When I did a trunk show for the Oxford County Quilters Guild, I was delighted to see Jean Hillis, a master colourist that I’ve admired for many years.
I was excited to learn Judy Millard organized a quilt retrospective at Woodingford Lodge, where Jean lives, on May 1. This third exhibit showcases the work of her quilting friends.
This spring, I made the journey back to the Woodstock, Ontario area as I knew I’d be in for a wonderful treat! I offered to interview Jean, to gather her insights on her use of colour in her creations.
In preparation for the show, I brought myself up to date on Jean’s quilting life. The internet is a wonderful thing. I also looked back in my Canadian Quilter editions.
Her piece Baccalaureate won Viewer’s Choice at the first CQA/ACC gathering at York University in Toronto in 1981. In 2023, she took home a Guild Rosette. She also took on the QCA/ACC president role from 1986-1987, and she has also been a featured quilter in Canadian Quilter.
Her quilts mostly incorporate Bali fabrics. She loves them for their soft colour properties and tight weave. Her son married a woman from Bali, so she has collected quite a stash over the years! She has been using them up now as her career slowly winds down.
Jean also has a collection of story quilts. She delights in finding just the right fabrics to depict small details, such as chicken feed or newspaper fabric.
Her advice for new quilters
Enjoy the process; put something of yourself into every quilt; and start with simple patterns. Make them your own by your use of colour or by changing the patterns slightly.
For flowers for example, she changes the complicated shapes to simple, pleasing ones.
She also reinterpreted the Storm at Sea block back when the pattern just became popular. As a result, she created a beautiful landscape and incorporated the 3D wave technique used by Caryl Bryer Fallert.
When it comes to on using colour effectively, Jean says, “Be adventuresome.” Learn from good teachers, she added.
She learned from the best – Michael James and Jinny Beyer – while playing with the colour wheel. There are many good books out there that focus on experimenting with colour.
Jean completed this special Double Wedding Ring quilt to honour her 60th anniversary with her husband Don. You can see the Hs in the pattern.
What a wonderful way to honour some of our elderly quilters with a show right in their retirement homes! This collection of Jean’s special quilts was a delight. It had all of her favourites, including that first CQA/ACC award winner.
The room had a steady stream of quilting friends, residents and family members. Judy said that some of the residents were so excited that they would bring their quilts to the room to show people a quilt special to them. Guests brought donations for the home in the form of toiletries.
The Oxford Quilter’s Guild did a fantastic job on Facebook in its documentation of the special day for this special quilter and her family. I hope many of you across the country feel compelled to think of doing a show such as this, to recognize a special quilter in your own community!
