When Mark and I were looking into going to Mexico City to visit our son, imagine how happy we were to see there was a quilt show that we could attend. This was the Expo Patchwork 2020. While attending the 12^th Expo Patchwork and Quilt show in Mexico City, we were introduced to the show organizers, Eduardo Cato and his family. They made us feel welcomed and introduced us to some of the local quilters.

They also were the authors of a fun book, Pueblos Magicos, featuring biographies and meal recipes from some of the Mexican quilters. The book is available from Amazon, (click the photo for the link). Just a note of warning.The book is in Spanish and the recipes are in metric.

Even though we did not speak the language the only language you need when with other quilters is the language of quilts. It was just the same as any show in the US which was very comforting to me since this was only our second day in Mexico City and I was a bit overwhelmed with the City and the language.

I had the pleasure of seeing some amazing work from a couple of the teachers. Montse Forcadell Blasco was teaching at the Expo and had her work hanging. I am sure many of you have seen her quilt Azure de Colores. It was so fun to see this piece in person! I still can not believe the depth of this one.

When I walked into the area where the quilts were hanging I was instantly struck by the BEAUTIFUL Upcycled creations by Marty Ornish from California. While wondering a woman came around the corner, she had Frieda Kahlo leggings and pink hair and was so darn cute! I instantly knew that she had to be the creator of these beautiful works of art. She was indeed Marty and we had the nicest visit and she told me all about her pieces. She takes damaged quilts and once-worn clothing and creates her upcycled couture pieces. She takes quilts which are damaged, abandoned and have no provenance for her pieces. She also does not waste ANYTHING. Her goal is to repurpose every piece and scrap, even batting pieces. She honors the piece that was originally created and gives it a new life. Below are a few photos of her work. You can find more of her pieces on her website.

Here are a few more photos of what we saw while at the show. Enjoy!