It is almost the end of our holiday and Bev, Irene and I find ourselves in Amsterdam and scheduled to attend the OEQC on Friday April 30th in nearby Veldhoven. As we approached the venue for the OEQC all 3 of us were a little concerned about how we could possibly spend a full day at the show. From the outside the hotel and conference centre complex looked small and had few signs of activity. Imagine our surprise when, after entering at the main hotel reception, and walking what seemed to be 'miles' of corridors, we found ourselves in a series of alcoves and halls that housed displays of over 300 quilts, multiple workshops and nearly 50 stalls. Attendance was high and over the next 7 hours we spoke to quilters who had travelled from far and wide. The show was divided into 3 sections: special guest quilters, quilts from 14 different countries who are members of the European Quilter's Associations and finally the competition quilts. Of the guests, the quilts of Penelope Roger, were the ones that captured my imagination the most. Penelope uses a technique she calls Traboutis, a combination of Boutis and Trapunto to produce beautifully textured quilts. Initially I thought that she used a sewing machine but the quilts are all hand stitched using a tiny backstitch. The Alphabet quilt on the left is about 110cm x 50cm. And just look at the exquisite detail of her work in the turned back corner. Here are a few more pictures of her work - some close-ups from a stunning double wedding-ring quilt There were many beautiful quilts on display from the various EQAs. While I am not a fan of blue and white, this quilt from Hungary is rather stunning. Apparently the quilt is reflective of Hungarian folk tradition, both in its colour and design. Once again the workmanship was exquisite as you can see from the close-up photo I took of one of the other quilts from Hungary. Now to the quilts entered into competition. I took lots of photos but am only going to post a selection from the prize winners that hints at the variety of style among the quilts. The theme of the competition was Rhythm, and each quilt entered had to reflect this. Best In Show: Nautilus by Hilde van Schaardenburg from the Netherlands Machine pieced and quilted, size 110cm x 110cm from cottons and silks Judge's Choice: "Leven op het ritme van de bloemetjes en de bijtjes" (I am not sure of my translation but I think this roughly means 'the story of the birds and the bees') Ann Pletinckx from Belgium, Machine pieced and quilted in cottons and silks. Size is 120cm x 98cm. First Prize: Advanced, Malague by Grace Meijer from the UK. Machine pieced, appliqued and quilted. Size 80cm x 73cm. And finally, 2nd Prize: Advanced. Perpetuo Mobile by Rachel Covo from Israel. Machine pieced and quilted. Size 101cm x 148cm So there it is, the final post on the quilt events Bev, Irene and I attended on our travels. But not the final post about the trip. Coming up next, Petra Prins and those wonderful reproduction chintzes from Den Haan & Wagenmakers. Until next time, Meghan