CORNWALL, Ontario – Upper Canada Village is devoting the entire weekend of June 22 and 23, 2013 to a celebration of ‘all things fibre’ at the Fantastic Fibres and Quilt Show. Quilt guilds from across Eastern Ontario will gather at the Village to showcase an amazing array of contemporary works in the Family Activity Centre.
A special selection of quilts from Upper Canada Village’s museum collection, some dating back to the 1800s and some of which have not been on display for many years, will be featured in various buildings throughout the site. Upper Canada Village’s 50th anniversary quilt, made in 2011 to mark the Village’s first 50 years will also be on display. This quilt is made up of squares representing patterns from quilts made each year by Village quilting staff from 1961-2011.
Judy Lyons a specialist in the appraisal of traditional and non-traditional quilts will be at the event as both a speaker and as a certified quilt appraiser. Judy will speak on the subject of “What Quilts have survived from the period of 1800 – 1825” at 1:30 PM on Saturday & Sunday. Judy will also be available to appraise quilts at half hour intervals from 10:00 AM –noon, 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM, 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday. It is recommended that appraisal times are reserved in advance. Book your time by contacting Margot Dixon at 613.543.3704 extension 2332 or margot.dixon@parks.on.ca.
Thirteen entries in the 2013 Quilt Challenge commemorating the Bicentennial of the Battle of Crysler’s Farm will be on display in Christ Church as well as a quilt by Upper Canada Village’s Margot Dixon. Thequilt named “By Plunder of the Enemy”,wasinspired through research done by Dixon into civilian losses due to the War of 1812. The 2013 Quilt Challenge is sponsored by International Textiles Limited of Richmond, BC. All event entrants will receive a package of fat quarters from Judie Rothermel’s Civil War prints in the Marcus Fabrics collection.
At Christ Church, the Ontario East British Home Child Family will have a quilt on display to commemorate British Home Children. Members of the group will be on hand to speak about the British Home Child Day event that will be held in September.
Fibre Demonstrations will celebrate the methods that our pioneer ancestors used to create cloth and clothing from available fibres. Loucks Farm will be the venue for a Fibre Artists display area featuring spinners, weavers, knitters, rug hookers and lacemakers throughout the weekend.
A crowd favourite last year, the ‘Knit-a-Bit’ Challenge will return. Knitters of all ages and skill levels are invited to participate in a timed competition to produce a length of plain knitting. Knitting needles will be provided for participants. Three age categories are available: under 12 years of age, 13 to 18 years of age and 19 years of age and over. Sign up and you can compete anytime between 10:00 AM and 3:30 PM. Entries will be judged at the end of the weekend (4:00 PM on Sunday, June 22), based on length of swatch and evenness of tension.
Other areas not to be missed include the Woollen Mill where you can see wool transformed from fleece to blankets. The beautiful, durable and one-of-a-kind finished blankets are available for purchase in the Village Store. The Asselstine Mill is the only operating 19th century woollen factory in North America. In the McDiarmid House, flax will be transformed into linen – a time consuming process, but well worth the effort as it produced a durable household fabric.
Admission for the Fantastic Fibres and Quilt Show weekend is $17 Adult (13 – 64 yrs), $14 Senior (65yrs+) and Youth (6-12 yrs), children 5 yrs and under are free. To purchase tickets in advance visit www.UpperCanadaVillage.com.
