Quilting is a spectator sport!

The Fraser Valley Quilters Guild’s Biennial Quilt Show is being held in Langley BC this weekend.  The FVQG has 6 teams and they are each competing against a team from another guild.  Our team, the VMQG Mod Quilters, competed on Saturday morning.   The challenge – each team to complete a quilt – 36 x 36 inches or larger – quilted, bound and labeled, within 2 hours.  And just before the start of the challenge, each team is given a fat quarter of fabric that they must feature in their quilt.

We were the only Modern Quilt Guild in the competition, and we decided our priorities were to create a distinctly modern quilt, using improv techniques, and to have fun!  So, unlike the other teams, we didn’t have our fabrics totally planned and/or precut.  We had a basic plan, and we each brought some solid fabric and a few printed fat quarters.  We didn’t decide which solid color to use for the front until we saw the feature fabric (which everyone loved!).

Here are some action shots of our team at work:

We didn’t quite get our quilt finished in the 2 hours (it was quilted, the label was on, and I was about 10 minutes from finishing sewing the binding on), so we didn’t win.  But we’re really proud of our quilt – and the other team members even made a matching pillow cover, while I was frantically sewing the binding on.

I couldn’t believe how many spectators were interested in watching us quilt, although I understood the fascination later, when I found myself part of the excited crowd as the clock ticked down for the afternoon challenge.
It was a lot of fun, and I would definitely participate again!