I went to a workshop led by Amy Butler at the NEC. This was an Academy Class as part of the Fesitval of Quilts.
The Quilt Show didn't open until yesterday so the stands and the classrooms were still being built. I have gone to classes at the Quilt Show on and off for years and they have always been in rooms outside the exhibition halls. This time they were inside the hall in temporary wooden structures. We were greeted at the hall door by a lady who told us the place was still a building site and we had to wear hi-viz jackets to get to the classroom. Also that we shouldn't be wearing open toed shoes. Right - on a warm summer day the majority of us were wearing open toed sandals! The added instruction was that if we wanted to go to the toilets we had to go in pairs! And one of us had to have a hi-viz jacket on. It was noticeable that none of the Exhibitors who were decorating their stands were wearing neon jackets!
So on to the class. Interrupted by large machinery that beeps when it is going backwards, someone with a radio on loudly and someone drilling into the wall on one side of the classroom. Oh and it was next to the Theatre and at one point someone decided it would be good to try out the PA system.
Despite all this, Amy graciously carried on. She showed us a slide show and talked about how she works and how she produces her fabrics.
She had brought with her lots of fabrics - not just her own and various other bits and pieces that we could help ourselves to. We were asked to just pick things that we liked - patterned, plain, fabric, card - whatever took our eye. We had also been asked to take along photos, images, bits of magazines - anything that we liked.
Here are some closeups.
One of my problems with art and particularly fabric is that I'm not good at putting pattern with pattern. In fact if you came to my house you would find that all the walls are pastel shades - no pattern, the curtains are mostly a block of colur, the carpets have no pattern. I rarely wear pattern. In fact the first time I wore my new top (pictured below with Amy Butler) I got so many comments from my friends because I usally wear plain tops.
For my second sheet I decide I would move well out of my comfort zone and use orange and pink but mainly concentrate on putting pattern with pattern.
Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice
Those look fabulous.
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