Festival of Quilts

A lot has happened this week. I took my sister to Hey-on-Wye to see the bookshops and she was bowled over. There was a moment when we came out of Richard Booth's shop (my favorite) and I was carrying all our purchases. I was about to say 'We have got to go back to the car - I can't carry this lot for any distance' when Dorothy said 'I think we should go home now. I can't afford to buy any more books.' So we went home and read each other's purchases. We had taken in Doughtys of Hereford on the way there so that I could buy heavy cotton to match the cushions I am weaving.  So that was a successful day out.

 On Tuesday we went off to the NEC at Birmingham where the Festival of Quilts was held. We both attended a class by Jette Clover 'Design Using Collage' The photo above is black and white and all paper. Later we got round to fabric see below, although even this is mostly paper.  It was an interesting two days but I could see that what I was doing looked just like her work. I don't think that style is for me. She was a very good teacher and had a really interesting take on practice. Her argument is that, if musicians practice scales, then textile artists should practice design and she does. At the beginning of each month she puts in one place a selection of paper and fabrics and uses these first thing every morning to create a postcard sized collage using only those materials. She laid out two or three month's worth and it was very interesting to examine these. I can see the point she is trying to make.

 This is from a class in Indian applique by Jane Davies. It is not quite finished I would do more of this.

And the third course was with Elena who was Latvian and taught us Mola work using designs based on bark. We tried out all sorts of techniques. This piece seems to be  more like the things I usually produce whereas the previous items seem to be me copying someone else.

Of course we looked at the quilts and shopped - not too much. And got home on Friday evening. This is now Saturday. Dorothy has gone home to Dundee. Robin, my son-in-law, arrived this afternoon and already we have dismantled five computers and thrown out a pile of cables, keyboards and mice.  Tomorrow we will have to go to the tip before we can put anything else in the garage!! The mice and keyboards were advertised on the Malvern Freecycle website this evening and have gone already. 

In amongst all of this, I have woven two more cushions. One more to do on this warp and then I need to wind a new warp with a very dark indigo yarn.