It has been a busy couple of weeks with both Quilt Canada and the Vermont Quilt Festival presenting their annual events online. They are two of my favourite shows to attend. While Quilt Canada happens in a different location in Canada each year, the Vermont Quilt Festival is held now in Essex Junction near Burlington, Vt. Quilt Canada just had their 40th anniversary and for VQF it was their 45th! I have been to about a few QC’s and once to VQF. I hope to go to both again in person when QC comes back to Halifax in 2023 for the 4th time and to next years VQF.
While both events were very well organized I did miss the usual chatter and excitement that you just can’t find online at a virtual event. I did enjoy the excellent quilt shows and being able to see the quilts over and over again. There are some talented people out there! I was very disappointed that Nova Scotia quilters were not represented at all at QC! Why not? We have amazing quilters here, did they just not enter? We need to work harder at promoting the National Juried Show and encouraging our quilters to enter. My philosophy is that if I am happy with the quilt, enter it, if it gets in that is a bonus, if not it that’s ok! I was delighted that several Canadian quilters had work accepted in the VQF. Special shout out to Mary Elizabeth Kinch who won several ribbons!
I am really going to be better organized for next year and chose a quilt or two to enter our NJS and maybe even the VQF.
Quilt Canada’s event was primarily lectures and demos, no workshops. VQF has had workshops, lectures and demos by their vendors. I have taken two workshops and one lecture. I decided to take a chance and try something new for me. I have been quilting almost 48 years and there is still so much to learn, techniques to try and new quilters to meet. I took a workshop on Improv Piecing from Cindy Grisdela and later today I am taking a workshop with Sujata Shah on Kawandi Siddi quilts. I will post pictures of the results soon, both are small projects. the improv class was all by machine and the Kawandi is all by hand. you can see images of Kawandi quilts here Wish me luck!
in between everything else I did get some sewing done on other projects. I enjoyed the New England Motel Quilt Along hosted by Brimfield Awakening so much I started another one called the “Amish Motel” for now! I now have all the blocks and 3 rows sewn together, the completed top will come soon!
“Street Party” top done! Pattern is by Teresa Jantzi. I will repost these once they are quilted.
I was really surprised when my friend Ann gave me an old copy of Quilter's Newsletter Magazine, issue 89 from March of 1977. There on page 8 is an article written by Mary Leman (daughter of the founder of QNM Bonnie Leman) under the banner Modern Quilting is "Rock Star A QN Original Design". That was written 37 years ago! 
