Passion for artistic quilts makes Canmore a hotspot for the craft in North America
by Shari Bishop Bowes
A century ago, quilting in the small mining town of Canmore was a hobby of necessity.
The wives of coal miners gathered together, or sewed alone late into the night, stitching bright patches gathered from cast-off clothing and small remnants of fabric to make the homespun quilts that warmed the family's beds during long winters.
Flash ahead to a much different Canmore, where quilting today is as much about artistic expression as it is a passion for an art form based in heritage, tradition and community.
While many a small town in Canada embraces these notions, Canmore is arguably the heart of artistic quilting in this country - for a host of reasons all stitched together.
You might say it all began as a symbiotic relationship between a family of passionate quilters who purchased a small sewing shop a decade ago, and a growing group of local quilters who joined together as a guild to pursue and perfect their craft.
Leah Murphy and her mother Claire Bank started quilting together as a hobby in 1992, and three years later purchased a small sewing shop on Canmore's Main Street.
"We just turned out hobby into a business," says Murphy. "The store really needed an identity, and that's where quilting came in."
Today, The Sugar Pine Company has Canada's largest selection of quilting fabric, and an endless array of quilting notions and equipment - all within a 5,000 sq. ft, three-level store that also features a roomy instruction space upstairs. Located just a block off Main St., Sugar Pine displays an astonishing 200 quilts amongst its 8,000 bolts of fabric. It is a brilliant feast for the eyes, even if you have never put your foot to a sewing machine pedal or stitched on a button in your life.
A major achievement for The Sugar Pine Company is the recent announcement that the shop has been chosen as one of the Top 10 Quilt Shops in North America by American Patchwork and Quilting and Quilt Sampler Magazine, published by Betters Homes & Gardens. A special feature on Sugar Pine, including photos and their own special quilt design created for the magazine, will be published in May.
Leah Murphy and Claire Bank are the mother-daughter team behind the success of The Sugar Pine Company in downtown Canmore. The quilting shop offers courses in quilting and sewing, as well as a five-day quilt art conference every year.
"My mom and I worked on the design together," Murphy says. "It's very 'lodgy'- we just wanted to convey a sense of place." The design depicts things that are commonly associated with Canmore, such as cabins, moose, bear, elk, trees and lots of beautiful earth tones, browns and greens.
As if the growth of the store through two moves and constant expansion were not enough, Sugar Pine branched out four years ago with its First Annual Canadian Rockies Quilt Art Conference. While the shop has always offered an extensive program of sewing and quilting classes for all levels throughout the year, the time was right to mount a new and ambitious event. At the urging of one of their regular instructors, Sugar Pine began planning the first conference, offering world class quilting instruction over five days.
"There's nowhere in Canada that offers quilters such an intense opportunity to explore original work and subject matter for five days," says Murphy. The concept has clearly caught on, with the number of attendees doubling to 200 registrants for this year's conference, held March 3 through 9 at the Radisson Hotel.
"The mandate is we want people who are participating to be doing original work, or advancing towards being able to do original work," she says.
A mark of success for the conference in its last few years is the fact that Murphy no longer has to track down instructors and convince them to come to the mountains.
"Now I'm getting proposals, the faculty comes to us," she says. "The world class instructors are a small community. We're now looking at Europe and Japan for instructors."
And what has this meant for the first-time quilter in Canmore, who might have walked in the door of Sugar Pine a decade ago for a beginner's course?
"Everyone has humble beginnings," says Murphy, who along with her husband Dean - also a quilter - and mother Claire take great pleasure in seeing the advancement of quilters from accomplishing simple pieces to quilt art they have often designed themselves.
The Canmore-based Mountain Cabin Quilters' Guild - one of the busiest in the province - now boasts 85 members - a clear indication of how the quilting craze has caught on in this community.
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Along with many other quilt artists in the local guild, Frances Rawson has this beautiful quilt on display at Artistic Visions in the Canmore Library Gallery. The dragonfly theme depicted in this stunning piece was inspired by a photograph of a dragonfly on Vermilion Lakes by Craig Douce, published in the Rocky Mountain Outlook.
