MOOSE JAW — A record 97 members now attend regular meetings with the Prairie Hearts Quilter’s Guild and, with regular meetings back in order for the season, guild president Ann Richey has provided a brief update on what these crafty quilters are up to.
The guild has now changed venues. Instead of meeting regularly at the Shriner’s clubhouse, members will now be meeting at the social hall of St. Andrews United Church.
These meetings have also moved to the first and third Wednesday of each month.
“St. Andrews is fairly central for everybody, and the venue is bigger,” Richey explained. “It was great when we started at the Shriner’s because… we had 45 or 50 people. But over the years we’ve grown. St. Andrews… has quite a bit more room so we can spread out… (and) have a few more demonstrations… without everything being crowded.”
Despite these changes, the guild will continue to hold its classes and quilting workshops at Vanier Collegiate as per usual.
Each fall, the guild works on several new and traditional projects to give back to the community.
Hospital outreach
Richey confirmed that the guild will continue is annual pillowcase campaign for the hospital’s pediatric ward. “That’s… where we make and donate pillowcases to the kids. They can pick whichever one they like, and then they’re able to take it home with them when they leave.”
These pillowcases come in a wide assortment of colours, designs, and feature a number of cartoon and superhero characters intended for their young recipients. To date, just over 1,800 have been donated with more on the way.
“It kind of makes staying in the hospital a lot less scary for them.”
Dialysis patients can also look forward to receiving their own quilts later this year in one of the guilds main outreach projects.
Spreading Christmas cheer
“Right now, everyone’s busy getting the placemats ready for our placemat campaign,” Richey said. “We try to provide a new placemat for Christmas dinner for people who can’t get out for Christmas.”
These mats are hand-stitched and delivered to care homes, hospitals, and Meals on Wheels recipients who may spend Christmas alone.
In last year’s campaign, the guild produced and distributed 525 placemats and hopes to “either meet or break that record again this year.” A full tally won’t be available until Dec. 4 when the campaign launches.
The guild is also planning a novel Christmas craft for a little fun — and to help some of the guild sisters get better acquainted with modern technology.
“Everybody will bring their phone (and watch) a YouTube video,” Richey explained. Members will then hit play and follow an instructional video while they create a themed project together.
The guild is also busy preparing for its 16th biennial quilting show set to take place at the Moose Jaw Events Centre on April 21 and 22, 2025. The guild’s oldest member, Marj Nicolle, is still busily quilting and celebrated her 94th birthday this year.
Quilting Angels
“We have an outreach program for organizations that are in need of quilts to help raise funds,” Richey said about the Quilting Angels. “These ladies are in charge of it. They’re doing a really good job and we’re really busy.”
This charitable committee oversees the guild’s outreach projects each year and — to provide a few examples — quilts have so far been distributed to Square One, the bird sanctuary in Chaplain, Sask., and for a project or two in Assiniboia, Sask.
Anyone can apply to receive support for their charitable cause. Each decision, however, is at the discretion of the Quilting Angels and their aim is to focus on causes that receive very little support otherwise.
To learn more visit PrairieHeartsQuilters.com, follow ‘Moose Jaw Prairie Hearts Quilters Guild’ on Facebook, or email [email protected].
St. Andrew’s United Church is located at 60 Athabasca Street West.
