt was deservedly won by Betty Busby for this completely mind-blowing quilt. The judges all admired the shifting focus across the design, and the meticulous execution, noting “subtle and unusual colours and fabric patterns are skilfully handled in this quilt, with a great sense of depth.”
We don’t know about your early quilts but ours were nowhere near as impressive as the 2019 winning Novice Quilt by Katarzyna Plesniak. The judgest noted her “design with a deep meaning, excellent use of a limited subtle colour palette. Rich and evocative texture and great interpretation of the theme,” adding that her “techniques are well executed and appropriate for the piece.” We can’t wait to see what you make next, Katarzyna.
Robyn Fahy won her first place position in the Modern Quilts category in a unanimous Unanimous decision by the Festival judges, who remarked on her “beautiful executed with rhythm and motion as well as depth and texture created with the quilting which perfectly complements the overall design.”
Oh hey there, mini quilts, you dinky delights! Sandra Newton won the Miniature Quilt category for her “exemplary use of materials and techniques to create a stunning work.” The judges enthused that her “Dynamic impact of the piece is created by imaginative use of colours and attention to details.”
Marilyn Rathbone came runner up in the Runner up in The Vlieseline Fine Art Quilt Masters with her “most innovative use of textiles”.
This one really has to be admired up close too
We do love a wholecloth quilt, and Andrea Stracke’s stunner caught the judges praise, winning her the Hand Quilting award for this beauty, which they enthused showed a “well-planned design and exemplary stitching”.
The Best Group Quilt award went to Cowslip Workshops for their “well-balanced, beautifully executed quilt.” The judges noted the group’s “Clever use of fabrics from the themed print to the subtle use of colour in the pieced border… and effective use of negative space complimented by the appliqué.” Oh the appliqué!
The best Two Person quilt award went to Mary Palmer & Anne Kiely. The judgest liked their theme and good combination of different elements,” noting it’s story-telling skill.
The Best Pictorial Quilt category is always a stunner, so congratulations to Juana Castañeda Romera for winning with this swan in flight quilt. “A strong image, well balanced in the frame and immaculately executed,” admired the judges. “Congratulations on an amazing piece of work, a privilege to have judged it.” High praise indeed for a truly eye-catching quilt that is so lifelike, it makes you stop and ask yourself it’s even really a quilt. (We can confirm, it is)
Kate Dowty won The Quilters’ Guild Challenge with this colour-boosting quilt. The judgest liked that it was “a simple concept, executed with confidence in style, beautifully presented in lovely colours.”
We always LOVE to see the younger quilters shining through at Festival! Here’s Shenley Brook End School’s winning Primary School quilt, “A light and airy piece, portraying memories that are important to a child.” The judges loved “the jigsaw effect that linked memories to each other.”
The award for Best Secondary School Quilt went to Atelier de Couture Magique for this absolute beauty. “We loved the use of the sun and figures to show the passage of time,” noted the judges. “The colours were particularly well chosen.”
The best Traditional Quilt award went to Gwenfai Rees Griffiths with this wow-inducing quilt. The judges commented on the “beautiful sophisticated design with subtle colouring which has been expertly employed. Exquisite workmanship at every level. We all agree there was nothing to alter.”
