After eight wonderful years and over 1500 quilts later, Quilts at the Creek is just a memory now. If you would like to stroll down memory lane, you will find the photos uploaded to Flickr. Photos from all eight years can be found here.. Enjoy!
Well, what a show it was! The hottest weekend of the year, threatening rain off and on, and some fabulous quilts on display.. just routine for us at Quilts at the Creek.
As I have previously announced, this is the last year for Quilts at the Creek. Where I head in my quilting career, and if Black Creek continues with a quilt show, are both up in the air at present. On a personal note, I would like to thank everyone who has been involved with the show over the years: most especially Jane Cramer, a terrific organizer and wonderful person, also a great sounding board for my ideas! Others involved in various aspects of the show should also be mentioned: Shirley Dawson and Judy Messenger for a terrific Shop ‘Round the Corner. Shirley’s flare for display and both Judy and Shirley’s presence in the Shop helped boost sales, I am sure. It also meant they had only small snippets of time to see the show. Sandy Lindal, and later Leslie Batt manned the workshops and trunk shows- thank you both! A big thanks to France Barrette, who took over signing up and organizing volunteers- the expression “like herding cats” comes to mind! Bev Sturgeon, who at the time was president of YHQG, was onboard with the show from the start, and allowed me to reach out to the guild on a regular basis to describe this little show I had planned. And of course there would not have been a show without all those volunteers who organized, hung and re-hung quilts over the course of three days: too many to mention individually, but you are in my heart forever.
Every quilt is safely at home or on its way there now. Finally, a big thanks to everyone who has entered a quilt over the past eight years… almost 2000 in total!
The Prince quilts have shipped back to the USA, and have arrived safely in Paducah Ky. If you missed them here you can always see them there. Bills have been paid (the cheque is in the mail for those who don’t eTransfer!) and most of the quilts from the show are back at their homes, or at their drop off points. Because our challenge this year was Map Your World, here are the photos of those quilts. A wonderful collection, so incredibly varied! I will post the rest of the photos I took on the photos page shortly. Enjoy, and have a great rest of the summer! All we have now is memories- thank you one and all.
Only one more month until Quilts at the Creek 2019! Here are some of the things to look forward to:
Quilts, quilts, quilts! Modern, contemporary, traditional: all styles hung outdoors throughout the park, so plan to spend the day.
Check out the map quilts on display at the drive shed near town hall.. more details on them here! The theme was Map Your World, to get you thinking about ways to make and use maps in your quilts. See works by Jacquie Gering, Terry Aske, Johanna Masko, Ana Paula Brazil Shirley Dawson and myself, as well as those made by you!
3 x 10: I have asked three local people to display a mini collection of their work… Each artist’s 10 pieces will be hung together so you can get a sense of their style. Help celebrate local creatives!
Other groups with quilts on display: Quilts of Valour, Afghani Kids quilting, quilts make by York Heritage Community Quilting, and Sistering Toronto.
Special Display: There will be a special display of quilts inspired by the musician Prince, separate entrance fee of $5-. Details here… see these creative works -in Toronto for 3 days only, before continuing their travels throughout North America.
Workshops / Trunk Shows: Valerie Goodwin will be teaching workshops Friday and Saturday. Some space available, don’t miss this opportunity to learn her techniques, see her work, and be inspired. More info here… She is also giving a trunk show on Sunday in the main building, noon – 1:30 pm. Tickets available online, or at the door if space remains.
Free trunk shows in Town Hall on the Village Green Saturday (1 pm and 3 pm) and Sunday ( 2 pm and 3 pm). See the schedule here.
Try your hand at the hand quilting demonstration set up near the village green, shop in the vendor area and our very own Shop Round the Corner, snack at the various eating areas, and enjoy the quilts blowing in the breeze!
There is still time to submit a quilt or volunteer for a shift at the show. Email France Barrette and gain free entry… so wait no longer to be a part of this event!
Reminder: You can purchase full price tickets online at Black Creek Pioneer Village to speed your entry into the park.
It is time to enter your quilts! Let the world see what you have been working on. Deadline extended to the end of June, so no excuses! Do you have quilts we have not yet seen at Q@C? They don’t have to be new quilts, just ones you have not yet shown us. And we DO want to see them!
