It was my great pleasure to attend the first ever SAQA UK meeting held yesterday in Milnrow, Lancashire. SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Association) are an US based organisation but they do have a couple of hundred members in Europe and 66 here in the UK. Whilst the organisation provides some really great exhibiting opportunities it is inevitably 'US-centric' and it can be difficult for those of us making very abstract work to break through. Christine Seager, one of the SAQA Europe Reps, has initiated the UK meetings to provide more targeted support for UK members both within SAQA and in their endeavours outside SAQA. If successful she hopes that the model can be rolled out across Europe. I suggested Milnrow as a suitable meeting hall that I have booked in the past for the Etcetera group. And, of course, I took along my coffee pot! Christine and Gillian Travis lead lively discussions on what SAQA means to its members and how the UK meetings can support and promote the growth of a professional quilt / textile artist community. There will be another meeting near London early next year and I really hope that many more SAQA members will attend.

Part of the discussion was on exhibiting opportunities. SAQA currently run a biennial exhibition for members in Europe and the Middle East called Wide Horizons. (My piece Storm 2 (Dark) is currently touring with Wide Horizons V and I was delighted to get my copy of the exhibition catalogue yesterday!). Christine has fought hard and got two more opportunities for European members. The first is called Made in Europe I and will tour in the US though 2017. It is the perfect opportunity for European work to be seen by tens of thousands American quilters. The second has yet to be officially announced but will be Made in Europe II and will be shown alongside the SAQA Tranquility and Turmoil exhibition at next summers Festival of Quilts.

So where to begin. Festival of Quilts is huge. There are a dozen or so white walled gallery spaces, hundreds of open competition quilts and an awful lot of traders. There have been years when I have been so totally overwhelmed that I have left after a couple of hours. The truly amazing selection of work has sometimes made me wonder 'why bother' but at other times has energised me to rush back to the studio to make art. This year has been a good one. My piece Ruins 6 won 1st prize in the open Art Category, Vestiges got a 'highly commended' in the Miniature Category and Ruins 5 was shortlisted for Fine Art Quilt Masters. I floated on air and was humbled by all the congratulations and kind words. They even played my favourite Blur song (Song 2) when I went on stage to collect my award. Of course this was a completely random thing as the music is pre-selected but it made my grin even wider!

In between meeting friends and stewarding in the SAQA gallery I managed to visit all the galleries on my 'must see' list and saw quite a lot of the open competition quilts. My favourite gallery was probably Art Textile: Made In Britain: Concealed where I was blown away by the work of Rosie James. I also really enjoyed Claire Benn and Ingrid Press's gallery.

Unlike many visitors I never seem to remember to take photos of the works I like - for the most part I am too absorbed in looking and responding. I did take a few and here is a selection.

It is just a week until Festival of Quilts opens at the NEC in Birmingham and I am getting organised. I have been to the show every year since it started. Some years I've spent several happy and productive days there. Other years I have run away screaming after a couple of hours because the shear volume of work on display is overwhelming. This year I am planning on being there on the Thursday and Friday and am determined to get the best out of the visit. I have organised to meet different friends for breakfast, lunch and for dinner (there goes the diet!). I will be stewarding in the SAQA gallery 'Celebrating Silver' between 2.30 and 4pm on both days. So please come along and say hello, it is always nice to see friends and meet Facebook buddies in the flesh!

I have written myself a short shopping list but expect to go 'off piste' and spend more money than I should. That said I am absolutely determined not to buy any more gorgeous coloured threads - I have a wonderful collection that has sat untouched for quite some time as everything I have stitched lately has been in white, black or grey! If you see me at the Oliver Twists stand please pull me away!!!

And finally I have had a look at the list of galleries to sort out the must see ones. Of course I will start by looking at my own work in Fine Art Quilt Masters and the Art and Miniature categories in the open competitions. Fine Arts has a really strong selection this year and I'm really looking forward to seeing the pieces. The other galleries on my list are:

• 6th European Quilt Triennial featuring a piece by friend and fellow Etcetera member Helen Conway.
• Art Textiles: Made in Britain: Concealed - the group features some of my favourite artists and their exhibition at FoQ in 2014 on Identity was amazing.
• Claire Benn and Ingrid Press - big fan of both
• Pam Stallebrass - I'm not familiar with her work but it sounds fascinating!

It is going to be a wonderful two days!

I finished this piece several weeks ago but have only just hung and photographed it. It is quite different to the earlier pieces in the Ruins series and I am not yet sure whether that is different in a good way. For better or for worse the quilt is now on its way to Festival of Quilts where it will be shown in the Art Quilt section. Because it is so wide I am hoping it will get hung on a white wall rather than on the traditional quilt stands. I think some of the impact will be lost if the lighting isn't great but that is a risk I am willing to take to get my work out there! Wherever there is!