In this story about Ashaffenburg festival, written by Valerie Mezhibovsky (in networks better known as Lerusisik), we just fell in love, so lively and fun it is written.  Lera very in detail and substantially has told about festival, has supplied the material with a large quantity of photos and has placed the story on the site: http://lerusisik.narod.ru/quilterie.htm.  And even though we do not reprint materials of other sites, we simply could not pass this sketch. Therefore we have addressed to Lera with the request to permit a reprint of the article on «OXIMA-homemade». To our pleasure she has allowed us to use the article material, for what we are very grateful to her. As illustrations to this material we used some photos made by Lera at festival. But actually there are much more photos and to look at them, and also read the full article in the author's version you can, visiting Lera’s site. Highly recommended!

The festival has been held in Aschaffenburg already (or only?) for the fourth time. Why in Aschaffenburg (and who ever heard anything about Aschaffenburg?)? Here is the largest – or the most promoted - Germany scrappy shop Naewelt Machemer. There are also an online store, numerous real and virtual courses and groups - probably therefore. For the first time I got there by chance, last year I sent there a quilt for the Challenge "Katmandu" but this time they promised a lot of interesting things for me: firstly, a large Russian exhibition, and, secondly, my beloved vests from our Gertha Tudor Vallner and quilts from our own (from Heidelberg, I mean) hand sewing group.

Ashaffenburg  specificity is the main halls dispersion: it is impossible to gain on foot distance from the main exposure to Nilkhaym exhibiting Russian quilts; a free bus - a kviltbus, which goes every half hour. The same is with the shop, yet more remote, you need the kviltbus too. So I regretfully declined visiting the shop – I’ll not negotiate in a single day and, immediately upon arrival have made a pass to Nilkhaym to look at Russian quilts.

Russian exhibition

This year competition quilts were hung in a foyer. But I'll be honest:  I have not noticed them, because have seen familiar for a long time to me on a photo black-and-white and...quilts. In a hall people have already met together, admired. My comments have laid down on uninformed German soul like balm on the heart - magnificent quilts, but after all it is clear nothing! In the hall corner at an empty table modestly sat and sewed any woman. This made me a little startled, because exhibition visitors do not sew for any particular reason. Only later, when I heard mutual attempts to be explained in English, I approached to Vera Shcherbakova quilts and realized that it was Vera Shcherbakova - unaccompanied, without translation, without a badge, and without a German magazine article about her. I translated as best as could- and German women were delighted simply both from quilts, and from an improvised interview. They were admired with what happened to the Italian silk: in Italy fabrics  factory representative personally dragged to Vera a huge bag with samples and scraps of these mainly tie fabrics - delighted that they finally find the application. There was very good question: "And where do you sew all these things, you have a workshop?" – Vera’s answer has not astonished me, and Germans has amazed. Many people have asked about sewing techniques and a combination of fabrics. They want courses!

Photo: quilts by Vera Shcherbakova.

Russian exhibition did not come to the end with Vera Shcherbakova - it only opened.

I am not aware of quilts selection formal criteria, but from all I have seen two projects - "White, black and ..." and "Faces of Love" were represented very well. And in addition there were simply quilts; among them some group works of "Red sundress" club. I will not begin to tell much about black-and-white quilts – it seems that any and all except me already have seen them. The photographs do not do them justice and it is no wonder. Be honest, I did not know that it is the German and Russian women-quilters joint project, and I should tell that on the average Russian quilts are much more interesting. On the average - and it means that some German quilts were even very interesting and very much so.  

  Photo:  "White, black and ..." quilts.

As for the project "Faces of Love", I translate the German accompanying text:

    “The Folk Art Murmansk Centre represents a unique collection of quilts based on works motifs of Anatoly A. Sergienko Honored Artist of Russia. The whole exhibition consists of 17 quilts, executed by the Centre masters. These quilts were exposed at Russian and international level.

The project.  The initiative group was composed of: Irina Sopina the project author and artistic director, Anatoly Sergienko the Center director, the author of pictures and project consultant, Nadezhda Markina and Tatiana Ishkaraeva quilts authors and an amateur scrappy group “Quilt-Club” heads.  

