What Is the Quilters’ Guild Tombola?
The Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles Tombola 2016 was a vibrant fundraising event designed to bring together quilters, textile artists, and enthusiasts from across the country. At its heart was a simple but inspired idea: invite makers to create small, decorative items that could be offered as prizes in a tombola-style draw, raising money to support the Guild’s educational and heritage work. For 2016, the chosen focus was fabric bowls, turning a practical everyday object into a showcase of imagination, colour, and stitch.
The Theme: Fabric Bowls as Miniature Works of Art
Fabric bowls were selected because they sit at the crossroads of function and artistry. They are small enough to encourage experimentation, yet offer enough surface area to explore piecing, applique, quilting, embellishment, and surface design. In the 2016 Tombola, contributors were encouraged to think expansively about what a “bowl” might be, resulting in a wonderfully diverse collection of vessels that ranged from neat and understated to wildly sculptural.
Versatility in Design and Technique
Participants were invited to explore a wide range of techniques when creating their bowls. Machine stitching, hand quilting, free-motion embroidery, couching, and beading all found their place. Traditional patchwork patterns appeared alongside modern, minimalist compositions and abstract improvisational designs. Some bowls were soft and collapsible, ideal for catching keys, threads, or jewellery; others were heavily stiffened and sculpted, intended more as display pieces than as utilitarian containers.
Fabric Choices and Creative Reuse
The Tombola also became a platform for thoughtful fabric use. Makers incorporated batiks, cotton lawns, solids, metallic prints, and even upcycled textiles from garments or home furnishings. This emphasis on creative reuse reflected a broader ethos within the quilting community: to honour cloth, minimise waste, and breathe new life into treasured scraps. Each bowl embodied a story of colour selection, pattern pairing, and personal preference, giving the Tombola a rich tapestry of visual and tactile experiences.
Supporting the Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles
Beyond its visual appeal, the 2016 Tombola played an important role in supporting the work of the Quilters’ Guild of the British Isles. Funds raised contributed to the preservation of Britain’s quilt heritage, educational outreach, and the fostering of new talent. By donating a bowl or purchasing tickets, participants not only enjoyed the excitement of the draw but also helped safeguard historic quilts, promote contemporary quilting, and ensure that workshops, exhibitions, and learning opportunities remain accessible.
Community, Connection, and Shared Passion
The Tombola brought together a wide community of makers—seasoned quilters, newcomers to the craft, and textile artists crossing over from embroidery, weaving, and mixed media. Contributing to a shared project created a sense of connection and collective pride. At events, visitors could see hundreds of bowls displayed together, each distinct but united by theme, conveying both the individuality and the solidarity of the quilting world.
Encouraging New Makers
Because fabric bowls are compact projects, they proved an ideal gateway for new quilters. The 2016 Tombola encouraged beginners to try quilting techniques on a small scale, without the time commitment of a full-size quilt. Clear guidelines, simple construction methods, and the prospect of contributing to a national event made the project especially appealing to those just discovering the joy of patchwork and quilting.
Design Ideas Inspired by the 2016 Fabric Bowls
The inventive bowls created for the Tombola sparked countless ideas for future projects. Makers looked to traditional quilt blocks translated into three-dimensional forms, monochrome bowls accentuated with dramatic quilting lines, or bright, scrappy bowls that showcased a rainbow of leftover strips. Many participants experimented with structural elements such as interfacing, pelmet vilene, and quilting density to adjust stiffness and shape.
Traditional Meets Contemporary
Some of the most striking bowls combined classic motifs with contemporary flair. Log cabin, flying geese, and nine-patch patterns were reimagined with bold modern fabrics, negative space, and asymmetrical layouts. In miniature bowl form, these designs offered an accessible way to revisit heritage patterns while pushing them in new, unexpected directions.
Texture, Embellishment, and Surface Detail
Texture played a central role in many of the Tombola bowls. Dense quilting created ridges and channels that caught the light, while hand stitching introduced an organic, tactile quality. Beads, sequins, buttons, and couching added sparkle and dimension, proving that even the smallest vessel can carry intricate detail. These textural choices encouraged viewers to look closely and, when permitted, to touch and feel the craftsmanship.
How Events Like the Tombola Nurture Quilting Culture
Events such as the Quilters’ Guild Tombola 2016 are about far more than fundraising. They create a shared focus that unites quilters across different regions and backgrounds, encouraging them to interpret a single brief in their own way. As bowls travelled from individual sewing rooms to a central display, they carried with them the spirit of their makers—skills honed over years, favourite fabrics, and the quiet satisfaction of handmade work.
Inspiration for Local Groups and Guilds
The success of the Tombola has inspired local quilt groups and branches to run their own themed challenges and raffles. Fabric bowls can be adapted as group projects, swaps, or charity fundraisers, allowing members to practice techniques, share ideas, and showcase their work at exhibitions. This ripple effect extends the impact of the original event, reinforcing the Guild’s role in nurturing creativity at every level.
Preserving Skills for Future Generations
By engaging quilters in active making, the Tombola helped to keep traditional skills alive while embracing innovation. Knowledge about accurate piecing, careful pressing, thoughtful quilting design, and meticulous finishing was passed from experienced makers to newer ones through workshops, demonstrations, and informal guidance. In this way, each fabric bowl became both an artistic object and a vessel of collective knowledge.
Fabric Bowls at Home: Practical Beauty
The appeal of fabric bowls extends far beyond exhibition halls and Guild events. In everyday life, they bring colour and personality to desks, coffee tables, sewing rooms, and bedside cabinets. Their soft structure means they are safe for delicate items, while their individuality makes them excellent gifts. The Tombola 2016 highlighted just how easily these small pieces can brighten a room and express the maker’s style.
Personalised Gifts and Keepsakes
Many of the ideas showcased for the Tombola have since been adapted into personalised gifts. Makers can tailor fabrics, colours, and motifs to suit recipients—floral prints for gardeners, text prints for readers, or rich jewel tones for lovers of luxury. Adding a label or a small stitched message at the base transforms a simple bowl into a cherished keepsake.
Using Bowls to Showcase Special Fabrics
Fabric bowls are also an excellent way to feature small cuts of precious cloth that might be too limited for a full quilt. Vintage linens, hand-dyed pieces, or remnants from significant garments can all be highlighted in the curved sides of a bowl. In this sense, the Tombola encouraged quilters to look again at their scrap baskets, seeing not leftovers but opportunities.