Dublin Knitting & Stitching Show: The Loot

What ever about the quilt exhibits at the Knitting & Stitching Show.  You guys want to see the fabric loot!

I picked up another 5 FQs to go with my growing stash of Andover Locally Grown.  It's funny.  These prints catch my eye time and time again, but they're not my usual color scheme or theme.  I'll just go with it and see where it takes me.

I bought a meter of Locally Grown sheep just because I couldn't walk by and leave them there.  I'll make something for the shop out of these cuties.  Ideas?  An apron for markets, maybe?  I think it's a bit too subdued for bunting, but I'm open to other ideas...

Found a few stash builders mostly in teals and pinks.  I was looking primarily for reds, but failed there.  Still, these will brighten up the FQ shelves, won't they?

And two LV prints with little stars.  I have two projects in mind that require LV fabrics, but generally I'm not a LV person.  Need to keep collecting goodies when I find them.

And then I kind of lost my mind and bought six Japanese prints.  These FQs are thicker linen:cotton mixes, so perfect for bags or pouches.  For now I'm going to just stroke them, unfold them and re-fold them.  As you do...

Now I just need to get stitching and use a bit of this ever growing stash!  Yikes!

Dublin Knitting & Stitching: The Quilts

The Knitting and Stitching Show was held in Dublin this past Thurs through Sunday.  It's the biggest show in Ireland for folks who are into textiles and wool with exhibitors from all over Ireland as well as visitors from the UK.  This year did not disappoint with a great selection of fabrics as well as a few bright happy quilts in the exhibition.

Let's start with this amazing appliqué by Maureen Burns.  Appliqué (generally speaking) is not my thing in general, but I am in love with the colors used here, the gorgeous border and the amazing detail.  Incredible job, Maureen.

Of course there was a star quilt that immediately caught my eye!  Created by Galway's very own Margaret Cunnane this scrappy beauty pulled me in from across the room.  It's amazing what you can do with four patch pieces.  

The colors in this geometric masterpiece was just stunning.  How Moya Gerahty kept these biased seams under control I will never know.  The points here were just perfect time and time again!

My absolute favorite in the exhibit is this string quilt by Anne Maher.  I love how it's done in "frames" and how the quilting so perfectly highlights the block design.  I wish I had a detailed image of this quilt.  Where was my mind!?!?  

Irish quilters, you put on an amazing show.  On the train home, my mind was filled with quilty inspiration.  Thank you for such a great exhibition!  Come back tomorrow for a look at the new additions to my stash!  Woo hoo!

Knitting & Stitching Show: The Quilts

This past weekend myself, Erin and Fiona had a fabulous time visiting the Knitting and Stitching show in Dublin.  We saw lots of friends and had a great time digging through the fabric stalls, but I will tell you all about that in tomorrow's post.

Today I thought we'd instead focus on the quilts.  Each of the quilts shown are somehow related to the Irish Patchwork Society, representing Irish quilters throughout the country.  I would normally view IPS members as traditional quilters (at least in the local branch of the organization)  but I saw a more modern theme in this year's exhibit.  These are my favorites:

My little dorky heart started beating faster seeing strands of DNA in a quilt.  Ah, worlds melting together.  The central theme of the exhibit was "building blocks".  This sure fit.

Life Force: Maureen Kennedy of Co Louth

 This quilt just made me stop and stare.  I love the novel take on quilting here - kind of art quilter meets modern quilter.  It was so pretty!  So pretty I didn't even notice the brown bits.

Driven by Kandinsky by Loretta O'Brien of Co Clare

Really I think it was the hand quilting that grabbed my eye.  Isn't it yummy? It reminded me of work by Susan or Sarah.

The DP blocks here were just stunning.  It was primarily the colors used that caught my eye - a very Amish look with the black background.  Then looking a little closer, I see it was made by Peter, the husband of the woman who gave me my first quilting lessons back in the day.  Well done, Peter!

