Quilt Show Journal: Quilt Canada 2025

Hello Friends and Welcome Back!

A few weeks ago, I shared some of my favourite quilts from a small, local quilt show, but this week, I'm excited to show off some of my favourite quilts from Quilt Canada!

Quilt Canada is the biggest quilt show in Canada and is hosted by the national quilt guild, the Canadian Quilters Association (CQA). It takes place every June at a different Canadian city, moving around so every year a new group of local quilters get to visit the show!

I first started quilting in 2015 and since then, Quilt Canada has been hosted in Ontario four times. It was in Ottawa in 2019, and I was able to convince a friend who lives there to come with me, and it has been in Toronto (technically Mississauga) in 2016, 2017, and now 2025!

If I'm remembering right, I've only been to three of those four shows, but I don't remember if it was the 2016 or 2017 show that was my first. I was still in school at that time, so though I was interested in quilting, it was not my biggest priority.

Regardless, I had a lot of fun visiting the 2025 show this year and am excited to share a few of my favourite quilts!

Starburst

This quilt is called Starburst, pieced and quilted by Wendy Anderson, based on the Stars Upon Stars pattern by Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts.

This is a very traditional pattern using 45° diamonds to make a variety of eight pointed stars in many different colours. It's a pattern I've seen online a lot and am very interested to make myself, so it was exciting to see a version of the quilt in person for the first time!

And Wendy Anderson won an award for her work on this quilt; the award for excellence in machine piecing! It's no wonder she got this when you take a closer look at all the little points that were lined up throughout the pattern!

The piecing is very much the star of this quilt, no pun intended, with the quilting being a very simple stitch in the ditch outline, with the occasional curved accent in the smaller stars and sashing.

Beyond the Cherry Tree

The next quilt is called Beyond the Cherry Tree, pieced and quilted by Barbara Baker, from a reproduction album pattern by Gayle Bomers of Sentimental Stitches.

This quilt features beautiful and precise hand applique, reproduction vintage prints, and lots of hand quilting! All of this gives it the same feeling as the antique quilt the pattern was originally made from!

Though I'm not typically interested in album style quilts, I really wanted to share the workmanship on this one!

Looking closer, you can see how precise each an every stitch is, I hope I can reach this level of skill some day!

With so much skill on display, it's no surprise this quilt won an award as well; third place for wall hangings from patterns!

Fractured

Moving on to a much more modern design is a quilt called Fractured, pieced and quilted by Peter Byrne, an original design.

I love the colours used throughout this quilt; a variety of shades of blue, accented with the occasional gold diamond, and some fun play with value, showing areas of light and darkness.

This quilt also has layers upon layers of quilting, combining both hand and machine stitches. These layers create so much depth and movement throughout the quilt, and for all the work Pete Byrne did, this quilt was awarded excellence in machine quilting, framed!

Blue Hawaii

The quilts I've shown have gotten progressively smaller, finally reaching a mini quilt! This is called Blue Hawaii, pieced and quilted by Thelma Robbins, based on the traditional Pineapple block pattern.

It's hard to tell in the photo, but these blocks are frankly microscopic! The Pineapple blocks are about 1" square and the teal sashing is about ¼" wide!

Micro mini quilts like these are typically pieced using the foundation paper method to keep the points crisp, but the scale is impressive nonetheless!

In addition to the tiny blocks, Thelma Robbins used ombre fabric, placed to create the illusion of a glow emanating from deep in the centre of the quilt!

I have never made a mini quilt like this before, but I'm really inspired by the workmanship of this piece and would love to try it myself!

And we can't forget to mention the accolades on this; it won first place in the miniatures category!

Concurrent Quilt Shows

In addition to the National Juried Show, of which the previous quilts were all a part, there were several concurrent shows that were a part of Quilt Canada.

A concurrent quilt show is one that is going on at the same time as another, but which is not a part of that show. For example, if two guilds partner together to host a quilt show, they may choose to have one show where all the quilts are judged together, or they may choose to have concurrent shows, two different shows in the same building which are judged separately.

In the case of Quilt Canada, the National Juried Show was the selection of quilts being judged and selected for awards, while the concurrent shows were more like art exhibits. They showcased a selection of quilts that collectively tell a story!

Two quilts jumped out at me, both of which were a part of the Guild Rosette Invitational organized by CQA.

Les Billets Doux

The first of these was called Les Billets Doux, pieced and quilted by Jean Hillis, an original deign.

I found this quilt design really intriguing! Something about the mixing of traditional floral applique motifs with the vertical columns, which feel modern to me, is very appealing, not something I've seen a lot of!

Despite the overall cohesion of the design, this quilt is actually rather scrappy on closer inspection. This quilt seems to have a mix of elements that I wouldn't normally expect to see combined, creating a unique whole!

And, of course, I have to mention the beautiful handwork, both in the quilting and the floral applique!

And being a part of the Guild Rosette Invitational, it has previously won an award at the 2023 Pieces of Magic Quilt Show, organized by the Oxford Quilters Guild.

21 Days in Ibiza

The other concurrent show quilt that caught my eye was called 21 Days in Ibiza, pieced and quilted by Tella Visconti, based on the Sizzle pattern by Becky Goldsmith of Piece 'O Cake.

This quilt features a variety of traditional Mariners Compass blocks, combined with an applique border motif.

I've always been interested in making a Mariners Compass quilt; the curved edges and medallion construction make an interesting challenge, but what really makes this quilt stand out is the quilting!

There's a lot of dense and detailed custom quilting, especially in the large open areas of background. I would love to be able to do this type of custom quilting, but it takes so much practice and planning to make something like this work.

Clearly Tella Visconti has put a lot of time into honing this skill! She really deserved the award this quilt won at the 2023 Twisted Stitchers Quilt Show, hosted by the Rouge Valley guild!

With so many shows on display at Quilt Canada, this was just a small sampling of some of the quilts that caught my eye! Thank you so much to CQA for arranging the show, and to all the wonderful quilt makers who submitted their work for display!

I hope some of you also had the opportunity to check out the 2025 Quilt Canada Show, or that I've encouraged you to check it out the next time it's in your area!

Quilt Canada will be in Winnipeg next June, and though I don't anticipate going, I hope those of you who can will share your favourite pieces when it arrives!

Until Next Time Friends, Keep Creating!

~VA