Quilt Canada

So, for the first time ever, I attended the international quilt show for Canada, Quilt Canada. Quilty friend A invited me. She and C attended when it was in London, Ontario last year (about two hours away) and this year it was my luck that it was in the neighbouring town (where A lives!) so it was super close.

I wasn't sure what to expect, honestly, but I figured it would be fun even if I just saw some cool quilts and hung out with A.

I really don't generally like quilts of this kind, with the multiple pictures and all the applique, but this Canadian one appealed to me, especially the totem on the far left. I didn't think ahead to get the information, though. Oops. Not like I see applique anytime in my future!

This was pretty nice.

Here is A. She loves #QuiltCanada. :)

This quilt is called Sew Many Scraps and was made by Nina Stahlschmidt without any chain piecing. Those are also all vintage feedsacks, not modern fabric anywhere. Those squares finish at 3/4" which is small!! It was for sale for $1800.

I liked this use of small squares but I didn't take a photo of who made it. Obviously I need to pay closer attention next time.

This is Ile aux Coudres by Brigette Villeneuve. Holy. Crap. This is TINY little bits sewn on to make this picture. See below for a close up!

Amazing to have that kind of vision!

I loved this one, Lazy M Sweat Lodge by Patti Morris.

This one is pretty darn cool. It is made of all clothing labels!

It is called From the World to Canada by Anita Payne. She collected clothing labels for 10 years!

Sisters by Ilene Atkins was another landscape one that was just amazing in the detail.

Thread painting at the finest level. Incredible.

Swoop by Terry Aske was really striking from a distance. I was drawn to it for sure.

Not Now, Maybe Never was definitely my favourite of the "traditional" quilts. Joan Dorsay made this for her daughter who requested a red background and no batiks (the no batiks thing had me laughing...I, too, HATE batiks). After finishing it she decided her daughter's cat might ruin the applique and decided to keep it. Good for you, Joan!

How are people this talented?

This close up shows how the effect is created. It is called Eyes of Innocence by Carol Cote.

Though this quilt, Friends of Baltimore by Kerry Burke, was not to my taste, I was in AWE of the skills needed to create it. Just wow.

Walking around all these amazing, award winning quilts can be very humbling for a somewhat new quilter like myself. I took a picture of one part of one of the quilts because her points don't match. Hah! That made me feel better. It was a stunning quilt, and did it matter that it wasn't perfect? No! I feel vindicated as a "good enough" quilter.

Breathe by Leanne Chahley was one of my favourites.

I loved the quilting on Leanne Chahley's Spin quilt as well. It was inspirting to see all the variation without having any of the more traditional feathers or swirls.

I totally want to make a quilt like this one, Cotton and Steel Trees by Jennifer Johnston. I love the scrappy low volume texty background with the bright pops of colour.

Stunning from a distance? Yes but...

Even more stunning close up! It is called Blue Heron for Mom by Patti Morris.

There was a separate area for the Toronto Modern Quilt Guild that had some cool quilts. Like George Michael here:

Every Little Hungry Schoolgirl's Pride and Joy by Rebecca Burnett

Kaleido by Jeannie Jenkins.

Hundreds and Thousands by Berene Campbell and the Fab Bee

Overall I enjoyed the show, and I did buy a bit of fabric including a metre of my FAVOURITE Tula Pink from Salt Water (original blue octopi) for only $13. I would say, though, that it was not as elaborate as I quite expected for a national show, and I would not travel all the far to get to one again. It was worth the experience!