LITTLE CURRENT—Members of the Little Current Quilt and Stitchery Guild sell raffle tickets on a hand-quilted (large) queen-sized quilt every two years as part of their quilt show. The funds from which go toward the costs of creating Heartfelt Quilts that bring comfort to those in distress.
“We are a small guild,” noted Club President Linda Erskine. But despite their small numbers the guild does a lot of good work. “We created two quilt tops that we donated to Victoria’s Closet out of Sudbury for cancer patients, and we also donated 12 Heartfelt Quilts to the OPP to be given out to those their officers find in distress. It is a small comfort that we are able to provide through the officers on scene. We are busy creating more.”
Each alternating Haweater Weekend, the guild puts on a quilt show. “It’s going to be a small quilt show this year, we are really just getting over the challenges of the pandemic,” said Ms. Erskine, “but the quilts are beautiful and this year, for the first time ever, there will be quilted items for sale by the members.”
Joining a long-established quilting and stitching guild might be intimidating for the uninitiated, but Ms. Erskine said that should not hold anyone back. “You don’t have to be an experienced quilter, in fact, you don’t even have to be a quilter to join; you just have to be someone who’s interested in learning some new skills or helping out making these heartfelt quilts that the OPP give out to people in accidents or other crises where they need warmth and comfort. These quilts are our way of giving hugs to those who might be in need of one.”
“The guild meets in the evening of the second Thursday of every month,” noted Ms. Erskine. “We have been meeting at mine and my husband’s house in recent months, so far. That might change after September when the new executive starts.” Those meeting times and place may change with the new executive in September, she said. “We might meet in the daytime instead, and that will be fine.”
“We always do a raffle quilt for the quilt show and the money from the raffle quilt helps us to buy the fabric that we need to make the quilts that we donate,” she said.
The creation of the raffle quilt is a true group endeavour, explained Ms. Erskine. “One member in the guild chooses the pattern and the fabrics (this year that member was Ms. Erskine) and then we all work together to create it. This year, we have a second and a third prize. The second prize is a smaller quilt that will likely be machine-quilted, and then there are two quilted pictures that will either be in a solid frame or on a dowel—we haven’t quite decided that out yet.”
“Those interested in joining the guild are invited to contact one of the members,” said Ms. Erskine. “They could call Linda Myles at (519) 577-0276, or Pam Lehman (leave a message and she will call them back after work) at (226) 972-4602 or myself, Linda Erskine at (705) 282-4283 and any one of us can give anyone information on the quilt show or the quilt guild or anything they’d like to know about us.
The quilt show runs from Saturday, August 2, 10 am until 5 pm Sunday, August 3 and will take place in the Artisan Incubator at the Municipal Office (also the municipal council chambers).
Tickets for the raffle quilt are $5 or five for $20 and can be purchased at the Manitoulin Expositor office in Little Current, at the Needle Box or Knitter’s Cove (also in downtown Little Current) or from guild members Gwen Bond, Pat Smith, Pam Lehman, Linda Myles, or Linda Erskine. Ms. Erskine can also be found at the NEMI Farmers’ Market most Saturdays.
There are also plans to sell them outside the grocery store or downtown in Little Current, so keep an eye out for their table and help support providing a little bit of comfort to those in need.
