The International Quilt Festival of Ireland (IQFOI) is now celebrating a second year as one of the most unique, ground-breaking international quilt festivals in the world.  This event is the brainchild of Jim West, managing director of the festival.

Jim is the owner of Sew Many Places www.SewManyPlaces.com and the publisher of the free, quarterly magazine for quilters called Quiltposium, www.Quiltposium.com with over 207,000 registered readers. Jim is also a member of the Irish Patchwork Society and is the CEO of the specialized buying and selling website for quilters called Quilt Deal www.QuiltDeal.com. With a 23-year background in the travel industry, ten of which were spent as a professional cruise director with major cruise lines, Jim brings this experience and substantial background in entertainment and event planning to an industry that has responded beautifully.

The festival itself is unlike anything the international quilting community has ever experienced. Taking place on the campus of NUI Galway, the various buildings and food venues in this “Quilter’s Village” are renamed and designed especially for quilters. Visitors will enjoy the Wicked Thimble Pub, Fat Quarter’s Chocolate Shop, the Round Robin Café, the Quilter’s Square, Town Hall, Longarm Lane amongst other places in the village. It is an outside-of-the-box concept that has been received with great acclaim!

Besides the festival having a unique setting, the IQFOI made history last year, bringing the largest group of international quilts together in one location in Ireland. There are nearly two dozen themed quilt exhibits that allow visitors an opportunity to enjoy an interactive experience, as their senses are fully activated in specially lit exhibit rooms. You can’t help but feel like you are transported to another place, the moment you walk into each exhibit room.

A visit to Ireland for the IQFOI is well worth it! Visitors will not only experience the excitement of the quilt festival, but there are many tours that are just the right number of days to create an incredible holiday. Be sure to look at the TOURS section on this website and see if you would like to join other quilters as your tour the country.

For more information on the festival, please email Jim@IQFOI.com