On Wednesday with my patchwork and quilting group I visited two quilt exhibitions and a quilt shop out in Mennonite country; Fergus, Elora, Elmira and Kitchener. Shame the slog back along the 401 into Toronto is such a pain or I'd go out there much more. Still, it was a glorious spring day, bright sunshine and a brisk wind and it was refreshing to escape the city for a while.
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| Homer Watson House and Gallery |
We visited the Grand National Quilt Exhibition at the Homer Watson Gallery in Kitchener. I loved the location; an old house, the former home of the artist Homer Watson, set in beautiful gardens which were showing off their bright green spring foliage. The curator told us that Watson's big break came with the purchase of one his works by Queen Victoria. The painting returned to the gallery last year on loan; the curator told us how surprised she'd been at how obliging the staff at Windsor Castle were when she asked to borrow it. Apparently the AGO would not let their Watsons out of Toronto. The curator also told us that the house is said to be haunted by the ghost of Homer Watson's sister Phoebe, but she didn't appear to be home when we called.
We also visited the Wellington County Museum between Fergus and Elora. I hadn't visited Fergus before, and loved the setting with the deep sided river running through the town. We didn't have time to stroll around, but I will definitely go back. The County Museum used to be the poor house, and there were some excellent photographs of some of the former residents; they must have led very harsh lives. I would have liked to spend longer there, but we had such a packed itinerary that it will have to wait for another day.
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| Detail from a quilted silk kimono at the juried exhibition Threadworks, with the theme of Water, at the Wellington County Museum in Fergus. The seams were joined with tiny beads. |
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| My friend Jennie Wood had exhibits in the Threadworks and Grand National Exhibitions. We were awed and inspired by her talent, and that of all the other fabric artists. Here is one of Jennie's pieces. |
On our drive through the countryside we passed lots of farms, many with boards out to say what they had for sale; maple syrup, eggs, quilts... It would be good to have a more leisurely drive around and visit a few; as it was, we had to drive past the tempting signposts.
The staff at the lovely quilt store, Quilters Nine Patch, in Elmira, must have been pleased to see us - we were like children in a sweet shop, looking at all the beautiful fabrics and buying quite a good amount! The staff display kits and bundles of fabrics that go well together - this is great for overwhelmed beginners like us, who don't really know where to get started with choosing good fabric combinations. There were so many amazing fabrics and quilts to look at. I chose some vintage-style prints in reds, creams and blues to turn into Union Jack cushion covers.
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| My union jack cushion covers in progress |
When I got home I looked up walks around the Fergus and Elora area, and discovered the Elora Cataract Trailway - this has gone straight onto my list of places to explore. It's a 47km long former railway, now partly gravelled and available to hikers, bikers, and in the winter, cross country skiiers. We will return with our bikes strapped to the back of the car.
http://www.trailway.org/
