The South Okanagan can boast some of the best quilters in Canada, as seen in the Canadian Quilters Association’s National Juried Show held in Penticton, May 16-18.
Marianne Parsons from Oliver won first place in the Original Design Abstract Pictorial category for her “Set in Stone” quilt (at left) with 5 fossil panels on it. The award came with a $1000 prize. Marianne is a member of the Fabricators, a local art quilt group, and the Double O Quilters Guild. She is also a member of the Fibre Art Network, and will participate in a curated show of work by that group at the La Conner Quilt Museum in La Conner, WA, Oct. 10 – Dec. 31, 2013. Two of her quilts can also be seen in the Grand National exhibit at the Josef Schneider Quilt Haus in Waterloo, ON for the summer.
Joan Bielun from Penticton (another one of the Fabricators) also won first prize in her category for her “Elements of Change” quilt featuring the giant Wave. It was nice to see that the first award of the evening ceremony in Penticton went to a Penticton resident! That quilt is the cover quilt on the national magazine, The Canadian Quilter, summer issue.
Maya Brouwer, a former Oliver resident, now a Double O Quilters Guild member living near Victoria and a Fabricator as well, won the Viewer’s Choice award for her Trend-Tex Challenge, “Hide and Seek” (at left). Her piece also earned the highest bid at the event.
Miriam March is a Double O Quilters member and is a longarm quilter from Rock Creek. She took first place in Canada in the Bed or Wall Quilt longarm quilted category at Quilt BC with her quilt, “Lattice Garden”. (pictured foreground below, Pat Kelly photo, Boundary Creek Times)
Several other area quilters earned awards as well. Judy Harpur from Rock Creek, (who grew up in Oliver), earned a Judge’s Award for her quilt, “Picasso’s 39 Ford”, and Karen Thatcher from the Grand Forks area won 2nd place in the Original Design, Abstract Pictorial category.
To see all of the winning quilts, go to www.canadianquilter.com then click on Galleries on the red bar, and then on NJS 2013.
The Double O Quilters Guild was founded in 1988 and is a non-profit group. Members are dedicated to pursuing the elusive and challenging art of quilting and related activities. It encompasses people of all skill levels and ages, a wide range of interests, ideas, and techniques. Residents, snowbirds,and visitors are welcome to join and participate.
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