What was the title of the event?

Karenza Quilters Exhibition

Why did you choose to attend this event? 

I do sewing at home and have never seen a quilt before so I was interested to see the quilts.

When did you go?

21st September

Where was the event held?

At Kea Church, inside the church.

What did you see?

I saw an exhibition of quilts, and some other sewn things such as cushions, that were made by a group of people called the Karenza Quilters.

Who were the artists and what do they create? 

The artists were a group of ladies called the Karenza Quilters. They sew beautiful quilts, and sometimes design them too. Lesley Rance was one of the ladies, I liked several of her quilts. I also liked quilts made by Angie Williams, Alison Holt, Elspeth Laity, Jo Morgan and Jan Martin.

What were your first impressions?

I didn’t know quite what I was expecting to see, but it was much more interesting than I thought it would be. All the quilts were hung up around the church for us to walk around and see, and they had really interesting designs and some were so beautiful with embroidery and lovely colours. I think the quilts were more like art than I was expecting.

Did you find anything particularly interesting to you personally?  

This quilt is called Ollie’s Dream and it was made by Jan Martin. Each main picture on the quilt shows a scene from his dream and there is a cartoon strip near it showing what went on in that part of the dream, for example near the train picture there is a cartoon strip of a train by a broken bridge and Ollie is saving the train.

This quilt was made by Elspeth Laity. It uses buttons and knitting and embroidery on the quilt. I love the cute button of a dog in a boat!

I liked several of Lesley Rance’s quilts. These two quilts are called Patchwork Flowers, and Flowers from My Garden. They use applique and embroidery and the applique has stuffing underneath it to make it 3D. They are both hand appliqued and hand quilted and the squares are machine sewed together. I like the butterflies and bees and ladybirds on the first one.

What did you learn? Did it make you think about any art form differently?

I learned that quilts are not just about sewing and that you will need to plan them very carefully before you start to make one. I don’t think it would be easy to make a quilt if you decided things as you go along. Quilts can also be not just a kind of blanket but really clever art that makes you want to look at all the details.

This is a Christmas quilt designed by Lynette Anderson and made by Jo Morgan featuring a snowman whose scarf looks like it is blowing in the wind. The scarf is actually knitted! The deer have real little bells, and there are also glittery threads and embroidery and applique. This quilt uses so many different things on it to make it interesting and fun.

I like the cartoon strip on the Ollie’s Dream quilt of a witch trying to turn a little girl into a toad and she is saying, “Don’t do it!” It made me think maybe I can use sewing for some of my drawings.

In this quilt which is by Angie Williams the background texture and the picture frames are done by sewing and the dogs are painted on. It makes me think about what things I can paint on as well as paper. If I can paint on material I can make all kinds of things out of my paintings!

Did you enjoy the experience overall? Why?

Yes, it was so interesting seeing all the different kinds of quilts and different designs. It was also lovely being in the church, that made it more special than just a big room.