Mysteries revealed at quilters’ dessert tea
Quilts are more than something to keep out the cold. They create community, pay homage to our heritage and even tell stories.
Back in the day, quilts were made, typically by women, as a way of using up scraps of fabric for much needed bedding to keep people warm in those old drafty houses heated by wood. Today, quilting has become a hobby and an art form and many of the materials incorporated into modern day creations is new but people do still incorporate old and sometimes meaningful scraps from their “stash”, a quilter’s hoard of fabric.
Maureen McLeod (right) is currently making a flannel quilt for her new great nephew, born this week, and she is incorporating leftover fabric she used to make pyjamas for her other relatives over the past few decades.
McLeod is the guest speaker at the upcoming Mad and Noisy Quilters 15th Annual Dessert Tea on Wednesday, May 11. She has made more than 50 quilts since she marched down to the sewing shop and bought a sewing machine on layaway for $10 per month the day she got her first paycheque after graduating from nursing school.
Marilyn Steed, who runs the quilting group, was in the same graduating class at nursing school and she made a panel quilt commemorating the RVH class of 1962, which will be among those on display at the Dessert Tea. The event is a show-and-tell for people to see the work that has been done by the group over the past year.
The group was founded by Linda Cockton almost 20 years ago. Cockton ran the group for 15 years and Steed has been the organizer for the past four. This past year, Cockton has been very ill and has been in hospital in Toronto so the group made quilts for each of her two daughters, in Cockton’s favourite colour – lavender. It is common for quilters to make gifts of quilts for family members and for charity, especially for people who are ill.
About 40 members meet monthly, this year, concentrating their efforts on a mystery quilt. Each member was given the pattern but each individual’s colour choice made for a very different result.
The mystery quilts will be among the creations on display at the quilters’ event held at the Creemore Legion May 11 beginning at 7 p.m. Admission costs $5.
