A brilliant idea ( I mean really brilliant!)

One of those "duh - it's so genius ideas!"

I like to think that Annabel Rainbow is a bit of a quilting friend. We have only met a couple of times, but when we have I have had a lovely, warm glow. 

Now Annabel is a mean quilter! But none of those twee blocks from her. Oh siree no! Her quilting is a bit radical. She paints incredible ( and in a way, slightly subversive) portrait quilts. 

Go and explore her 'Life Quilts' gallery here. 

Now Annabel works with the equally lovely Laura Kemshall to produce Through Our Hands. 

And they've persuaded the Festival of Quilts organisers to have a very simple portraits gallery at FOQ this year. 

And this isn't any old gallery. This is where the genius comes in. You (yes you!) can do a portrait to hang in the gallery. And there are no rules about the medium you use. It will be very interesting to see the range of styles. 

Ok, you say, but why is this such a brilliant idea. 

Well - first of all, it's in aid of Save The Children. And second of all, you won't get your portrait back. Instead there will be a shuffle and you'll get a random portrait back - you could end up with something from a famous artist. 

But, I'll stop waffling on. Rather than me banging on go over to their dedicated Blog to read all about it, and maybe sign up. 

ps - if you want some inspiration pop over and have a look at Julie Fei-Fan Balzer.   She has been doing a lot with faces of late. You might have to hunt around her blog, or have a look on Instagram, but you might be inspired.