Stitching and hobbycrafts

Yesterday I spent a couple of hours talking to visitors to the CQ display at the Stitching and Hobbycrafts show at Excel - lots of interest in the journal quilts, lots of comments along the lines of "I'm a knitter but I'm sure I'll try quilting one day" and of course "I'd love to do this but just don't have the time" and even some "I go to a local quilt group but there's only me doing this kind of thing". 'Twas always thus, no doubt!

Across from the booth was a vivid and interesting display of patterns and piecing put together by The Quilters' Guild - this quilt by Amelia Leigh kept catching my eye -

Once I was able to take a closer look at the entire display, the effect of the stitching on these two quilts stood out -

by Liz Heywood

by Terry Donaldson

I enjoyed chatting with Louise Pocock and her mother (and that's Louise's son in the photo!) and looking at her inventive and splendidly-crafted hats -

Elsewhere in the show, away from the crowded aisles of traders with card-making supplies and glitter, was this display of costumes from films of Jane Austen novels -

How flattering that high-waisted empire line is! The low-waisted grey dress, worn by Fanny Price in Mansfield Park, looks huge in comparison -

Coincidentally I was able to go to a talk on choosing clothes for various figure types. Like it or not, we're aiming for an hourglass shape, even if we're a rectangle or triangle or inverted triangle - and to determine your shape, take into account shoulders and upper arms as well as bust/waist/hips. It hit home when the speaker said that as well as being influenced by fashion, we are at the mercy of what amounts to our clothing history - the styles and colours we wore when younger - rather than what looks good on us now.

Unexpected and amazing, a comprehensive display of antique smocks from the WI's collection -

It included these miniatures -

In the closeup you can see the stiff linen and the way the gathering gives it ease and drape -

All the pattern pieces are squares and rectangles; the stitching is largely variants of buttonhole and feather stitch.