By Patricia Belyea
BIRMINGHAM UK Just when you think you’ve seen it all at Festival of Quilts, there’s more waiting around the next corner.
Wet Studio
The Creative Textiles Studio was a hive of messy, marvelous activity. Artists worked with dyes, paints, and printing processes to pattern textiles in fascinating ways.
Sue Brown demonstrated paper lithography using a plant stem.
Liske Johnson made her mark (literally) with hand-carved stamps, collage, and stitching.
Janet McCallum transformed cotton by dragging thickened procion dyes across its surface with an old credit card.
Student Work
In the Graduate Showcase, nine talented textile graduates displayed their work, each vying for a £1,000 bursary prize donated by The Quilters Guild. The fresh ideas felt like a glimpse into the future of textile art.
Vendors
And the vendors? Imagine hundreds of booths, more than I could possibly count, offering every conceivable fabric, tool, and temptation.
My favorite discovery came from SewTites — a magnetic pin holder that clips to your shirt. I have only one rule in my workshops: no pins in your mouth. It’s a tough habit to break, but this little gadget might just be the game-changer we’ve all been waiting for.
Liberty London
We all adore Liberty London fabrics — those dreamy, petite prints! If you’ve ever wondered whether the delicate Tana Lawn is strong enough for a quilt, you’re not alone.
At the Liberty booth, Martina Guerra introduced me to Lasenby Cotton — a slightly heavier fabric designed specifically for quilting. It’s sturdy enough for patchwork, plus can stand up to everyday use and frequent washings.
Named after the company’s founder, Arthur Lasenby Liberty, this quilting cotton has actually been around since 2017 — which was news to me. All good news!
The truth is, there was far more to see, do, and experience than I could possibly fit into a single visit. The 2025 Festival of Quilts was enormous, exciting, and unforgettable.
I hope I’ll return to wander those aisles again — to discover more quilts, meet more makers, and soak in the joy of Europe’s largest patchwork show.
# # # # #
ABOUT US: Okan Arts, a petite family business, is co-owned by mother-daughter duo Patricia Belyea and Victoria Stone. Patricia and Victoria import vintage Japanese textiles, host in-person and online creative quilting experiences, and lead textile tours to Japan.
FOLLOW OKAN ARTS ON INSTAGRAM @okanarts
