The Festival of Quilts 2023 Souvenir Badge

We are delighted to reveal the design for our 2023 Souvenir Badge for the 20th Anniversary of The Festival of Quilts, 3-6 August at Birmingham NEC! Pick up yours from QShop at stand H14, choose from the regular pin version or a needle keep version which is a magnetic badge.

The badge design is inspired by the Cathedral Windows Patchwork Quilt, made in 1998 by author, practitioner and teacher Lynne Edwards MBE. The original quilt, which is part of The Quilt Collection, is made from cotton and silk fabrics which have been hand dyed. The blocks have been designed to vary in size and create an unusual design with curves and movement.

In recent conversation with Lynne Edwards, our curator Heather Audin confirmed that Lynne has given this quilt the name 'Dawn Windows'. This piece features on the front cover of Cathedral Window Quilts: The Classic Folded Technique and a Wealth of Variations (2008) by Lynne Edwards.

"I was asked to make a Cathedral Windows quilt for a contemporary quilt show at Shipley Art Gallery in North East England. Only bed-size pieces would be included, so I took a smaller design that had ground to an unfinished halt and developed it into this large, landscape-format piece. The silk windows in their varying shapes float and shimmer on a multitude of background fabrics, giving depth and movement. It is the largest Cathedral Window quilt I have made and the one, I admit, I am most proud."

-Lynne Edwards, Cathedral Window Quilts: The Classic Folded Technique and a Wealth of Variations (2008)

For your chance to see this amazing quilt, visit our exhibition 'A Diverse Patchwork' at Textile Gallery 6 of The Festival of Quilts 2023. This exhibition features many items from The Quilt Collection, showcasing a wide range of styles and makers who have been inspired and motivated by many different reasons over the history of the crafts.