Westbury quilt artist triumphs at Europe’s largest quilt show

A quilter from Westbury has achieved top honours at Europe’s largest quilt show, winning first place with a quilt she crafted from vintage linens and personal fabric pieces. 

Andrea Ashwell’s quilt, titled ‘Tales of Cloth’, secured first place in the sustainable quilt category at the Festival of Quilts, held at the NEC in Birmingham this month. The competition featured around 770 quilts. 

Andrea made her first quilt in 1986, and her latest win adds to her success over the years in both national and international shows. 

“It was a pinch-me moment when I found out,” she said. “I’m absolutely thrilled to bits with the win. It was a labour of love using bought pieces of vintage linens and some personal to me.” 

Andrea began working on her winning piece in 2021, during the pandemic.  

Quilting is a sewing technique where layers of fabric are stitched together to create a padded material, often used for blankets or decorative items. “How long it takes to make a quilt depends on the size and how much ‘handwork’ is involved in producing the quilt top,” Andrea explained. “A small top with just piecing will be quicker than a bed-size quilt. It varies from quilt to quilt,”  

Andrea specialises in dense longarm quilting, a technique using a longarm sewing machine to sew together the quilt’s layers. 

Andrea’s quilt will be on display at the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace in London in October.