There is still some space in Valerie Goodwin’s classes on map quilts, so check them out. Are you still looking for map quilt inspiration? Here is one by our very own Shirley Dawson. Here is what she says about her inspiration to the theme Map Your World:
When it came time to put pen to paper I had so many ideas. I spent so much time pursuing each idea that I was quickly running out of time. I finally choose this design because it gave me yet another chance to use words on a quilt which is something I am known for amongst friends. I chose to embroider words on my life, head and love lines according to palm reading guides. The words I embroidered resonate with my life choices. It’s a pretty simple design and I machine quilted it to reflect the lines in a palm print. The hand is appliqués from Essex Linen and the map fabric is from the Tim Holts line. Love it! Thanks, Shirley!
You can see this, as well as all the other map quilts we have been highlighting, and ones made by YOU at Quilts at the Creek. They will be hung together for your enjoyment!
Terry Aske is our latest map maker, and below are her notes on the quilt she made for Quilts at the Creek. And what a stunning quilt it is- can’t wait to see it in person this summer! Terry is a textile artist who creates her art with fabric, thread and a sewing machine. Primarily self-taught, Terry designs and creates contemporary quilts in her home studio in New Westminster, BC, Canada. I fell in love with her modern aesthetic the first time I saw a piece she had made, and have followed her ever since. She showed a quilt at Q@C in 2017 too, as part of our Canada 150 series. Thanks, Terry!
I based my quilt on a map of my city, New Westminster BC. The city’s location on the banks of the Fraser River and the diagonal street grid make for a visually interesting map. I love the contrast of the natural curving lines of the river and the geometric shapes of man-made streets and transit lines. I’m attracted to bright colors on dark backgrounds, and have long been a fan of the stylized look of transit maps.
I thought about using a black solid background, but decided it would be more interesting to use a scrappy background of various black and dark gray prints (which I happen to have a lot of in my stash). I used gray bias tape to indicate the major roads.
I drew a full-size map on freezer paper showing the major roads, then cut up the freezer paper and used it as templates for the background fabrics. I pinned it all to my design wall, then sewed the background pieces together. Then I positioned and sewed the gray bias tape. The fun part was adding the colorful bias tape to indicate bus routes and transit lines.
I quilted with vertical straight lines about 1 inch apart. I was concerned about keeping the lines straight, and the challenge of quilting over the bumps created where several bias tapes overlapped. The backing fabric is a bright purple stripe, and I decide to try quilting from the back following the lines on the fabric. It worked like a charm!
Another month, another map quilt! This month, our quilt was designed and made by Johanna Masko… visit our Map Quilt page to see what she made- and be sure to check it out in person at Quilts at the Creek. Her work was inspired by her love of quilts and tattoos!
If you haven’t heard, this is the last year that Quilts at the Creek will run. So be sure to enter your quilt, and help make this the biggest and best show yet. Entries are now being accepted… apply online here or download a form and mail it in. Bring your friends and enjoy the day!
Sunday July 28th noon: Valerie Goodwin is our invited workshop presenter for 2019. She is professor of architecture in Tallahassee Florida, and well known for her creative map quilts. She will be speaking about her work, and presenting a trunk show. Tickets are $15- and space is limited… buy yours online now! Her classes are filling fast, so book your space now!
We also offer trunk shows in Town Hall on the village green, close to the vendor area. Admission is free, but we suggest you get there a few minutes early as space is limited. View the schedule here.
Prince: Plan on spending the day at Black Creek Pioneer Village- so much to see! This year there is a special exhibit, featuring the Cherrywood Prince Challenge. Don’t miss this- it is here for 3 days only, then it moves on to Paducah, Ky. More details here. Tickets available at the door $5-
Tickets can now be purchased for Valerie Goodwin’s trunkshow, to be held on Sunday July 28th at noon – 1:30 pm. $15- Tickets are limited, so get yours soon!
You can now also buy tickets for the Prince exhibit which is on display for 3 days at Black Creek Pioneer Village: Friday July 26th to Sunday July 28th, 11 am to 5 pm daily. Don’t miss this! Click here for tickets. $5- per person.
Are you participating in the map quilt challenge? Think of a favourite place, and get busy! We ask that the quilts be approximately 40 x 40″, and we will display them together in the park. Every month we show quilts designed by other people to inspire you. Don’t miss the latest addition to our map series. This month we have a map quilt designed by Ana Paula Brasil. Visit our map quilt page to see Ana’s quilt, inspired by memeories of her Brazilian home.
