Torquay Ladies' Quilt Show

Barb H. and I made the trek to Torquay yesterday to see "a few" quilts.  After all, the Block Party Quilters are only ten and they lead busy lives so how many quilts could there be?
Christa greeted us at the door and then we entered a LARGE room FILLED with
100s (I don't exaggerate) of AMAZING pieces.

Christa was just back from a trip to New York City so my phone had to photo her phone so that I know some cool shops to check out in the garment district when we're there in August.

There was coffee and tea and angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream.  I tried to pay for Barb's and mine only to find out it was included in the $5 admission price.  Cool!  Here are some of the Weyburn ladies that we spotted.

                               We also ran into Kathy and her friend.  Kathy is looking marvelous!

There were three vendors and we were happy to leave some of our $$$$$ with them.

These next few photos show items at the vendors' booths; they were a quilt show in themselves.

There were two wall hangings like this displayed; I would have loved to take the class as the fabrics were wild and the embellishments charming.

You'll  like this quilt ....

.... and even moreso when you see the size of the squares - 1/2" I think.

This barn quilt appealed to me, not only for the beautiful workmanship, but also because the barns are framed with log cabins.

My photo can't do justice to this whole cloth, hand-quilted piece...

...here's a close-up...

... and here's the card to go with it.  Do you think we can hire Terry to hand-quilt for us?

Barb and I are crazy for the magazine British Country Living and there are always photos of buntings in it so I loved this cheerful bunting.  Drive by my house (stop in for tea while you are in the neighborhood) to see the summer bunting on my deck.

This photo is for Elma; I hope she's bought this panel somewhere along the way too and incorporated it into her own McCormick quilt. (Surely she isn't a John Deere fan.)  I missed gettting a photo of the whole quilt but the next photo shows one of the blocks.  I love how the barn doors open to reveal what's inside.  A hen was sitting in the hayloft.

The next quilt interested me for three reasons.  (1) it's a variation on a carpenter's wheel, I think, and that was a hint for me to finish mine from Jill's class  (2)  it's a color wheel so it fits with our guild's program theme for the year, and (3) its creator is Esther Bangsund of Estevan.  Now we know what she's been doing in her retirement.  She had more than one great work in the show.

Love the three dimensional birdhouses here, each with a cheery button.

When Tracey blogged about this quilt, I  couldn't wait to see it in person.  Incredible stitching, Tracey!

My young friend Justin, the one who would have made us gourmet lunches if there were enough of us, showed Barb and me the works of the featured quilter.  She was ill and couldn't attend, but we enjoyed her work and what Justin could tell us about it.  Thanks, Justin!

 Kudos to the Block Party Quilters for the wonderful display of their quilts; they added many extra elements like old ironing boards, antique sewing machines, live bouquets to give their show extra charm.

Whoever lent this piece must be happy that our mothers taught us to be honest people so that none of us stole it.  What a beauty.

I love this close-up of Christa's redwork.  The snowman pinning up candy canes is charming, the quilted swirls of snow are so complementary.

I fell in love with this paper piecing.

Every show needs a Sunbonnet Sue quilt!

And as icing on the cake ... or maybe whipped cream on the cake ...there were buttons for sale at a ridiculously low price.  I didn't tell the seller that until after I bought a bagful.  She was an enabler for my button addiction.

What's not to love about a quilt show where the vendors are served tea in china cups.

There you have it, my reflections on the Torquay quilt show.  When Christa and Tracey get over the exhaustion of being part of the show, they'll probably have blog entries about it on their sites too.  Keep checking them at www.secondstoryquilting.blogspot.ca and www.theblockpartyguild.blogspot.ca