The Best Place for a Quilt Show?

[Pam D.]

My brain wandered off by itself for a meander and came back with this idea.....

If most quilters make at least one bed quilt, then surely the best place to view it is on a bed, rather than hanging flat on a wall.

Therefore....... a show of bed quilts would look better draped over beds rather than hanging up. are you still with me?

Therefore........ you need lots of beds to display your bed quilts. keep going, the best is yet to come

Therefore.......the best place to have a quilt show is not necessarily a local hall but your local bed showroom, you know it makes sense really

If any one takes up this idea and makes it happen please send me pictures, I'd love to see if it works.

Rosemary

P.s. practical considerations - you will get numptys who want to buy your quilts for £/$ 40-50! :shock: so make sure you a) have fabric costs of all of the quilts (also necessary for insurance), and b) examples of how long 2-3 different quilts took to make. So your answer to these numpties is 'the fabric, threads and wadding/batting cost £/$90 (or more?) and there is 150 hours of work in that quilt and the worker's skills and knowledge are the equivalent of a car mechanic, who fixes your car. Tell me what do you pay at your local garage per hour?'
Then you invite them to join your group so they can learn to make their own :lol: :lol:

[Gloria H.]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[Gloria H.]

I like your way of thinking. I'd suggest Crate & Barrel. However, instead of just worrying about folks touching the quilts, you'd have to worry about people sitting on them.

[Hannelore N.]

Rosemary, how about taking over a large hotel for a couple of days? Display our bed quilts on the bed(s) in the room during the day (you can sit and sew whilst visitors wander from room to room), and you sleep in 'your' room over night. Details of the quilt(s) on show and the quilter could be attach to the door of the room. What do you think?

Lorchen

[Hannelore N.]

I read an article in a magazine a few years back about a guild that had a fundraiser using a furniture store as their venue. Quilts on beds, backs of chairs, sofas etc. Wallhangings on the wall tabletoppers on dining room tables. They advertised and made out very well.
I thought that was kind of creative. I wish now I had cut out the article.
Sylvia

[Hannelore N.]

Here in the UK I have been to several quilt exhibition that used the local church, with quilts draped over every available surface. These exhibitions always have a rather special atmosphere - much better than a furniture store, I bet.

Lorchen

[Hannelore N.]

I really like seeing quilts hung at a show, that way I can stand back and look at the entire quilt.

JoAnne

[Judy M.]

The Citrus Belt Guild in Redlands, CA, has had several quilt shows in conjunction with the Historical Society Home Tour. It's really fun to view the quilts in every nook and cranny of 1890-1930 era homes.

[Hannelore N.]

Judy, that sounds lovely. Maybe somebody from TQS could go and take pictures if they do that again.

Lorchen

[Hannelore N.]

Back in the mid 90's a local store, Miller's Furniture, had a quilt day one Saturday each year. My guild, Friendship Knot Quilters' Guild of Sarasota would deliver the quilts, wall hangings, table runners and such on Monday. When we arrived on Saturday, the store had a hand made quilt on each bed the tables had table runners and rockers had lap robes over them. We set up at the front door and sold tickets for our raffle quilt for the next show. We did hand quilting and handed out flyers with information about our guild. I know we reached people who didn't know that quilters still existed. Mr. Miller retired and sold the business so no more fun Saturdays sharing my love of quilting with shoppers. Betty Ann in Fl.

[Annette R.]

Betty Ann, what a great opportunity for your guild and a great advertising technique for the store. Too bad the next generation of owners didn't figure it out. I will probably never organize a quilt show anywhere but this topic has certainly given me some cool ideas so who knows where they will lead!!!!!! Hugs, Ann

[Annette R.]

My friends and myself recently went to a quilt display in Fremantle. Western Australia. There were lots of beds with quilts on them, chairs with quilts draped over them, lounge chairs with quilts, quilted cushions, and also quilts on the wall. You were encouraged to touch the quilts. They were all auctioned off for a charity in Africa. All the quilts were made out of all sorts of fabrics, kimonos, silks, velvet , all sorts. They were mainly strip quilts with a modern look and extremely colorful. It was the best quilting exhibition that my friends and I attended. Yes great concept Posy.P. it works.

[Annette R.]

Thanks for letting me know - I thought it would work, but is great to hear that it does. Any chance of some pictures ?

Although my suggestions of pricing for the fabrics were woefully low, so were the hours, I think - ah well it gave the examples needed.

[Marianne G.]

If you go here:
http://www.welshquilts.com/
for their annual quilt exhibition you will see quilts exhibited on beds as well as hanging on the walls and from the ceiling. I have been twice and I am hell bend on going again this year :lol: It is a fantastic building too and there is a lovely, quirky coffee shop next door as well as a quilt shop almost next door. What more can a girl want!

I think the idea of showing quilts on beds is really, really good. I know that some of the quilts doesn't show off their secondary patterns as well when they are horizontal but it is up to the curator of the exhibition to do a good job of exhibiting all the quilts so they each and everyone are "stars of the show". I have the greatest of respects for the people who can do this without you knowing it has been done.

When I cyber travel and visit people who quilts I love to peak into their guest bedrooms and see their beautiful quilts displayed on the beds. Of course a picture of them hanging on the washing line showcases the patchwork pattern and a close up of the quilting is an added bonus.
A quilt on a bed for me is the quintessence of quilting and gives me a fussy feeling inside - OK I'm a silly, old, grumpy woman but I hope I'm among friends here. Please don't shoot me because I also love seeing the fabulous show quilts that will never make it to become a bed cover let alone a quilt somebody will love to death and art quilts that are made to hang are great too and I enjoy seeing those as well.

Thanks for starting this thread, Rosemary. Fun to read what others have seen around the world

Marianne

[fiona j.]

We had our second Quilts in the Garden show last month, raising funds for a local charity. We put up washing lines and put up the quilts with old fashioned dolly pegs. Lovely to see them blowing in the breeze amongst the breeze but nerve wracking with English weather! Last year, we also made up a camp bed with my teenager's first quilt