January is when we start planning for Quilts at the Creek in earnest. What does that mean? Well, for those who are really keen, the online applications are now ready to receive your quilts.
We have booked Valerie Goodwin as the workshop leader this summer, and those classes are starting to fill. Learn her techniques and see her work up close and in person! We have also started a Map Quilt Challenge for those who enjoy challenges. They should be a minimum of 40″ each side. We will be posting samples made by a variety of people on our Map Quilt page, coming soon!
Don’t forget the Prince exhibit! This is a special display from the Cherrywood Fabric Challenge, and some of the best quilts from this challenge will be in a special space in the main building of Black Creek Pioneer Village from Friday July 26th to Sunday July 28th. there is a $5- admission fee to help cover the cost of insurance, shipping, etc. The Cotton Harvest will be a vendor at our show this year, selling that luscious Cherrywood fabric. Get a group together and don’t miss this show- it next goes to Paducah, Ky so you can save some time and money by seeing it here!
January is when we start working on promoting the show too.. we will be visiting Markham Quilt Guild this week with a slide show/quilt display, and we will be at the Oakville Quilt Guild next week. If you want us to visit your group to do our one hour presentation, contact Jane Cramer and we will see if we can squeeze you in. And finally, we will once again have a booth at CreativFestival in April so you can drop by and see us there.
We love talking about Quilts at the Creek. If you’d like to have us visit your guild/group contact Jane Cramer, and we’ll try to fit it into our schedule. We can promise a fun hour with a slideshow with great photos of the show, background info about the show, and of course quilts to display!
Entry forms will be available starting January 1st to enter your quilt for the 2019 show, and more information about events that will be happening at the show will be posted as we finalize details, so check back here.. or better yet, sign up to follow our blog (see side bar to the right).
Valerie Goodwin will be teaching workshops at Quilts at the Creek next summer- check out class descriptions here! You will also find links for class registration there too. (Registration for her trunkshow will be posted at a later date.. stay tuned!). To inspire you and get you thinking about what YOU want to work on, we will be giving you ideas from now until next summer.
Here is a map quilt I made a while ago, about the area I grew up in in Montreal.. home, school and the local library were the centre of my universe back then.. I am hoping Valerie Goodwin’s class will help me create a less literal interpretation!
Quilts at the Creek 2018 is now history. Thanks to YOU for visiting and contributing your time and your quilts. This year our show was a huge hit with quilters, with a record number of quilts AND a record number of visitors. Couldn’t do it without you!
So what are we up to now? Well, we will be at QuiltX in St Marys September 21 & 22nd. We will have some of the BIG / small quilts that were shown at Quilts at the Creek on display there. Jane, Shirley and I will be giving a talk about the history of the show from its beginnings to where it is now. To give you a chance to get to know us better, we will also be showing some of the quilts the three of us have made over the years. Drop by and say hi!
We are happy to visit your guild to talk about Quilts at the Creek. Just ask- if we can fit it into our schedules, we will! Email Jane with your request.
Our workshops for 2019 will be led by Valerie Goodwin. Valerie teaches architectural design at Florida A & M University. She is also a passionate mapmaker, using fabric as her medium to explore real and imaginary landscapes and cities. We will be featuring examples throughout the year to inspire you and get your creative juices going. Below are some samples of her work (click for larger image). So excited to try my hand at this, and learn her tips and techniques! Stay turned for details and schedule.
Last but not least: Cherrywood Fabrics makes the most gorgeous hand-dyed fabrics with the look and feel of suede in a wonderful range of luscious colours. They sponsor a yearly challenge, and the 2018 challenge was to use their fabric in a limited palette of saturated purples to make a quilt inspired by Prince’s music, style, movies.
The winners of this challenge have been selected, and will be touring North America. One of their stops will be Quilts at the Creek 2019. We are SO excited to present this special exhibit! All the quilts use the same colours, fabric, size and theme, so it should be a lot of fun to see the variety of submissions! I see there are 4 entries from Canada that made the cut- congratulations to Carole Cann, Christa Marcotte, Donna Sheppard, and Betty Sutherland!
Quilts at the Creek 