Where the Heck is Binbrook?

Today, I ventured out to find Binbrook, a small community about 90 minutes drive away. It turns out that the ladies at the United Church there are into quilting, seriously into quilting. Their group is the Binbrook Country Quilters Guild. Every three years they put on a show to raise funds for the church, and what a show it is.  When I walked into the main sanctuary, it was filled with quilts and took my breath away. All I could say was, "Wow."  Every pew was draped with at least one quilt. The side walls and front pulpit area, also filled with quilts.  Basement, entranceway,  filled with quilts. About 400 quilts in all. Simply amazing. Most were made by members of the church, some by their grandmothers, some by friends.

What a feast for the eyes. I simply had to stand for a few moments, before I could start to look at individual quilts.  Then I started to follow the lines of admirers going up and down the aisles, to take in each quilt.  The thing about church displays, is that you cannot see the entire quilt at once, then go in for detail. You must look at the parts of the quilt draped over the front and back of the pew, and get the most out of it that way. It is a different experience, but effective at the same time. Somehow, the mind manages to put the pieces together into a workable image.

Pinwheel by Margorie Baker

All these by Sue Swazye

There were mainly pieced quilts, with a nice sprinkling of applique, Red and White, Antique, and novelty themed quilts. Another really nice feature was the little side displays in the window ledges, from old irons, old spools of thread, tatting work, and postcards.  Many smaller quilts also graced the side walls of the church.

Strip Quilt by Helen Hubert

Featured Quilter Helen Hubert

 The featured quilt artist was Helen Hubert, who had many beautiful quilts to show. She was there, and I spoke to her for a bit. She does a longarm quilt business, and has time to make a lot of quilts, too. When you see a lot of quilts by one quilter, it is easy to see a colour theme running through the work, and Helen is no exception. I loved the way she combines her colours, subtly mixing creams with blues and greens and reds. It is magic. Check out her blog here.

These two were my favourites. Note the actual chicken wire on Chicken Coop, by Charlotte Walker, left. And the actual pounded flowers in Betty Beaudoin's piece, right. I was intrigued by this one, and looked up the technique on the web. The dyes from the flower petals transfers colour to the fabric. Isn't that neat?


Tea and a bit of shopping rounded a very wonderful quilt show.