Hosted by Dias Quilters Guild
2017-07-03 - 2017-07-08
Port Elizabeth
Members of the Dias Quilters’ Guild welcomed quilters from all over South Africa and abroad at the Siyadala – We Create National Quilt Festival from 3 – 8 July 2017 at the Collegiate Girls’ High School in Port Elizabeth. The Committee was delighted that International tour groups included the festival in their itinerary. 826 people were officially registered as delegates with 1589 day visitors attending the exhibition.
The highlight was the attendance of two men working as Tentmakers of Cairo, Egypt on their first visit to South Africa. Quilters and the viewing public were enthralled by the 90 colourful quilts shown in the Tentmaker satellite exhibition while the men taught their workshop, Stitch Like an Egyptian to 100 eager quilters in 5 sold out workshops. Jenny Bowker from Australia, who was instrumental in introducing the work of the Tentmakers to the quilting world, was the third international teacher and lecturer – her workshops and lectures were extremely successful and all sold out. The festival was a showcase of wonderful competition quilts as well as interesting workshops and lectures by acclaimed South African quilt teachers. The latest trends in fabrics, quilting notions and sewing machine technology was available in the well-stocked vendors’ areas to entice the most discerning shopaholics. The visual highlight was the beautiful Aloe Sculpture designed and made by Angie Franke superbly complemented by the 3-D Aloe rosettes on the award winning quilts, all made from Shwe-Shwe donated by Da Gama Textiles. The Iron Quilt Challenge was a noisy, fun filled evening enjoyed by all those who attended. The festival week was indeed a celebration of colour, passion for all things quilt related and friendships – it was over all too soon. Our grateful thanks go to the major sponsor, Bernina SA.