 Realization. Participants of the project have set as the purpose to create a series of quilts, each of which would be executed upon one of the artist's paintings motifs. At the same time it was not required to reproduce a picture in accuracy. Nevertheless, many quilts represent practically reproductions of pictures, though and executed by other art means. Sergienko’s works are rather decorative; it seems even that he initially meant representation in textiles. The spirit of love and eroticism wonderfully presented in its pictures is pre-eminently fascinating – that is the impression has inspired the "Faces of Love" project.

 Now on my own behalf, as well as all visitors of the exhibition, I’m in admiration of these quilts. Interestingly, the German women noticed curtain-linen fabrics (they are using them actively by themselves and why not, if there is colors a good match), but have not noticed, for example, fur boots. Nevertheless, in my opinion, some explanations would be simply necessary. And the cause is that modern and old North realities are familiar not to everyone. (My modest attempts have been apprehended simply to cheer - and I after all practically know nothing). But all this is nothing in comparison with quilts magnificence!

Photo:  "Faces of love" quilts.

As I said not only the cycles "Black, white and ..., and the "Faces of Love" works were represented in Aschaffenburg, but several other quilts. I really enjoyed quilts of "Red sundress» club because they had everything - technique, humor, love, and the notorious transparent chintz. It is horrible wrong that the quilts texts (like "I am guarding the house, I can bite") so unique for their meaningful naivety were completely inaccessible to the public.

Photo:  "Red sundress" quilts.

My favorite "Flower dress" of Lera Bezrukova, my envy and admiration object was there too:

And a quilt of Alfia Nugumanova (I do not even know how it is properly called - "Silver ring"?):

Works from the Heidelberg

Regretfully having run away from Russian exhibition and from Vera Shcherbakova, has reached by the late kviltbus the main exhibition. There I met Tanya from St. Petersburg - the only person I was able to sign off in advance. Tanya gained an advantage of my - she came to all three days and with my visit just a half day away!  Waving farewell Xenia Dmitrieva and Elena Voronova (they just ran to the Russian exhibition), we have began to look round.

 "Disappointed" - said Otto from "A small Fish Called Wanda" movie when it emerged that there was no money in a stolen safe. Disappointed - certainly it is a strong word, but the fact remains: interesting expositions could be counted on the fingers of one hand. There were "Textile News" by Gudrun Heinz, with the same prohibition to photograph on the pretext that "it deforms quilts”; vests of Gertha Tudor Vallner and quilts produced by the Heidelberg hand sewing group. Wonderful quilts of "Network Quilters" group.

I'll tell you about the work of Heidelberg, because I know them well and love. First of all, vests. I answer a question: no, it does not work for the competition. Each and every vest - I thought there are about fifty, but they are about eighty – were sewn by somebody for herself, i.e. not for sale and not for friends (such ones were given away). Gertha Tudor Vallner - the sister of Gudrun Bauer, Quilt matriarch of Heidelberg, and in real life – a labor teacher. It all started when Gertha, like many others in Germany and around the world, has caught a patchwork virus. She has registered for the first courses in a little Gudrun shop, and she sew not quilt, like everyone else, but a vest - why not? Then there were the second, the third, the fourth courses - and at Gertha, like in the old joke, instead quilt all the time turned out "Jäkele" (do not ask me what is a German dialect it). And so it went. Gertha has for each vest clothes set completely matched on color to it - including, on hearings, and underwear. She was at the exhibition, of course, in one more vest. People gradually start to ask me seriously, whether I wish to sew "Täschele" - you can guess what it is - for the next vest.