Quilters, and those who simply appreciate the art form, have even more reason to boast about Canmore as a Mecca for those who love quilt art - the guild sponsors two shows each year to showcase the work of its members.
Artistic Visions is the guild's annual quilt art show, currently running until March 8 at the Canmore Library Gallery. This original quilt show features about 25 works exhibiting a huge variety of sizes, fabrics and themes. Quilt artists on exhibition range from first-timers to those who have won numerous awards for their work.
The second show, the 11th Annual Quilt Festival, features a broad range of quilting techniques, from art through traditional styles. More than 100 quilts, including some antique quilts and works-in-progress, will be on display in Canmore's Creekside Hall June 12 and 13.
The combination of a fabulous quilting shop, a dedicated and growing guild of quilters, and a community focused on sharing its artistic talents with the world come together to elevate Canmore as a true quilt art destination.
The scenic mountain location is one reason Murphy attributes to the burgeoning quilt art scene. "It's a very inspiring setting."
At the same time, quilting anywhere is a sure escape from a busy lifestyle ruled at times by email, cell phones and chaotic family life. "It's sort of absorbing and relaxing," says Murphy.
More Quilt Bits
The Sugar Pine Company can be found at 737 10th St. in downtown Canmore. See them online at www.thesugarpine.com. Call 403.678.4703.
Featured quilt instructor at this year's Canadian Rockies Quilt Art Conference is Ricky Tims, a Texan now living in Colorado who starting quilting as a hobby and now is a celebrity in quilt art circles for his beautiful work. Tims is also a talented musician, and will share his music in a special evening concert during the conference.
Topics covered in this year's Canadian Rockies Quilt Art Conference range from single shape exploration to machine appliqué, abstracting from nature, threadplay, layering with colour, form and texure, and landscape and mountain art quilts.
How has quilting changed in the past 100 years? This is a particularly interesting topic, given that Alberta is celebrating its centennial year in 2005. Frances Rawson, a member of the Mountain Cabin Quilters Guild, and the creator of the quilt shown on the cover of this issue of SolaraLife, describes modern day quilting:
"The Quilting Industry Today:
Over the century, quilting has undergone a revolution - it is now a billion dollar industry supported by special quilt stores, books, web sites, retreats, workshops, classes and conferences, large organized guilds; local, regional and country-wide shows and competitions of every type. Marketing is extensive and every conceivable product is available to support these hungry quilters who now quilt for enjoyment, not necessity.
What are these new supplies and products? They include computerized sewing machines, an explosion of fabrics designed specifically for quilters, rotary cutters, mats and precise cutting guides; a myriad of aids such as special irons, lamps, design walls, digital cameras, computers and copying machines, various kinds of battings, two-sided iron-on interfacings, special glues, all types of threads, fabric dyes and paints. Quilts are of all types: bed, wall hangings, wearable art, tableware etc. Piecing and quilting is seldom done by hand; instead computerized machines are commonly used. Patterns are often very detailed.
With larger beds needing king and queen-sized quilts, a growing number of sewers no longer do the final quilting. After the quilt top is complete, these quilters choose to pay to have it quilted by a professional who has a "long-arm" quilting machine, specially made for that purpose. This is a new cottage industry. In the last quilting survey done in the USA in 2003, the quilting market continues to grow with a 15% increase in the number of quilters over the previous three years. The estimated total dollar value of the industry in the USA is 2.27 billion (US). The profile of a "dedicated" quilter was female (99%), 58 years of age, well educated, spends an average $1,934 (US) per year on quilting and has quilted for an average of 12.3 yrs.
Shari Bishop Bowes, editor of SolaraLife, presented a particular kind of challenge to her home economics teacher in high school. What she didn't show in talent, she made up for in enthusiasm. As a souvenir of those days, she has carted around a lopsided, pink flannel stuffed dog for nearly 25 years. One day she hopes to cultivate the courage and patience to try her hand at quilting.
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