This year's BQSG seminar was held at the Martin Luther Conference Centre at Brighton Grove, Manchester.....a long drive for me at 5 1/2 hours! Needless to say, this photo of the courtyard was not taken by me, the weather was overcast and the trees were not blooming!
The first evening, most stayed in for a meal at the conference centre, whilst a few went to a nearby vegetarian restaurant. As far as I know, no trips to the nearby "Curry Mile".
Then on Friday, we went to the nearby Whitworth Art Gallery for a study session with Francis Pritchard, curator of textiles. Such was the demand that we were divided into three groups. Manchester was a textile centre and the collection here is superb. A small selection was brought out for us to see.
The building has just had a £15 million pound extension....beautiful, and narrowly missed winning the top prize as best new building of the year in the RIBA contest.
The Cafe in the Trees...excellent selection of food, luckily our group was able to have a light lunch here before our 12.00 study session and also before a lengthy queue formed at the cafe....
Frances had brought out a selection of interesting items...
Closeup of a Persian mans corded cap...full snap below...
I was especially interested in this cot Welsh cover from the 1950's in white cotton poplin. There is a new study centre and new storage areas in the new extension. A lovely visit. I am always pleased to visit towns and collections that I would otherwise not have seen.
The garments are really interesting and the Welch quilt is beautiful, such great work!
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