Whistler Quilt Show

Last weekend I put on my vendor's hat, and headed up the Sea to Sky highway to Whistler for their quilt show. It was terrific to see so many people I had met teaching at other spots along the coast, and even to see old friends from spots in the interior of BC. So much so that I've decided Kitambaa won't give up on doing show altogether, but choose two or three shows a year to attend, just to let everyone know that we're still alive and well, with new African fabrics coming all the time. Of course it was also fun to see the quilts on display. The first one - Over by the Pond, made by Rhonda Harvey - won the ribbon for Viewer's Choice. It really was marvellous.
Next is a quilt that is part of a travelling exhibit of quilts made by the Fabricators - a group of art quilters from the Okanagan. I felt drawn in and down the path by the view captured in Pacific Vista, made by Evelyn Schmaltz. Sabrina Perfitt is the quilter who made the next quilt - Random Squares - to give to good friends of hers. I like the simplicity of it, and its controlled randomness. Paula Bohan's 1930's Scrap Zigzag was also very pleasing. I couldn't help but wonder what it would look like made up with African fabrics. And then there was this amazing hooked Hit and Miss rug, made by Nairn Stewart, as part of a display of other handwork done in Whistler. I haven't space to show everything, but I was thrilled to see the Africa-inspired corner of the show, and an amazing display of antique quilts too. All in all a most enjoyable weekend. And now I'm packing up for a workshop with Ruth McDowell in Kalispell, Montana. I am so thrilled that I'm able to take another class with her, as I've admired a work for a very long time. And at heart, I'm a piecer, so her construction process fits very well with my preferred way of working. But can I learn the design process well enough to use it in my own work? That will be the challenge.