What a wonderful week I had. I just returned from the Sitges International Patchwork Festival put on by the Association Espana de Patchwork.
Sitches itself is a gem of a city about 20 kilometers south of Barcelona, on the Mediterranean, with narrow cobblestone streets, beautiful old architecture, seaside cafes, wide promenades along the water and extremely friendly people. The weather was perfect every day with highs in the 60’s and lows in the 50’s.
I was invited to be one of the guest artists and to have an exhibition of my quilts at the show.
Since I did not want to ship the quilts or check them, my son, Sean, accompanied me and we packed all 12 quilts in carry-ons. It was quite a feat getting them all in the small-enough bags that we would be allowed to take on the plane.
The hall that held my exhibit was in an old building right on the water. Large windows looked out onto the sea so the lighting was excellent. Once the show opened, I was amazed at the crowds of people. The organizers expected more than 10,000 people to attend.
Other artists with exhibits included Anna Dolanyi, Katie Pasquini, Danny Amazonas, Maoli Lozaano and Willyne Hammerstein. Unfortunately, because of the classes I was teaching and the time spent in my exhibit greeting people, there was not time to visit all of the exhibits which were scattered around the old part of the city.
In the room next to my exhibit was an exhibit of work by children and I was so pleased to see the effort the patchwork association was making to encourage quiltmaking by children.
When we arrived at our seaside hotel we were a little sorry to see giant tents being put up along the promenade opposite our hotel. We thought what a shame it would spoil our view, but then we saw a large “Bernina” sign being put up and realized that this series of tents was the vendors area! The tents were full with people the entire time.
We had a fabulous time and I’m so grateful that we had the opportunity to take part in it.
I’m so grateful for the knowledge and the experiences you share with us! I probably wouldn’t learn of them otherwise. You enrich my life. Thank you, Jinny!
What an experience that was I’m sure. I know I will be saving all my scraps now, because when I saw Danny’s Horse quilt. Wow!! I’m piecing together a backround quilt and that gave me some idea’s on using my scraps. That must have taken him years to finish. Can’t wait for your next clue, I’m ready. I just love your work and your materials are beautiful. I am hand finishing your Moroccan quilt, and am loving it. Having fun, and learning sooo much, Thank You!