Now there is something about "manual" quilts. Maybe some names from a hand-sewing group will seam familiar to my site readers - Kathy O'Leary, Anne Schumacher, Christina Banchbah, Laurel Fremgen-Hamilton (whom I recently mentioned - hexagons from an old quilt - then they were quilting for quilt exhibition) and some more enthusiasts fairly adore manual sewing and are famous both with their time put into quilts and with quilts quality. Somewhere – at an exhibition or in a magazine - they met quilt of Australian Kim McLean, and they liked it. It would seem that regular hexagons with the stars inside, but in some hexagons instead of stars there were usual "cubes", and some were entirely cut out of interesting fabrics. Ladies actively started to work. For such quilt even a winner on collecting of fabrics will not have not enough different slices, therefore there was a constant exchange of fabrics in the group. Just six years plus an invitation to Aschaffenburg - and quilts are ready! Neither Longarm machines no stitches on the side - manually assembled and quilted:

Network Quilters

 I will pass to, perhaps, the most interesting exhibits (except vests, of course). Only by my education lack it is possible to explain that I still had not heard about the remarkable group of Network Quilters. Six women have got acquainted in 2002 at Nensi Krau courses, and in 2004 their first joint exhibition has taken place. The group is called "Network Quilters" for a good reason - skilled workers live far from each other, creative dialogue is mostly the virtual.  . In Ashaffenburg we have seen an exhibition "Farbraeume - Colourfields" that I would translate as «Space of color". Each quilter woman has chosen the color and the geometrical figure, determining her entire contribution to the exhibition.

Photo: "Network Quilters" quilts

Ilona Schmidt, Scrap Therapy and all the rest.

 The new premise - Frankenstolz Arena became a trouble of the basic exhibition. . Organizers obviously had not time to adapt to the space, therefore "horses, people came together in a bunch ", and porridge from quilts, sellers and cafe has turned out. It was one of the reasons why I did not pay sufficient attention to quilts of Ilona Schmidt. Yet, even at its wall entrance, they considerably stand out because of a variety of techniques and skill in technique and color. Ilona Schmidt is a decorator by profession, and it certainly affects her quilts: she is not afraid to use the most "non - patchwork" fabrics, to mix purchased, found and self-colored patches and the addition of printing on fabric and machine-free stitches expand opportunities.

Photo: Ilona Schmidt's quilts:

Ilona Schmidt quilts, as I said, were hanging somewhere on the wall entrance near the café. But valuable space with partitions has been devoted to so-called «Scrap Therapy" quilts that can be characterized only by an expression: “buttlee – king”.  "Naehwelt Machemer" shop as the exhibition organizer, besides everything, runs courses - matter of course, paid; under some of them the moral and psychological base is brought. Last year Hexamaniya - hexagonal blocks, not deprived of interest – was such base. I have been surprised only that considerable money is taken for blocks tailoring, the process, one sight on which is enough for full understanding and its reproduction. And what is the "Scrap Therapy" this year? Here's what: if you have accumulated remnants of fabric and you do not know what to do with them, pay 25 euros to «Machemer’s sewing world» and they’ll prompt. And now, one after another, «Scrap Therapy" quilts walls relieve. And it is clear now that one (maybe two) patchwork block obtained by cutting a block 3x3 -" Nine Patch» has been demonstrated to persons have paid. And I, having seen the "Scrap Therapy" program as festival part was so delighted, I thought, here now I will look, what to do with my fabrics bits.  Their "rests" in actual fact demand fabrics additional purchase more than has left granaries.

How I have already told, competitive quilts I have not noticed this year, and why? Because they hung far from the basic exposition, in Nilkhime, in foyer of the Russian exhibition hall, and the Russian exhibition completely smothered them. It’s a pity; in any case, they were more interesting than the abovementioned "Scrap Therapy". There was Tatiana Golder also – zolotoshveyka, gold embroidery master. Her works are of improbable beauty, except gold sewing, she is engaged in machine embroidery too. There was also a small exhibition of Sulky Creative Team, but my honest private opinion - between Gertha's vests and manual quilts it made chilly impression.

 Ladenstrasse or shops Street. I suppose that Russian visitors of the exhibition were satisfied.  As for me, I was waiting for much more. Certainly, I have wasted all my cash, but, except three Japanese magazines, for trifles – there little scissors from Clover, there a needle drawer. Tanya V. was very surprised that I have bought 4 packages of hand needles - and all them for myself. Here I will put only a photo of the most famous and certainly the best in Germany fabrics coloring master - Heide Stoll-Weber:

 And this is the last of the stories about Aschaffenburg. Now, as the saying goes, «hereafter - at St. Mary-of-Ming!"