Movement–EQA exhibition

There were three exhibitions on in Limerick this past month. We had our first ever national quilting week and our branch of the Irish Patchwork Society (IPS) held our Local Landscapes exhibit of 16” x 40” art quilts showcasing our local area (see earlier post). The IPS is a member of the European Quilt Association and sends pieces from Ireland to join with 17 other countries in Europe, on a specific theme every year. Last year was the Seasonal Garden and Ireland had winter (see earlier post). This year is Music with a Touch of Red and the 12 mini quilts from each country will be on display at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham in August, so if you are visiting, please go have a look.

Before that there was Movement. Each member country was asked to create at least 16 triangles in a specific colour and from that 16 choose 2 groups of 6 that went well together to make giant Hexagons. The colour was chosen based on the colours in the country’s flag, so Ireland got Green and the Netherlands Orange. The UK for some reason was given purple. Out of all of them the purples are probably my favourite in the bunch.

Also for some reason there were 3 sizes. The largest being green & purple, then blue and red and finally orange and yellow being the smallest. The middle size seemed to work best on the wall for me, (big being too floppy and the small a bit teeny!)

It was interesting to see that those who had red had a tough job with contrast. If you’ve ever picked up a Kona colour card you will see a small few reds but a whole line and a half of blues. Go too light with red and you are into Pink. Too dark and details are hard to see.

I love how varied and creative the they all are with lots of details, incorporating a raincoat, pins and brooches, some 3D elements and some really tiny piecing!

There were some common themes like trinity knots, dancers and swirly log cabins. I just love this dancer in the Irish sections.

It was a very interesting exhibition to see & passers by were fascinated by fabric as wall art. Something like this would look great above a sofa or at the end of a hall & would certainly be a talking point in your home!

Thank you Loretta and the Mid Western branch of the IPS for sharing these mini-quilts with us!