Quilt Canada concluded on Saturday evening, May 1st and I’ve been home from Calgary since Sunday afternoon.  I don’t think I’ve fully recuperated yet.  As you can well imagine, there is a lot to catch up on after a week away – but all I want to do is sew!  This seems to be my typical response to creative stimulation and inspiration, not to mention a wee bit of withdrawal.

Last week, I wrote about my first two days at the conference.  Arriving early for Professional Development, I was able to attend Mark Lipinski’s trunk show, meet up with fellow colleagues from the CQA Quilt Judge Certification Program, and receive an award for Excellence in Appliqué at the opening of the National Juried Show.

Classes started on Wednesday, and I spent the remaining four days of the conference volunteering as the classroom assistant for Sue Nickels.  Sue presented four amazing workshops:  Machine Quilting Traditions, Machine Quilting: What a Difference THREAD Makes!, Machine Appliqué Flower Basket, and Machine Quilting the Appliqué Quilt.

The Beatles Quilt

What a privilege it was to spend four days with such an accomplished quilter.  Sue Nickels is the author of two books:  Machine Quilting: A Primer of Techniques and Stitched Raw Edge Appliqué, co-authored with her sister Pat Holly.  Sue’s quilts have won many awards, but arguably her most famous quilt is The Beatles Quilt.  This quilt won Best of Show in the 1998 AQS Show in Paducah and now resides in the Museum of the American Quilters Society as part of its permanent collection.  Sue is also a quilt judge and was part of the team judging the 2009 IQA Show in Houston – and we know how well that turned out!

You might be wondering about the Merchant Mall and how I made out shopping.  Believe it or not, I didn’t buy one thing!  But that doesn’t mean I didn’t come home with a lot more in my suitcase than when I arrived.  Thanks to the generosity of many sponsors, I won two door prizes and received an incredible array of table favours and even a quilted table topper from the Bow River Quilters in Calgary.

I think the best part of attending a conference such as Quilt Canada is the people.  Where else can you sit down at a table with strangers and have an instant connection?  It was great to reunite with old friends and acquaintances and to meet a lot of new ones too.  Quilters are wonderful people.  I hope to see you next time at Quilt Canada 2012 in Halifax NS!