The Festival Quilts 2025 - what I loved . . Part the first

 
My favourite piece of the entire show

 

The Festival of Quilts 2025 was wonderful. It was so very good to catch up with friends and students. I was there for 2 days, and it was almost enough. 

The quilt displays were fabulous and there were some amazing and thought provoking quilts. From traditional to modern and everything in between. Whilst I can appreciate the skill involved in all the clever machine stitched quilts and the amazing colourful designs and piecing  . .  I am always drawn to the less 'perfect' hand pieced and stitched work.  I am fully aware this isn't a popular opinion, but it is my own.
 
I taught basic quilting techniques as part of my 4 year Experimental Textiles course. This involved me researching the history of quilting before I could teach it. I was fascinated by the story telling of memory quilts, the beautiful quilts made by soldiers from scraps of soldiers woolen uniforms in the first world war, and the Changi Quilt. Above everything else, these quilts were hand pieced with scraps of fabric and hand quilted. Patchwork and quilting were, after all is said and done, thrift crafts. A way to keep clothes lasting longer and layering them to keep you warm.
 
With this in mind you will understand my delight when I saw the work of Anitha Reddy and her collaboration with the Siddi women of Karnataka.

 

Anitha Reddy 

 Stitched Lives : Women, Material, and the Art of the Handmade


  

 Anitha Reddy is an art historian, curator and community based textile art practitioner who has been collaborating with the Siddi women of Karnataka, India.

The stand was a rainbow of colour. All the pieces are hand pieced and hand quilted and some were also 'embroidered'. Not with recognisable stitches, but a glorious cacophony of layers of thread stitched to give definition. Just wonderful. 

    

This was my favourite piece, I hope you enjoy looking at the detailed sections I have shown you.

    

   

The entire stand was an absolute delight and a great big breath of fresh air.

 



 


        
 
 
         





The sheer joy of working with scraps of cotton and silk in delicious colours can not be underestimated.

You can find Anitha Reddy on Instagram here -  https://www.instagram.com/anithanreddy/

This a great blog post - do read it and find out more about Anitha's work with the Siddi women. https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/projects/mosaics-of-cloth?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaeAMihgkDsM2u2jr5YeN_HmCwJRxy5wh580tflm0f-SRGdWMxPY3lls8zXWqg_aem_Zmp3Fvj0HQOOA1Yr9euJtg


I will write more tomorrow about my favourite modern quilt and catching up with friends.

x x x


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