Our day At Quilt Canada

Stellar company, spectacular quilts and an opportunity to shop make for a winning combination any day. We left early for Halifax which is a good 2-1/2 hour drive from Amherst. Naturally, it was raining when we arrived at the campus of Dalhousie University.
We purchased an all-day parking pass, but soon discovered it pretty useless as all the lots were full. Oh my...
We eventually made it to the National Juried Show of Quilt Canada, being held at the Student Union Building. For some obscure reason, no pictures are allowed to be taken at this show, and I turned my flash off to be inconspicuous out in the hallway taking these. We were on a quest to see Monika Kinner-Whalen's beautiful prairie dress and we did...but the no-picture rule means we can't share it with you. While there, we met up with Linda H from Stitch Lines who I expect will have a spectacular batch of pictures of the week to share soon.
The invitational show was just across the hall from the NJS.
After enjoying the beautiful showing of quilts, we made our way to Dalplex to see the Trend Tex Challenge. This is a fun event in which to participate and it is so neat to see the different interpretations. We ran into Linda as soon as we arrived; check out her blog for lots more pictures.
This one was adorable - see the stitched dimples on the knees?
Then off to the Merchant's Mall! I checked out a Sew Ezi portable table for my Bernina (really tempting...) and got so distracted by all the goodies I neglected to turn my flash back on. Ergo,the pictures are fuzzy and dark. There were a good many vendors from away which gave wonderful variety. This is Stitches from Salt Spring, B.C.I picked up three spools of my favourite thread at The Quilting B and More from Charlottetown, PEI.
My friend Kate from Kanata urged me bid hello to her friend Marilyn from Bytown Threads in Ottawa and I'm awfully glad she did. This very busy booth was stocked with Aurifil thread and I purchased some to try out.
Marilyn graciously agreed to pose for a photo.
I circled the mall a couple of times before I got a chance to speak to Heather MacArthur, editor of Quilter's Connection.
Heather is as delightful in person as she is in print and I am so pleased we had a chance to meet up. Written correspondence is one thing but it makes such a difference to hear a voice and see a face. Heather had copies of the latest issue of Quilter's Connection magazine with her, hot off the press.
And speaking of seeing faces, I saw many I recognized including Gail and Jean who will be coming to our N.S. Fibre Arts Festival again in the fall.
By this time our day in the city was over; we missed as much as we saw, but it was a long drive home. Kudos to all the vendors who come from so far away to be part of these shows as they must surely return home exhausted. Kudos also to Lesley and Lynn, who make for such terrific travelling companions.