The Moose Jaw Events Centre is chock-full of a record-breaking amount of beautiful fabric arts on April 21 and 22, as Moose Jaw’s Prairie Hearts Quilters’ Guild re-establishes its biennial quilt show.
The Events Centre is hung with nearly 300 fabric art displays, there are demonstrations and workshops put on by experienced quilters, there’s a penny parade, a raffle quilt, a 100-foot guild table, and craft vendors selling virtually everything related to quilting.
“I knew eventually it would come,” laughed Wendy Findlay. Findlay was chosen as the show’s Featured Quilter four years ago, before public health restrictions forced the postponement of Sew Full of Whimsy.
“There was some extra time there, for sure. I was able to get a few more pieces done, plus a few more entries for the show,” she said. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and I like to dabble in a bit of everything, so I have a lot of stuff to display, and it just pleases me to be able to share what I love with people.”
The Prairie Hearts Quilters put on one of Saskatchewan’s largest shows and are known for the many judging categories available for competition — they have around 40, giving quilters a lot of options for submitting their work.
The quilts were hung and judged simultaneously during the week leading up to the opening. That means all the ribbons and prizes have been awarded already, and visitors can see which quilts won and for what.
“Shows like these are fantastic, because they offer the public the opportunity to view a broad variety of quilts, from something simple to an extraordinary art piece,” said Deb Barlow, a nationally certified quilting judge. Barlow is a professional fibre artist and a juried member of the Saskatchewan Arts Council. She is also a master florist, which is how she got started in design theory. She inspects competitive quilts for colour, line, texture, harmony, value changes, and more.
“There’s a lot of art theory,” Barlow said. “All those things in art, the elements and principles, they apply to painters, sculptors, fabric artists … As a professional judge, you need to know these things so you can look at a piece and analyze it, but you also have to be able to offer excellent, detailed feedback so the artist can learn.”
Barlow is holding a personal Trunk Show at 7 p.m. on the 21st. Guests will be able to chat with her about quilting and art and look at some of her work, including pieces from nationally toured exhibitions that have won prestigious awards.
“We have just over 250 quilts in competition, which is a record for us,” said Colleen Lawrence, one of the event’s organizers. “Then we also have several more quilts just for display, so there’s probably a good 275 quilts hung here.
“They look awesome. It’s a great show.”
Quilting is an art form that can incorporate a wide variety of styles, techniques, and materials. From traditional patchwork quilts made of squares or strips of fabric, to contemporary art quilts featuring intricate designs and abstract shapes, quilting allows for a range of artistic expression.
Some quilters work exclusively with hand-sewn or hand-quilted pieces, while others use machines to create intricate patterns and designs. The materials used in quilting can also vary widely, from cotton fabrics to more unconventional materials such as paper, plastic, or even metal.
