A Riot Of Colour!

Elisabeth was outside the station as I drove up, and within 10 minutes we were parked at the Racecourse. Check-in was quick [we had prebooked tickets] and we'd walked 75% of the way round the ground floor in the first hour. Then at 11.30 the loudspeaker went bing-bong! and a cheerful voice welcomed us and reminded us the three eating venues were all now fully open. 

I fully expected the voice to say "Hello Campers, Hi-de-Hi!" but she didn't. We looked out at the race track - all very green, but deserted. Not a horse in sight... and decided we were ready for coffee. E&I are old hands at this, we checked the three places, and discovered the cheapest coffee was inside in The Runners' Bistro - and it was fairtrade and served in proper mugs. E has a very strong social conscience and we were happy with this choice. We chatted and then it was noon, and people were coming in for lunches [which smelled delicious] We decamped to a sheltered spot outside and ate our packed lunch [prepared by E] Then back inside for more meandering. Stallholders were saying that people had been slow in arriving, and there were fewer than expected. We were 99% white women in the 40-80 age bracket. Most stallholders were women too, but there were some blokes.

You can see that it doesn't look that crowded! E had never been to a Quilt Show before and loved looking at stuff [and deciding not to buy it] There was one knitting/wool stand upstairs. 

I did like the award-winning Thimblewood stand, with their lovely felt nativity set, and beach hut etui. But came away with just the business card! 
I did not think much of the man in the corner selling marbling kits for £40, nor the guy with all sorts of overpriced perspex gizmos to make your quilting and patchwork easier. "I know a lot of ladies struggle with maths so this ruler has zero in the middle and measures out left and right, so you can find the centre of your work more easily" This "lady" took an exception to that, and moved on swiftly. Going with a friend is always a good move. You can ask each other "Would I really get much use out of this?" and if salesperson is too pushy, one of you can say "Let's so for coffee and think about this" I watched quite a few women waving their credit cards and buying things with apparently very little consideration about their purchases.

Special mention for AitchBee. This stand looked familiar, as did the one beside it Helen Howe's quilts- I visited their shop on the Norfolk/Suffolk border the year before the pandemic and blogged about them. I showed them the post I had written then, and Helen filled me in on the story since that summer. Two lovely ladies- who were generously giving away postcards with notes on how to replicate some of their quilt patterns!

There were many large quilts hanging around the venue featuring Kaffe Fassett prints, and more of those Highland cows [complete kits available to buy], and also a display of ones which had won prizes in the pre-show competition.

We looked at three quilts by Gillian Travis. They all followed the same format; she collected photographs whilst on holiday [Shetlands, India and Mexico] then reproduced details as paintings on postcard size pieces of ecru cotton. Each piece was then embellished with stitching [hand and machine] The scottish one had letters, and small items [jumpers and bobble hats] as well as scenery and building. India was vehicles, Mexico was doors.

These were on the top floor of the show. It was almost 3pm. And I made my Big Purchase of the day. Then we went for more coffee [and shared a slice of cake] and returned, as Elisabeth had decided she wanted to splash the cash too. As we left, at 4, the bingbong! lady was wishing us all a safe journey home. Next week I will post pictures of what I bought! Thanks Elisabeth for being a great friend and a good companion. A pleasant day out - lots of inspiration for further projects.