Although now down to about six regular members, the Heart and Home Quilt Club in Kamsack is pleased that it has been able to donate a total of 51 covers that are being made into Victoria’s Quilts for cancer patients.
“The most we’ve done in a year in the past was 40,” Colleen Koroluk, said on behalf of the club on December 10 in the Westminster Church lower hall where the quilters have been meeting since September.
Koroluk said that in addition to the quilt covers, members created personal sewing projects.
“My project of a headboard caddy is part of a Material Girls challenge held in Yuma, Arizona, where I will be spending three months again this winter,” she said. “In this project we are required to use ‘bumfab’ which can mean ‘butt ugly material’ or ‘beautiful unique material.’ I designed the caddy to be sturdy and useful as well as pleasing to look at.”
Marj Orr and Lydia Thomas both created quilts for their own projects. “My quilt was created to use up two-and-a-half-inch strips of left-over fabric,” said Thomas, while Orr indicated her quilt would be donated for inclusion in a Christmas hamper.
Once the covers are made by the Club, they are taken to Bobbi Wanner of Madge Lake who adds the batting, backing and then quilts them using a long-arm machine.
After Wanner washes the quilts and sews a label onto each, she boxes them and ships them to Climax from where they are distributed to cancer survivors across Canada.
“Bobbi said that the people in Climax love seeing our beautiful, top-quality quilts. They said opening the box from Kamsack was always a surprise and they love to see what we had come up with,” she said. “They said they were impressed with the design and quality of the quilts.
“We now have over 40 patterns to work from, which gives us lots of variety,” she said, adding that the tops are made from 100 per cent cottons or flannelettes which are donated to the group, or by group members themselves.
Any extra non-cotton fabrics are donated to a group of women in Estevan who make pillowcase dresses, 50 at a time, for girls in the Third World.
In addition to sewing the tops for the quilts for Victoria’s Quilts, members inform others of shows, share techniques, patterns and website locations and tell one another of various sales of materials that they’ve hear of.
Members of the club who have been together since September include: Koroluk, Lynda Cherwenuk, Lydia Thomas, Marj Orr, Kim Lichtenwald of Regina and Bobbi Wanner.
“Our Club is now very low on the 100 per cent cotton fabric which we utilize to sew the quilt covers for donation to Victoria’s Quilts,” Koroluk said. “If anyone wishes to donate fabric or funds to purchase more fabric to the Club, please contact any one of the members.
“The Kamsack Heart and Home Quilt Club members would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.”
