I went to Llangollen this afternoon, to see the "Made in Wales" part of the exhibition at the Royal International Pavilion, part of Quiltfest. The alterations to the Pavilion haven't been quite as drastic as suggested eighteen months ago and the gallery, although smaller, now has better daylight and larger windows along one side. The good daylight is useful for demonstrating. DeAnne Hartwell-Jones, who is exhibiting there, has been doing English paper pieced patchwork demos for the last two weeks. She is working on the magnificent Lone Star design on her left. The small piece of patchwork in the foreground is made from red and grey Welsh flannel, very traditional for Welsh winter quilts, if not seen so much today.
This is another work in progress. DeAnne said the colours were inspired by a trip to the Sahara. It is also English paper pieced. The stepped red cornerstones are a feature often seen on traditional pieced quilt tops.
The Snowdonia landscape was handsewn too, but this time onto a foundation. This quilt simply glows in real life. The subtle effect of the sun's rays catching the rocks is partly achieved by using the back of the fabric with one print, so it represents both a light and mid tone.
All but three of the quilts in this section* are by DeAnne, who pieces and quilts everything by hand (something my Japanese quilting friends would appreciate!) It is open tomorrow, Friday and Sunday (Quiltfest's trading day), with free admission tomorrow and Friday. More information is on Quiltfest's website, but if you would like to see DeAnne's work and watch a demo of how she creates these beautiful pieces, you'll need to get there in the next few days. The other two galleries, Y Caban (Plas Newydd, Llangollen) and the Museum, will continue to display quilts until the end of the month.
* One of those three 'other' quilts is my 'Fish and Chips'. DeAnne said it reminded her of her kitty, who usually sits on her lap when she pieces patchwork! (This is a photo taken at another show).
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