A random shot of some of the stands at Festival of Quilts. There were lots! I don’t think I saw all of them. I came prepared with a list of stands I knew I wanted to visit and I think I did visit all of those. That is one of my top tips for visiting, especially if you are only there for one day: come prepared.
Actually, maybe I will share my tips for visiting FoQ:
Wear comfortable shoes. You will be doing a lot of walking, between trying to see all (or at least most of) the quilts and checking out a decent amount of stands.
Bring a water bottle (or even better, bring two). There are free refill stations in the atrium outside the halls. FoQ is in August and it can be hot. Stay hydrated!
Bring snacks. You need energy for all that walking!
If you can, bring a pack lunch. I am not sure about the prices at the cafés near the FoQ halls but I would rather spend that money on fabric etc! :-)
Bring a bag for your purchases. I have seen people with small trolley suitcases!
Speaking of purchases, if your budget allows, buy the thing that catches your eye when you see it, because later you may not remember where it was.
As mentioned above: make a plan. Which stands do you really really want to visit? Are there any special exhibitions you don’t want to miss?
Take breaks. There are plenty of seating areas inside the halls (plus quiet areas). You are also allowed to leave and re-enter the halls so you can take a break in the atrium, or you may even want to go outside for a bit.
Before going to the show: buy your ticket/s in advance when they are cheaper. There are lots of talks and workshops at FoQ, some sell out really fast so make a decision beforehand if that is something you want to take part in. If you think you want to go to FoQ next year, sign up for the FoQ newsletter so you are alerted when tickets go on sale etc. The dates for 2027 are July 29-August 1.
You can go on your own! It is not weird to be there on your own. It may even be easier because you don’t have to negotiate with other people where you want to go. :-) If you are part of an online quilting/sewing group of some kind, or maybe you have sewist pals on Instagram or something, some of them might like to meet up at FoQ.
Take part in the Stamp Swap! See below.
Don’t take pictures of Every. Single. Quilt on display. You are probably never going to look at most of them again (I don’t think I have looked at the pictures I took last year). Take pictures of the quilts that really inspire you.
These are the stamps I swapped for this year. It is so much fun! The Swap is hosted by Sarah Ashford (she has a stamp tutorial here), at different stands at different times during FoQ. I think the idea is that making a stamp is a more affordable way to share your Instagram with people (instead of buying pins or stickers or whatever).
It is a lot of fun! But it also seems very chaotic! You make the stamps beforehand (I can’t recommend doing it the evening before you are attending, but you do you) and then you show up at one, or more, of the swap times. And then you do something that was a bit difficult for this introvert: you just go up to random people and say do you want to swap? They offer their stamps to choose from and you then let them pick from yours.
Sometimes you have a little conversation, sometimes it turns out that you follow each other on Instagram (happened to me this year). Sometimes people without stamps get sucked into the melee, wondering what the heck is going on with this weird flash mob, and then you can also give those people a stamp because it is very generous and you don’t have to get something in return.
These are the stamps I brought this year. I made the ones on the left to go with my festival quilt and I think I should have just made a bunch more of those because they went very quickly. :-D But I do like my wee teapot as well.
Maybe I will make a bunch of the Art Not AI for next year. And hand them out to random people who aren’t swapping…
Speaking of handing stuff to random people. Last year I made these brooches from some mini quilts. At last year’s swaps I ran out of stamps so I started giving people some of these instead. I brought them this year as well and I have these three left. I might make some more for next year. It is fun to give pretty things to people. :-)
I took my own advice and took a break. I found a chair with the perfect position to make a drawing of a couple of the stands. I wanted to try and capture the energy of the place. But I find it difficult to draw people!
I bought a modest pile of pretty fabrics, certainly no need for a small suitcase! :-D
I am a little surprised that there are relatively many purple shades, it’s not one of my go to colours…. Not surprised that there is a hot pink! :-)
When I decide whether to buy something at FoQ, a major factor is if it is something I can’t easily order from a UK shop. With rising costs in shipping and an increasing amount of fees and tariffs when ordering from outside the UK, that coveted piece of fabric can quickly cost a small fortune.
For example, this year I bought some fat quarters from Dutch designer Petra Prins, and I also bought some fabric by French company Petit Pan (from What The Fabric?) I think the Petra Prins fabrics are available in a few places in the UK but I don’t think the Petit Pan ones are. Until now. The lady at the What The Fabric stand said that they are going to be stocking it.
So, I guess that’s another tip: if you like the fabrics/threads/whatever by a company you can’t easily get where you live, make sure to check them out if they have a stand at FoQ.
Another shop I really like is Rose Garden Patchwork which sells Japanese fabrics and notions. They are based in the UK but it is nice to see these things in person.
