About Trudy...

Two years ago, a couple of Trudy's friends visited our stand at the Festival of Quilts. They said "We have this friend who would just love one of these!" By happy coincidence, Trudy ended up living 30 minutes away, came for a visit and bought an 8 foot New English Quilter.

Now Trudy lives in a typical English house. For you American gals that means smaller rooms and less square footage. But she does have a workroom that's half a garage and the frame was able to just slip in. By clever use of wall space Trudy has a super little dedicated work-space where she can keep her frame up. She's made the most of it too - completing over 35 quilts in two years! Rather amazing! Follow this link to Trudy's blog and get inspired: http://trudi-quiltingprolifically.blogspot.com/

Trudy wasn't able to make it to the Show this year but she did send 3 gorgeous quilts to brighten up our stand. I'm not sure which one I love best, the stripy Amy Butler or the Rowan Chinese Coins. Both are stunners and drew lots of comments from the crowds. The earlier stand photos didn't do them justice so I've taken a few more in natural light so you get a better idea of the vibrant colours.

My favourite stand at the show was just around the corner from us. It was one of Doughty's and was full of Amy Butler and Kaffe Fassett Prints. Absolutely gorgeous and on sale! Now I've got some fabric to make my own version of Trudy's quilt. I can't wait to get started - once I get the kids all back to school. If you're keen on these designers, here's a link to Doughty's online shop:

http://www.doughtysonline.co.uk/and another to a super American site I've just discovered that features all the designers: http://quilthome.com/ Happy shopping!

Compliments

My favourite compliment of the show was from a husband of one of the quilters. He was an engineer and kept coming back to visit our stand asking lots of pertinent questions. By the end of the show, he'd become quite enamoured with the New English Quilter. He said that what he appreciated most about the frame was the simplicity. He quickly added that he didn't mean this as a put down but rather that it took a certain amount of engineering genius to achieve this sort of simplicity. We smiled and thanked him.

We love the simplicity too. There is a cleanness of line, pure and simple - no unnecessary bits added on. There is a reason and purpose for everything about the frame. And an intuitive logic that even transcends language barriers - very helpful at such an international show! Engineers can appreciate what goes into creating and implementing such a design but quilters are just happy to have a simple-to-use tool that lets them get on with the quilting.

Behind the Design

Simplicity. Beauty. Utility.

Simplicity is the hallmark of the New English Quilter. So is the idea that something can be useful and beautiful. These qualities stand out when we demonstrate the frame to the thousands of people visiting the Festival of Quilts. The Festival is a wonderful opportunity for people to try out all the latest gadgets - because in one place for four days, everyone and everything is there! So we encourage our potential customers to make the rounds and try out all the frames. We want our buyers to be confident that they have the right frame for them. For anyone interested in a simple useful and beautiful frame - the New English Quilter is the frame for you.

Festival Feed Back

I love the Festival of Quilts! We set up a stand and people come to visit from all over the world. One of my favourite things is watching the reaction of people who are trying out the New English Quilter for the first time. People are so surprised at how freely the carriage moves and how quickly the frame comes apart and goes back together again.

Here are some of the comments that we wrote down this year:

Lovely. So smooth. Blimey! I didn't expect it to be this easy. Yes, you can quote me. It's so light, you can move it with a finger. Fantastic! It's absolutely beautiful. This is therapeutic. I could do this all day! I'm definitely having this! Amazing! This is nifty! I mean really nifty. I had no idea it would move like this! Ummm! Now I want one. I've worn out your DVD and now I'm getting one.

The machine practically floats! Superb! This is so simple. Look, I just wrote my name. Now, this IS manageable. I've come here just to try this. I want one. I'm very impressed. I love the feel of the wood. This is so simple. There's not much to go wrong with it. Really, you don't need to baste or tack? It's worth it just for that! I don't really like the quilting part but this IS fun.

Very clever. My friend has one. She loves it. I'm saving up. Wow! That was quick! This IS good! (high praise indeed - she was a long-armer dragged over by her friend!)It's so easy to make a lovely line of stitching. I've gone round and tried all this others - this one is the best!

All Go for the Show

We're heading off to set up for the Festival of Quilts - it's our favourite show and the hight point of the year. You'll find us in the same place as last year Aisle B all the way to the left just across from Creative Grids. Once again we're sharing the stand with JUKI so you can see how these marvelous machines operate on our New English Quilter. There's a new series of JUKI machines this year and I'm looking forward to seeing how they perform on the frame. We're introducing Nifty Grips made here in the UK putting speed control at your finger tips. I find Nifty Grips much more comfortable to use. But it's best to draw your own conclusions so drop by and give them a try and see what you think. As always we'll have a great selection of Superior Threads to try and buy. We look forward to seeing you there.

Cornish Inspiration

It's not every day that you get to stay in a cottage named after you! We're back and had a lovely time. Cornwall is famous for being wet and damp - that's why the vegetation is so lush and green.

But we did have enough sunshine for some glorious beach days and walks along the coastal paths. So much beauty! So much in the natural world of rocks and heathers, lichens on stone and shells and water and waves.

Then there is the glorious response of the local people; rustic fishing coves, with brightly coloured boats, thatched stone cottages with flowers running riot.

My head is overflowing with wonderful images that will make their way in to the lines and colours of the quilts currently percolating in my mind.