Quilts of Lennoxville, Canada
by Jim Cummings
Late last summer we took a trip up to Lennoxville in the Province of Quebec to see a quilt show. Lennoxville is one town south of Sherbrooke, not too far over the Vermont border. The border crossing was quick and easy and we were able to change money at the Canadian information center just over the border. The landscape scenery of fields and mountains and farms was charming. We had expected to see marvelous architecture on the way through Sherbrooke but apparently took the wrong road. The road we took was a commercial strip: fast food restaurants (even McDonald's), car lots, discount furniture stores, and lots of slow moving traffic. Finally we cruised into Lennoxville, went past a few antique stores and found the show in a beautiful church.
Church in Lennoxville, Quebec
The show had quite a few original works, some pictured here. The cost of admission was three (Canadian) dollars. We saw that tables were set in the middle of the hall and that a lunch was available. We went up to the table and inquired about the cost of lunch. We were told it was included in the admission and that if we would be seated they would serve us. They brought us tea served in real china and a basket of warm muffins. Cloth table coverings were used and there were vases of real flowers in the center of each table. This was put on by the ladies of the church. We were amazed at the graciousness of the whole affair in contrast to American shows where you get styrofoam cups of stale coffee at a dollar per cup.
Tea party at the quilt show
We checked out the vendors in the basement. There were about three vendors with limited supplies. Pat bought a few pieces of fabric at reasonable prices. When she was talking with the president of the guild, she found out that the availability of fabric and other quilting supplies is quite limited in that area and the ladies get together for bus trips to Burlington, Vermont and to Keepsake Quilting in New Hampshire to buy supplies! Internet access is also not widely available, so buying fabric through that means is not an option. I think we had imagined being able to buy Liberty of London fabrics or perhaps some imported French fabric. Alors!
One more surprise for us was that this was an English speaking area of Quebec and the guild was comprised of mostly English speaking ladies (who were also quite bilingual). I had been brushing up on my French but didn't use it except for reading the road signs. There is a second guild in the area that has primarily French-speaking members.
On the way back, we took the scenic route through farm and forest, a slow and beautiful drive through Vermont and into New Hampshire, we did it all in one day. We stopped at a few antique shops along the way and didn't buy anything. Pat went into Fabrictown in Lyndonville, VT while I browsed in a used bookstore. We made another stop in Littleton, NH for an Italian dinner at the Oasis, and browsed for a bit at the gourmet cooking store in the same complex.
One last pleasant surprise was seeing a bear by the side of the road in Franconia State Park on the way through the White Mts. With no place to stop or pull over, I didn't get a picture of the bear. I calculated that in Canada we spent the equivalent of twelve dollars (American money) for both the quilt show and brunch plus some pieces of fabric. We will probably go again next year and with a better planned trip will see some interesting architecture and some more of the countryside.
Comments? Questions? Write to: jim@quiltersmuse.com
Permission was granted to reprint this article in a January 2004 edition of the Sherbrooke Record, a newspaper located in Sherbrooke, Canada.