6th Annual Birds of Fiber exhibit

A quick stroll – if climbing three flights of stairs is a stroll – to take in the newly opened "Birds of a Fiber" and then a treat by spending time viewing the other two exhibits at the Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum proved to be just magnificent Sunday.

"Birds" opened to match this week's La Conner Birding Festival Feb. 3-4 in Maple Hall. The exhibit offers 64 pieces of exquisite fiber art celebrating the love we have for birds and art.

Six years ago twenty-five local artists showcased their art at the first exhibit. By 2024 it had grown into an international show with over 165 entries from artists from as far away as Japan and Australia – this one is in the show.

Each piece of art was a marvel and together they incorporate quilting, knitting, weaving and knotting. The tiniest threading produced bird wings or natural habitats of birds from as far away as Antarctica. It is a showcase not to be missed. Plan on more than a 30-minute tour.

While the Pacific Northwest sends many a resident south for the winter, more of us love winter for the abundant waterfowl and bird life the Skagit Valley offers – a smorgasbord of snow geese, trumpeter swans and bald eagles. Year-round our exquisite valley, an alluvial plain carved out by glaciers eons ago now provides wetlands, forest, salt-water bays and estuaries for our feathered friends.

This exhibit truly honors birds from the Skagit Valley and beyond as well as the gifted artists.

"Birds of a Fiber" is open through March 24, with a reception Feb. 3, 2:30-4 p.m.

"Art Evolved: Intertwined (SAQA Global Exhibition)" is on the museum's second floor through March 3. It is presented by Studio Art Quilt Associates and the National Basketry Organization.

Closing Sunday is "The Jim Erickson Collection," a treasure trove of quilts dating back to the 1790s, recently donated to the museum by American-Canadian James Erickson, the award-winning movie set decorator.

Most definitely combine your museum visit with the La Conner Birding Festival this weekend. You will be glad you did.