Drunken Flash of Colour by Peter McMulkin of Co Galway

And then a beautiful quilt using different shades of color to create a 3D effect.  Oh, it was pretty.  Again, this was hand quilted, but it was so much more subtle than the earlier quilt.  The stitching was just exquisite,   winning an award.

Interlocking Cubes by Elizabeth Brennan of Co Dublin

Awarded Excellence in Traditional Hand Quilting

I sadly didn't make a note of the creator behind this stunner.  Look at these New York Beauty blocks.  They were amazing!  I love the border on this quilt.  And the colors were just stunning.

Of course, Cúchulainn made an appearance with his friends.  The Galway branch of the IPS had a chance to re-exhibit our 20 panels of the Cú Na Mara, so we jumped.  This time, though, they were displayed in blocks of 4 so the blocks were intertwined a bit differently.  I liked it - more than when they're all in a straight line.  

There's mine!  There's mine in the upper right hand corner!

Of course I could not record every quilt at the exhibit.  There was so much to internalize in only a few short hours.  My mind became overwhelmed quite quickly.  Maybe next year I need two days at the exhibit.  I better start saving my spending money now!  

Come back tomorrow for the more social side and, of course, the fabric shopping!

Knitting & Stitching Show:Dublin

This weekend is the Knitting and Stitching show in Dublin!  I am so excited! I will hop onto the train and head across this small country of ours to enjoy the crafty goodness on Saturday or Sunday.  A little FQ of fabric here, a skein of yarn there and I am a happy girl.

Fluffy Sheep Quilting was holding a month-long competition for all Irish customers to make a purchase at the shop and have their names entered into a give away for two K&S tickets.  Each name was written out on a little strip of paper and tossed into my favorite froggy mini-241 tote (thanks, Hadley!)

And the winning name was chosen at random by my other half, B.

It's Miss Erin!  I hope you have a great time at the show, Erin!

Knitting & Stitching Weekend

This was my first Knitting and Stitching show in Dublin and I am not quite sure how to wrap it up for all of you.  I went up on Friday morning and stayed through half of Saturday to chat with friends and shop as much as possible.  Here's the story:

The absolute highlight of the weekend was meeting friends.  I met Sarah (of FairyFace Designs) before I even made it to the show!  We had a good long chat over coffee like we have known each other for years. It was so fantastic to finally meet her in person!   I just wish we had a little more time, but our paths will cross again eventually.  I found my way (through a monsoon) to the show and there found Fi (of PatchworkDelights) and we had a shopping spree in fast forward.  She's such a riot!  We were off shopping for fabric, ribbon and glittery glue with a little break for tea and a muffin (the size of my head).  I really had a fab time with her and (again) wished we had more time together before she had to head home. 

Once I finished socializing....whew!...I found my way to the shops.  There were beading stalls, paper stalls, knitting stalls, book shops and a few fabric stalls.  Not as many as I would have hoped for, but enough to entertain me a while.  Most were not really to my taste and sold darker, blander, more granny-ish fabric than what I was looking for.  There were two great exceptions: Crafty Fox (where I found a few FQs) and Pippablue, which was its usual spectacular self.  Ger and Eva are so fantastic to chat/shop with!  With lots of picking to the bottom of display baskets, I found 4 FQs scattered around the show that made me smile.

Recently I have been interested in the idea of dyeing my own fabric.  I have been reading a lot, but not much actual dyeing...and then I saw this!  Colourcraft.  They were great in helping me choose a dye and tools that would work for me.  Now I can not wait to give it a try!



Looking at that last photo you would be forgiven for thinking I took up another illegal hobby while in Dublin.

Just before I had to head for the train home, I met up with Linda (of Sew Nicely) and her adorable daughter for a snack and a chat.  She had a great stash of fabric and yarn that will keep her busy for a while!  I can not wait to see what she creates.  Again, it was really to put a face with her bloggy personality. 

Will I go back next year?  Most likely yes - but really for the socializing and not for the shopping.  Was a bit disappointed there, but seeing my friends totally made it a fantastic weekend.  Thanks, girls!