This weekend Mariet Portheine and I went to see the European Art Quilt VIII exhibition at the Twentsewelle Museum, Enschede, and especially to admire the display of appliqué panels made by various craftsmen from the Street of the Tentmakers, Cairo. The colours and techniques of these Egyptian panels are very seductive, and I said I would not buy anymore but….. There were a few more designs that fit into the TRC’s ‘Street’ exhibition that opens on 4th January (2015) and they will look amazing. The European Art Quilt exhibition was thought provoking, as again it raised the question as to where is the line between a quilt (two or more layers of cloth sewn together, traditionally used for clothing and bed covers, etc) and textile art? Most of the pieces on display were definitely leaning towards Art rather than Quilt. There were some (quilt) pieces that personally I found really attractive, such as one depicting the night sky and another entitled 'snowflakes on a bed'. Many of the items, however, have travelled very far from the concept of quilt. Worth while seeing because it was so thought provoking. The quilt exhibition opened on the 27th September and will run until the 4th January 2015, when the TRC will open its 'own' exhibition of Egyptian panels. For more information, please click here.

Gillian Vogelsang-Eastwood, 29 October 2014