Parksville Quilt Show

Going to a quilt show is a wonderful thing. I am just excited to do so these days as I was when I attended my first quilt show, quite by accident, in rural Ontario sometime in the 60's. And the Parksville Quilt Show was such a feast of colour and design and expertise. Such variety. Going to a quilt show is always an educational thing too, and I was surprised that it was the traditional appliqué quilts that I admired the most. This first one - Baltimore Voyage made by Paulette Cornish - was my favourite. Each block is so perfectly made, and the hand quilting showed it off in a way that machine quilting can never aspire to. The second appliqué quilt is Buds and Berries, made by Charlotte Hitchin. The stipple quilting around the nine motifs in the centre block is exquisite. 

It probably comes as no surprise that Village Life won a special place in my books. I love the layout, and all the activities going on in the centre of the huts. The fabric scraps are familiar to me - in fact come from a scrap bag of African prints I sold through Kitambaa - but the arrangement is Pat Louie's original design. Beautiful! And below that is Fireworks over Vancouver, made by Brenda Wilson. The threads she's used capture the fireworks perfectly. Such skilled machine quilting.

This tumbling blocks pattern, with an added vine border, is called Dragons - Bikes - Now Vines, and was made by Giselle Brewster for her son. It took a few years to bring to fruition, hence the title, indicating how her son's interests changed, as did the border treatment, as her son grew up. I love the way the blocks tumble onto the border, and are incorporated into the flowers. And there's always something quite special about a quilt made lovingly and over time for a family member. Last but not least, is Late Winter Sunset, made by Florence Labreque. I love, love, love this piece - surely my favourite art quilt of the show.

I think it's amazing that these works of art can be displayed like this, for all of us to enjoy. I wish I'd had the opportunity to go back a second and third time, as I'm sure I missed things. But what a joy to spend a day surrounded by the fruits of such creativity. Thank you, thank you to everyone who took part in the show. I so enjoyed it, and feel enormously proud to be part of such a community.