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I met Ingrid Press at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham in August. When I walked into Ingrid’s exhibition I gasped at the glowing simplicity of the quilts on the walls. Ingrid wasn’t there when I first stopped in, so I came back several times until I managed to meet her and ask her to be featured on Sewn. I am completely in love with Ingrid’s quilts, and I think you will be too. I hope you enjoy a moment with Ingrid Press and her elegant work.
I was born in Germany but moved to England in 1965 upon marrying an Englishman.
I have always loved working with textiles – dressmaking, embroidery, spinning and weaving and lace-making – and when I retired from working life I took up patchwork and quilting. My very first piece was a cot quilt for my first grandchild in 1998.
At that time I went to workshops with June Barnes who taught machine quilting. My preference for dense machine quilting, giving quilts the lovely tactile quality and texture I am fond of, stems from her influence.
My first quilts were made using traditional patterns, and the repeat of a block appealed to me. I love things in a row and the repetition of a shape or motif. Claire Benn of Committed to Cloth once mused: “You are traditional – only you aren’t.” I like that and think it sums up the style of my quilts very well.
I use natural fabrics, mainly cotton and linen, sometimes silk. Fabrics are often recycled and “have history”. I like working with small scraps. My designs are very simple and when in doubt I follow the motto “less is more”.
I do not teach or lecture, but am just a very passionate normal quilter. I am a member of “Hanging Together”, a group of 7 textile enthusiasts. We show new work every other year and our next exhibition will take place in February 2010 in East Grinstead in West Sussex, England. I am currently working towards this.
I think that quilting will always be my main activity but I also took up basketry some time ago, which I find very exciting. This ancient craft is beginning to get more and more attention, I am pleased to observe.
   
I have great admiration for Japanese contemporary crafts and some think my quilts are influenced by this. I certainly greatly admire Yoshiko Jinzenji’s wonderful work, and also that of the Korean artist Chunghie Lee
  
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