Quilt Exhibition at Radstock Museum, Somerset

Yesterday I went, with husband and a friend to the Midsomer Quilting Exhibition at the Industrial Museum in Radstock. There are 213 exhibits listed in the catalogue, we didn't expect such a large number. The lady on the welcome desk told us proudly that Quilts UK only had 15 more quilts on display.

Had I known that there was so much to see I would have made a visit with quilting friends, I might still do that because the exhibition continues to the end of November, as I don't feel I have paid each quilt the attention it deserves.

I have to say that there was no one particular quilt which blew me away, nothing which made me want to rush home and emulate it, but I left feeling that more people, probably all woman, are enjoying this form of creativity. There were a lot of people in the gallery, and what I love most about these exhibitions is the feeling of kinship one has to fellow visitors, you can talk to anyone and find common ground.

It was difficult to give distance to view some of the quilts, and even more tricky to get photos of whole quilts, so these three details are just to give some idea of what there was to see. I loved the vintage quilts in their faded splendour, the original inspiration for my love of quilting, there are lots of fun pieces, one reminded me of a Beryl Cook painting, another favourite was a beach hut scene. The one we all remarked upon was the hanging which stated "Well behaved women seldom make history"

Radstock Museum itself is well worth perusal, it is about the coal mining history of the area, with a mock-up underground mine and many details of the sites of coal mines in Somerset.

There is a nice little shop selling books about local history, and a small, but yesterday very well used, tea room.