Finally - quilts!

Friday 10th August

Just a driving day today from York to Birmingham. Motorway all the way so nothing to see. As we got closer to Birmingham the temperature dropped from 19 to 12, and the clouds got blacker and heavier. Eventually it rained, and quite heavily for a while. We arrived in Birmingham at our accommodation around 2.30 and were able to check in early. Spent the afternoon working out the best way to the quilt show. Seems like on weekdays there is a direct bus, but tomorrow is Saturday so we've decided to drive - it is only 5k.

Saturday 11th August

Birmingham Festival of Quilts. Easy drive, easy park, easy ticket purchase, very civilised sit down lounge for coffee before opening time.

It took me a while to work out the layout - exhibitions at the front of each hall (3 halls) and vendors at the back. I focused on all the exhibitions first. The same sort of categories as our quilt shows and lots of beautiful pieces but I don't think we should feel like the 'underdog' here. Certainly at AQC and Vic quilters showcase (and probably Sydney though I haven't been there) we have some equally impressive and stunning quilts. I'll include a small selection of some of my favourites.

In terms of the vendors - they are selling the same sorts of stuff as at our shows, though there are probably three times as many vendors. To be honest, I really zipped through these quickly as I was really looking for something special to catch my eye to buy as a memento of this show. Sadly, nothing really new and different.

Not a flattering shot, but here I am in Birmingham.

Some of the workshop area.

Early in the day - just getting started.

The colour in this one really took my eye.
This was in the novice section. Pretty good for a novice.

The colours in this one were stunning.
The quilting made each 'star' pop.

The tentmakers of Cairo. Truly amazing to watch them work.
He works with a needle the size of a crowbar and a pair of dressmakers shears.
And he is so quick. Apparently they have a saying 'slow stitcher, hungry family'. 

The 1718 silk coverlet - 300 years old. Hard to get a good photo without reflection.

These were a group of quilts - reproductions of the 1718 quilt. 

These were a couple of quilts in a small exhibition from a Russian sewing group.
Talking to the 'curator' of the exhibition she felt that they had a long way to go
to measure up to what was on display in Birmingham but for me these quilts
had real visual impact. When I walked in to the area it was 'wow'.

Ricki Tims - I didn't hear him speak, just got a photo.

Loved this in red and white - it might be from the book Quilted Diamonds.

Rob loved this one - our dog of the day.

This one won the miniature section - about 12" square.
Look at all those prairie points.

Colour!

One of two Dear Jane quilts. It looks yellow but the background
was actually a beigy brown. Very nice effect.

This one was a winner - the pink flowers are all 3D.

We spent the whole day here. Rob enjoyed his day also and took time out for a short nap in the afternoon. Another lovely English Indian dinner tonight.

Sunday 12th August

Laundry day again and the laundry was just around the corner. We probably only have one more laundry day before we go home.

After the laundry we headed to the city of Worcester. I decided to not use motorways today so that we'd get to see something. Dora took us through all the burbs of Birmingham and through the centre of the city to get out to the western side. Where our accommodation is located, in the east, seems to be a housing commission type area - run down, untidy, metal shutters on shops, graffiti. I believe Birmingham was once (maybe still is) a very industrial city and I guess the housing and the roads reflect this. We really didn't see a 'pretty' area of town.

We visited the cathedral in Worcester. King John of England (1612) is buried there. He was the King in power at the time of writing the Magna Carta. We had lunch at the Marks and Spencer cafe after going to a previous one in Stirling.

This pink giraffe is significant to the cathedral
- there is a pink giraffe in one of the stained glass panels.

Worcester Cathedral.

The old organ at the cathedral.

They must have a very busy and dedicated craft group at the church
- hundreds of tapestry kneelers.

This pulpit was just stunning
- all marble of different colours and fantastic carving.

The shire offices in Worcester.

And a giraffe at the shire offices.
There were quite a few giraffe statues around town.

A drive back to the hotel via Stratford upon Avon where we saw Anne Hathaways house and the street where William Shakespeare was born. Anne Hathaway was the wife of William Shakespeare. We didn't actually visit WSs house as there were hundreds of tourists and no parking.

Anne Hathaway's cottage.

I love the character of these part timber houses,
this one in Stratford upon Avon.

One final sight on the way back was the Hatton locks, a series of 21 locks on the canal between Birmingham and Warwick. We watched a couple of canal boats pass through one of the locks.

While I am doing this page Rob has the tv on and is watching the World masterplay darts from Melbourne!