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.

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.