This year we have decided to take the plunge and have a stand at Festival of Quilts. This was a massive gamble as not only is the stand extortionately expensive, but we also needed accommodation for six nights and van hire.
FOQ uses the shell system for the stands - which I must say is superb. Its much better than having a stand immediately behind you and just the invisible demarkation line between. Indeed at Malvern, the stand behind kept collapsing on top of ours due to the ground being on a slope in the marquee!
We collected and loaded the van on Tue then traveled down to our accommodation on Wed. We like to go self catering when doing a show as there is just a bit more room to spread out and relax. We stayed on an equestrian farm situated in lovely countryside.
Our cottage overlooked the menage where lessons were held each day. Behind our cottage there was a large car parking area bordered by the chickens and opposite the horses stables and barns.
Towards the bottom of the farm, there were large fishing lakes where people could pay for a rod and fish and then beyond this was the space they used for wedding marquees for their wedding business.
It was lovely and relaxing to visit the horses on an evening and we stocked up on carrots and polos for them. After a couple of days, they got to expect us visiting them - lol.
Wednesday was a long hard day spent setting up our Quilt Sandwich Stall at the NEC.
We really enjoyed working the show and meeting quilters from far and wide and all over the world.
The downside was that we didn't really get chance to have a good look round and the stall where I wanted to make purchases were not there early enough in the mornings!
Here are just a few quilts which I managed to snap -
Brigit Schuller - The Sprinter
Mary Palmer & Ann Kiely - Tidings
Sunday came all too soon and then after the show we had to pack it all back into the van, although there was a great deal less fabric than when we set off!
We arrived back at our farm exhausted and sat down to dinner at 10.30pm!
The next day, after a farewell visit to the horses we headed off home.
