The annual Festival of Quilts in Birmingham is the largest quilt event outside America. I went for the first time last year, mainly to try out the Grace Queen Quilting Frame. To be honest, I was a little disappointed last year, as I felt the festival was mainly geared towards more traditional quilters, and it seemed to confirm some of the prejudices I think people have, i.e., that quilting is a hobby for sweet old ladies who love traditional, floral prints, wear wooly cardigans and probably have several pet cats. There is nothing wrong with that, but it is not how I regard quilting.
This year, however, I was pleasantly surprised. The London Modern Quilt Guild, which was only founded two years ago, had a stand (very friendly people, indeed!) and there seemed to be greater selection of modern fabrics available. One of my favourite UK shops, the Eternal Maker, was there, too, complete with a huge selection of the highly coveted Cotton + Steel collection.
Needless to say, I took the opportunity to stock up on some lovely new fabric. Here are some of my highlights:
Cotton + Steel basics
Cotton + Steel, Melody Miller
Free Spirit Fabrics (mainly Tula Pink)
Oakshott solids - unfortunately the photo does not do this beautiful fabric justice
The new Oakshott Colourshott colours - charm packs