By Elizabeth Eastmond
Quilter, designer & blogger
OPQuilt.com
Back in 2017, while on a trip to Europe from my home in the US, I was standing in the only department store in downtown Geneva, Switzerland, buying ribbons. I struck up a conversation with the woman next to me, Roxanne, an English-speaker who lived there.
She mentioned she was headed to a quilt show that weekend. Quilt Show? Really?
Within a short amount of time, my ever-willing husband and I had arranged for a rental car, figured out how to drive to the Val d’Argent region, and in a further quirk, were giving my new friend’s husband a drive back to Geneva after it was over. Life can move quickly when a quilt show is in play.
We stayed in Mulhouse, France the first night on our way towards the quilt show, and the next morning we drove the remaining hour to Saint Marie-aux-Mines, where the show “starts.” (I’ll give more details about travel at the end.)
Carrefour, in French, translates to crossroads in English, a crossing of roads. The original full title, Carrefour Européen du Patchwork, suggested a crossing not only of European roads, but also of ideas, and of quilts. Now that the name has been simplified to Carrefour, it accurately describes what the show is like.
The Carrefour Show is spread over several villages in the Val d’Argent region, a place where silver mining was once prevalent. This valley contains four small towns: Saint Marie-aux-Mines, Lièpvre, Rombach-le-Franc, and Sainte-Croix-aux-Mines, and happily, as a quilter, you’ll visit several of these picturesque places.
When we arrived at Saint Marie-aux-Mines, we parked, found the main building and purchased the tote bag and the program. Both make great souvenirs, and are a wealth of information about the sites, the buildings in each town that have the exhibits, as well as shuttle information and maps. I referred to them often once I arrived home back in the States, as I wrote about these on my blog, OPQuilt.com.
What impressed me that first time? The location, for sure. Most of the quilt shows I’d been to in America were held in large convention centers and the crowds were one of the features: mobs of people everywhere in one large room. But here I was in smaller venues, churches, community centers and so on, with the attendees distributed among all the small villages and sites. It was a very pleasant way to take in a quilt show.
Another thing that caught my attention was the acknowledgment of the Amish migration from this area of France to America. One site, a beautiful church, had not only displays of quilts, but also furniture, dolls, clothing. Most quilters are aware of the connection between the Amish heritage and our Modern Quilts; it was nice to see this amplified here.
Most quilters love to shop, too, at quilt shows and this show has a wide variety of vendors, from fabrics to jewelry to books and magazines. [I will have another post about what it is like to shop at this show.]
I think it’s evident that the high quality of the show is what draws me back, but as a traveler from a far distance, I come when our travel schedule aligns with a trip to France.
Whatever your interest, the title of the show is really what it is all about: a meeting at the European crossroads. Many of the European guilds have contributed so I was able to see modern quilts from Germany, more traditional quilts from France, colors and quilts and inspiration from all four corners of Europe. I have since seen this broadened to South America, Africa, the United States and Canada. This show has truly become an international standout. This coming year, 2025, is their 30th year of exhibition and I hope to see some of you there!
Eating at the Quilt Show
The organizers have several venues for you to grab your lunch or a refreshment. While the days of the women clad in traditional costume seem to be gone, I was more than happy with our delicious meal at a picnic table just outside the main venue, and even purchased a souvenir cup, which now holds some notions near my sewing machine.
Parking
Follow the signs into town. There are many large lots for parking. I also noticed many large charter buses, which I assume were from local guilds. If you are in the area, be sure to find out where you can catch a ride with these or use the Show Shuttle buses that drive through all 4 towns at the dedicated bus stops every 20 minutes -they are free.
Elizabeth Eastmond, once a professor at a small local college, is now a full-time quilter and sewist. She and her husband like to travel, and have visited Europe many times. She graduated with college degrees in Clothing and Construction, and an Undergraduate (BS) and a Graduate degree (MFA) in Creative Writing.
Since she has been quilting for several decades — making over 300 quilts — she has mastered many skills: appliqué, embroidery, wool work, piecing, free-motion quilting, mid-size machine quilting, hand-stitching, English Paper-Piecing, modern quilting, and foundation and freezer paper-piecing. In other words, she has a multi-skill approach to quilts. She designs and sells her own patterns online.
She has four children, twelve grandchildren, and an amazing husband who will hold her quilts for photos. She loves to design patterns, making some available for free on her blog, as well as selling them online. Elizabeth loves going to quilt shows, and likes to laugh. Her popular blog OPQuilt.com, has been online for 18 years and she writes every post herself on what is current, what is new and old, as well as presenting some perspectives on life and creativity.
But most of all, she hopes to write something you’d like to read.
