Behind the Scenes of the Long-arm Quilting Exhibition at "Patchwork en Quilt Dagen" in Rijswijk

We have a very busy weekend or I should say busy weeks behind us. We spent the winter months organizing the Long-arm Quilting Exhibition "North Sea Quilters and Friends", which took place on 14-15th February in Rijswijk during the "Patchwork and Quilt Days" show. But it began a long time before, when we had an idea that we would like to show the Dutch quilters the possibilities and the beautiful work that can be done on the long-arm quilting machines. But which quilts shall we show and where to find a venue? That was the time when we worked on our challenge quilt for Birmingham, so it seemed an obvious choice to ask Beryl Cadman (Custom Quilting Limited), the European distributor of the Gammill® Quilting Machines and Statler Stitcher™ fully computerized quilting system,

who organizes and presents the Long-arm Quilting Gallery in Birmingham, if we can show these challenge quilts in The Netherlands as well. She was very supportive of the idea. We had the quilts, but no venue yet. Marybeth approached Jobina de Boer, the organizer of the "Patchwork en Quilt Dagen" in Rijswijk, who kindly offered the place for the Long-arm Quilting Challenge show and more, the opportunity to showcase 24 more quilts. Thanks to our long-arm quilter friends, who were very happy to share their best quilts with the Dutch public, we could easily put together the extended show. I can say this was a one-of-a-kind event. It was never before in The Netherlands that the patchworkers could see as big a collection of long-arm quilted patchwork than during this weekend. You can imagine how excited we were before the BIG DAY. It was nice to see that so many of you came to the show and were interested to see the quilts of Emma and Pam Ablett, Beryl Cadman, Myriam Debuscherre, Robyn Fahy, Maria Laza, Yvonne McKee, Tracey Pereira, Sue Philips, Leslie Carol Taylor, Marybeth Tawfik, Cheryl Thomas and Andreas Wolf in the Long-arm Quilting Challenge Gallery.
In the extended part of the exhibition the visitors could have a close look at the quilts of Irena Bluhm, Beryl Cadman, Marie-Christine Chammas, Martina Curtis, Robyn Fahy, Liesbeth van der Hilst, Yvonne McKee, Mary Palmer, Tracey Pereira, Andreas Wolf and ours, the North Sea Quilters (Maria Laza, Leslie Carol Taylor and Marybeth Tawfik).
Look at the photos here and the following blogs, may be you can spot yourself ☺ And as you noticed there are some real behind the scenes photos as well!

Patchwork and Quilt Days in Rijswijk

View of the Challenge Quilts at the Long-arm Quilting Gallery in Birmingham 2008.

We would like to invite you to the Patchwork en Quilt Dagen (Days) Exhibition in Rijswijk on 14-15 February 2009.

We are participating with an Exhibition of North Sea Quilters and Friends, which consists of two parts:

The Long-arm quilting challenge 2008
These quilts were originally hung at The Festival of Quilts in Birmingham in August 2008 and was sponsored by Custom Quilting Ltd. and Gammill.The exhibition consists of 13 large quilts (90 inches square) which each incorporate two challenge fabrics in addition to any other fabrics the maker chose to use in their personal design. North Sea Quilters participated in this challenge with three separate quilts.

A Selection of Long-arm Quilts, Showcasing Different Possibilities
Quilts by Irena Bluhm (USA), Beryl Cadman, Marie-Christine Chammas, Martina Curtis, Robyn Fahy, Liesbeth van der Hilst,Yvonne McKee, Mary Palmer, Tracey Pereira, Andreas Wolf and the North Sea Quilters: Maria Laza, Leslie Carol Taylor and Marybeth Tawfik.

Other Exhibitions During the Show

Feathers

Finalists of the International Quilt Competition “Feathers”, organized by the 14^de Carrefour Européen du Patchwork in Val d’Argent, France, where these quilts were first exhibited from 18th to 21th September 2008.

StiQS

StiQs is a group of enthusiastic quilters, whose approach to quilting has became more and more free with time. They pursue their own way whilst still adhering to some basic techniques. Although textile remains the most important material, it is certainly not the only one they incorparate in their work. StiQS was founded in 2006. All members completed the course “Speciality Quilting”, organized by “Kunstfactor” the Dutch national institute for amateur art. For more information see: www.stiqs.nl

Elly Prins

Elly Prins has been quilting since 1993. She has always quilted by machine and was the first quilter in The Netherlands to introduce long-arm quilting. Having followed courses in the US she has developed into a quilter with great experience in the field of machine quilting. This exhibition gives an overview of the stages of her development.

Vendors

Shops from both The Netherlands and abroad will offer a large selection of fabric, books, patterns and speciality tools during the Patchwork and Quilting Days.

Presentations and Lectures

There will be a lecture or presentation every hour on both days.

You can read more on our website www.northseaquilters.com under the News section.

For Dutch translation, please visit our website: www.northseaquilters.com under the News section.

More information www.exporijswijk.nl.

Information about advance purchase of entrance tickets: www.jobinadeboer.nl

We hope to see you at Rijswijk,

Maria, Leslie and Marybeth