Harrogate Quilt Show

I've been neglecting my quilting of late. Pressures of work and other interests mean I have less time. I'm also in the middle of hand quilting a double 'Grandmother's flower garden' for Chickpea and I'm losing the will to live. There are 56 of these flowers and I have 17 to go plus the border.

What's needed is a trip to a quilt show to remind me why I fell in love with quilting in the first place. The Great Northern Quilt Show at Harrogate is a chance to renew my enthusiasm. Me and a couple of friends from our quilt group go every year. It's a 1.5 hour journey and we pass through some lovely countryside, including seeing these domes at RAF Menwith Hill which look like gigantic golf balls.

First impressions? We usually go on a Sunday but this was Saturday and much busier. There was a good number of quilts but the show still inevitably suffers from being so soon after the much bigger Festival of Quilts. However, I spotted a few gems.

My first love has always been traditional and scrap quilts so 'Spanish Plates' by Christine Marriage ticked both boxes. It was longarm quilted and won a Judges Merit.

The unusual use of colour as well as the striking shapes and composition attracted me to 'In a spin' by Hilary Beattie. It won Overall Runner-Up, 1st Theme, and a Judge's Choice.

This caught my eye as a quilt Chickpea would love and she did. It's 'Anyone seen a dragon?' by Amanda Carter and is based on a picture by Anne Stokes.

GNQS no longer has a Visitors Choice award but if it did, this would be mine. 'Asters 2' is also by Hilary Beattie. I loved the colours, the delicacy and the multiple layers with the background asters in net and the foreground in applique. It won Art Quilt, Judges Merit and Judge's Choice.

Of course, you can't leave a quilt show without adding to your stash. I had a wishlist for a quilt I'm planning with bold patterned fabrics and was pretty restrained in sticking to that list with only a few extras thrown in.

But the highlight of the show? To our great excitement and delight, Jackie from our quilt group won three rosettes: Bed Quilt, Machine Applique and best of all, Champion Quilt!!! Well done, Jackie! For a photo, you'll have to wait for a posting in a few weeks as our group is having a quilt show of its own.

PS. I wasn't sure of the 'rules' of posting photos of other people's work on a blog. If you are the maker of any of these quilts and are unhappy at their inclusion, please let me know and I'll take down the photo.