Braidwood Quilters Inc.
Presents
Website © Braidwood Quilters Inc.
The text and images on this website are subject to copyright.
No text or image may be reproduced in any medium without the permission of the copyright owner and Braidwood Quilters Inc.
FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH
By Jill McLeod
The 2007 Braidwood Quilt Event was once again an outstanding success. Organised by Braidwood Quilters Inc and held on the fourth weekend of November since 1995, the event grows each year and the fringe festival involves the entire heritage listed town.
Still the main attraction, the Airing of the Quilts turns the Kings Highway, which runs through the village, into a two kilometre long outdoor gallery. Quilts gently float from the first floor verandahs and rafters of beautiful 19th century buildings which house Braidwood’s art galleries, coffee shops and general businesses. Visitors and residents crowd the main street to view the exhibits and the town literally buzzes with conversation and laughter.
In the National Theatre, competitive quilts and guest exhibitions draw viewers into an irresistible Aladdin’s cave of colour. In 2007 the National Theatre housed four travelling exhibitions – the Quilters Guild of NSW suitcase challenge Looking Forward, Looking Back, Queensland’s Schoolhouse Quilters’ Stitching Up The Deck, 180 Journal Quilts presented by a group of quilters from Australia and New Zealand and the annual exhibition of original dolls and fantasy creatures from Total Fabrications, ACT.
The Braidwood Quilt Shop Challenge for 2007, Earth Watch, which invited quilters to express their views on climate change, and quilts from the exhibition Women’s Words and Stitches, which was mounted for the Two Fires Festival in March, were shown accompanied by a 10 minute loop DVD.
Around town in seven other venues visitors could choose to see Canberra Quilters 2007 challenge Hot August Night, the results of Dijanne Cevaal’s class Playing with Tifaifai, Beth and Trevor Reid’s Creating a Contemporary Quilt and Jenny Burton’s exhibition of American antique quilts. Or they could find Zigzag’s tripARTite at the Servicemen’s Club, First Holy Communion Dresses at St Bede’s Church, Quilts Plus at St Andrew’s Anglican Church (also some great felted bags), and more quilts at the Masonic Lodge, the Fire Station and the CWA rooms.
And to entertain even further visitors were able to enjoy the hurly-burly of a ninety-five stall market on Saturday where art, craft, quilting fabrics, plants, bric-a-brac and trash and treasure vied for the attention of enthusiastic bargain hunters while Australia’s Open Garden Scheme offers beautiful gardens to view over the full weekend.
The Quilt Event is a community event and it is estimated that Braidwood’s not-for-profit organisations have raised in the vicinity of $120,000 to continue their valuable work since 1997. Braidwood’s economy has benefited as well and the community looks forward every year to welcoming visitors to their beautiful heritage listed town.
Images from the 2007 Quilt Event showing the indoor exhibition and the outdoor Airing of the Quilts
The Event>2007 Review