I didn’t expect to be writing this, but I went to Festival of Quilts on Saturday! Given all the uncertainty this year I’d not taken the risk and bought a ticket, but then I won one in a giveaway last week and decided to take the plunge and venture out. Knowing that this year’s show would be “different”, I wanted flexible train tickets so I wasn’t tied to a return train time. As usual, the simple option for tickets was not the cheapest but I managed to save ~£10 by splitting my journey into three.
The first sign that this year was going to different was that with the earlier opening time and staggered admissions, I wasn’t able to play the usual “spot the quilter” on the train or at the stations. My free ticket was valid for entry after 11am and train times meant I got to the NEC about 10.15am which gave me time to get a coffee beforehand. I’d finished my coffee by 10.45am and there was no problem in getting in to the Halls early. The organisers had taken on extra hall space and going by the list on the website, exhibitor numbers seemed reduced by about 50%. With the extra space it was difficult to gauge how visitor numbers compared to previous years, but one thing that was noticeable was the lack of a “hubbub” about the place.
There was lots of space to view the competition quilts, but I got the impression there were fewer entries than in previous years. Rather the usual photos of the quilts that caught my eye, I decided just to take some photos of quilts with cats on them.
It was much easier to move around the trading stands and many of the traders had time to answer questions about their products and chat about the show in general. One of the smaller traders mentioned that the lack of some of the “big names” had been beneficial as people who would normally head to the names were buying from them instead.
I didn’t particularly “need” anything, but there were a few things that were on my “would be useful or nice to have” list. Unfortunately, with the reduced retail offering, I didn’t spot any of them. However, I didn’t come away empty handed and came home with an eclectic mix of shopping - F8 bundles and a half metre from Oakshott Fabrics; low volume FQs from White Gecko; Dutch heritage prints from The Crafty Quilter; elastic for skirt and legging making (from a stand whose name escapes me); bargain jersey fabric from Project Linus (£5 for 2.5m!); ribbon for Christmas cakes (also found at Project Linus); two hair ornaments from Aid for Burma, one of which might be repurposed as a point turner for corners.
It was a different, but enjoyable experience this year, but I kept waiting for the crowds to appear - all day it had the feeling of being the last hour of the show when everyone starts heading home.
(A WordPress version of this post is available here as it may be more mobile-friendly for viewing and commenting.)
