Today's Quilter - UK (2019-11)

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o muchhashappened

sincemylastarticle,it’s

hardtoknowwhereto

start.Inwhatfeltlikethehottest

weekever,I spentseveralnights

workingonmydesignforThe

Festivalof Quilts,at theNEC,

untilgone3am.Lotsof people

thinkI’mmad,butinthequiet

evenings,thereis nobetterway

tounwindthantoheadoutto

myclassroomtosewwiththedogsunderthetableand

somenice,calmmusicplayinginthebackground.

I discovereda longtimeagothatyouwon’tbeable

tosewasfastif youaretense.Singingalongtothe

radioworksa treatforme,andthedogsalwaysget

a biscuittosettlethemdownsotheyknowit’swork

time.PackingawaytheChristopherWilson-Tate

exhibitionthedaybeforeleavingfortheNECwasa

fairlymammothtask,butthequiltsweresafelyback

withhimbymid-daythefollowingday,whichwasa

majorrelief.I can’ttellyouhowdaunting it is being

responsible for such wonderful quilts.

Festivalfun!

Wearrivedat theNECby9:15amaftera 4amstartand

setup– it feltfunnyformystandtobeat theopposite

endtousual,butI wasdelightedwiththeresultandit’s

sucha goodfeelingtoknowI hadn’tforgottenanything

(eventhesandwichesareessential).I wasintheliftat

myhotelwhenI gotthephonecalltosayourgroup

quilt,OvertheHillsandFarAway,hadwonBestin

Group.It cameasa totalshock!Helen,whoworks

forme,gota Judge’sChoiceandmylong-timefriend,

Sallie,got3rdinGroup,soweallfeltprettyhappy.

When setting up, I never dare to glance and check to

seeif thequiltis there!ButI wouldliketosaya huge

thankyoutotheorganisersforputtingonsucha great

show.Everyday,whenI arrivedearlytosetup,I triedto

walkdowna dierentaislethanI haddonetheprevious

daytoadmireeveryone’swonderfulwork.Therewere

sometrulyamazingandoriginalquilts,whichis of course

whatmakestheshowsospecial.I can’timaginethelevel

of greateortandlabourthatwentintothequiltson

show.I hadthepleasureof meetingMaryfromCork

whowonoverallBestQuiltandI thoughtherdesignwas

reallydelightfulandbeautifully sewn; hopefully she will

visit Cowslip next year.

BacktoReality

It wasbacktoearthwitha bumpformeasweheaded

home once the festival had ended. Judy Newman and

Join us at http://www.todaysquilter.com

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