St. Jacob's Quilt & Fibre Art Festival 2013 Part 2

Schoolhouse Theatre, St. Jacob's

I was able to be in St. Jacob's on Thursday to take in some of the quilts there. This week has been quite busy, so I haven't seen all the quilt displays in the entire festival the way I did last year. That was quite a quilt marathon, this year was a little more low-key. 

Two Years With Kaffe and
He Still Doesn't Know My Name
by Marsha Clarke

I saw such great quilts in this show, and the theatre is terrific venue. Those tall old church windows lend good natural light, and the quilts really show well in this setting. Local quilter and guest artist Marsha Clarke was the featured quilter here, and there were quite a number of her quilts on display. She loves everything from traditional to art quilts, and had a lot of different styles on display. I chose her quilt at right to show you, because I like the way she used these different Kaffe Fassett fabrics to show within the applique work.  I loved seeing all the different types of quilting she showed us. Makes me realize I don't have to stick to one particular kind of quilting. 

Dolls made in a class
taught by Raija Gaskell

There were a good number of very nice pieced quilts that I enjoyed, a 

Schoolhouse Theatre
 Jacob's Quilt Show

cute doll display, too.

X-Block Quilters Display

The other display I saw in St. Jacob's was at the Mennonite Church, which displayed quite a number of quilts destined for the Mennonite Relief Sale, on today in New Hamburg. I wrote about this last year, here, and here. Also part of this display were the most excellent quilts of the local quilting group, X-Block Quilters. A group of 15 quilters make blocks and exchange them, each putting them together into their own quilts. So the quilts are similar, but not the same. Very nice.

Update on Mennonite Relief Sale

So, I've been seeing some of the financial numbers that have been coming in from the 46th annual Mennonite Relief Sale last Saturday held in New Hamburg, link here for more information. Impressive. And good work for a good cause, from everyone who donated time and money to make and buy items for auction.  Very  moving.

Fiesta, by women of the
Ottawa Mennonite Church

Underground Railway
by Florence Schlegel, Tavistock

Some of the numbers:

• Total raised for 2012:  $335,000
• Total raised in the last 10 years:  $3.5 million.
• The feature quilt, Fiesta, made by women from the Ottawa Mennonite Church, raised $3,200.
• Underground Railway, made by , was the highest price quilt, and raised $6,700.
• More than 2000 volunteers made quilts, furniture and food for auction.

Isn't that all amazing?!

N.B. Numbers all from the Waterloo Region Record, Tuesday, May 29, 2012, p. B4

New Hamburg Mennonite Relief Sale

Talk about a quilt buzz!  I went to the Quilt Preview for the New Hamburg Mennonite Relief Sale today in New Hamburg. Tomorrow is the Quilt Auction for one of Canada's largest quilt auctions.

One could take a look at the quilts today and register for the auction. I hadn't been to the preview or the auction before, and I'm thrilled to have checked this one off. There were excited quilt enthusiasts like no other. It is one thing to see such quilt beauty all in one show, quite another to think of the prospect of bidding on and owning such an item!

I noticed people moving up and down the rows of quilts, taking notes on quiltmakers, colours, item numbers, etc.

And these people were not all quiltmaker types you encounter at the usual quilt shows. There were a lot of people there who looked serious about buying. It would be interesting to see who buys what, but that will have to wait for another year for me.

I saw a lot of other activities related to the Mennonite Central Committee. It was apparent that this was a fundraiser, with fun and food for all. Early tomorrow, strawberry pies go on sale. Apparently they sell out fast! And the line-ups to get yummy Mennonite food were all 100 people deep. And I also saw quite a large number of Mennonite people of all ages there. So while the quilt excitement was palpable, it was the entire experience of exitement that was so enjoyable.

So that's it for me for this year's St. Jacobs Quilt & Fibre Art Festival. I've been to every venue on the list, every show, every community! Quite a marathon of quilts. Next week I will turn my attention to Quilt Canada in Halifax. I'll have a few days off from quilt shows, and will be ready by then. Stay tuned for more quilt stories.

St. Jacobs Quilt Festival 2012

I had a taste today of the Waterloo Region Quilt & Fiber Art Festival, link here. 16 events in 7 communities! I have learned in previous years that it is nearly impossible to take in all of the events in one or two days, so this year, I have started early.

Part of the whole festival is the Mennonite Relief Sale in New Hamburg. Over 200 quilts and many other items are generously donated and auctioned to provide funds for the Mennonite Central Committee. I greatly admire their work. 100% of funds raised goes towards funding projects around the world. Not many (any?) other charities can make this 100% claim. In addition, many other quilts and blankets are made here to be shipped overseas for use in times of crisis. And to think that different individuals and groups are spending these vast number of hours making beautiful quilts to be donated. It is quite wonderous. With Mennonite country just minutes away from our fine city, and such a large part of our local culture, it is a heritage worthy of mentioning. These three caught my eye.

Quilt Maker Unknown

Night & Day by Erika Isaac

Amish Courtyard by Ester Alexy

There are three public places that display a preview of these quilts, for most of May. Kitchener City Hall, Waterloo City Hall, and Joseph Schneider Haus showed about 75 of these amazing quilts, which will go on to be auctioned the last Saturday in May. These venues are all only a few minutes away, so it is easy to cover them in one afternoon. Both City Halls have great atriums with natural light, and show off the quilts very well. And Joseph Schneider Haus is a local heritage museum of the first Mennonite settlers in the community. It has an impressive collection of old quilts, which I have seen before, and great respect generally for the contemporary and ancient quilting arts.

Isn't it wonderful to be able to see so many quilts so very close to home?  I don't get much done in the quilting department at home, but I thrive also on these visual delights, so it is worthwhile for me to go out and see what else is happening in the quilt world.