The Vermilion Quilters Guild 21st annual quilt show held on May 5 - 6 at the Vermilion Regional Centre was a vibrant display of colours which was reminiscent of looking through a kaleidoscope. The show displayed well over 200 quilts crafted by members of the Vermilion Quilters Guild and the Guilds of surrounding areas, as well as last year’s winning quilts. Also on display was a Humboldt Strong quilt which was made by 10-year quilter Rosanne Dutchak. “The Humboldt Quilt Guild organized making quilts for all the people involved, the families, the emergency responders; the design and colours were specific to the organization’s request. They were hoping for 200, but the response has been greater than that,” said Alice Swan, Chair of the Quilt Show. Featured quilter Pat Carey who has been quilting for 43 years had 37 quilts on show. “Each quilt that I do takes hours to complete. You just work away at them, and you lose track of time,” said Carey. Quilters throughout the year also had the opportunity to compete in a Guild challenge. “We were given an envelope with five or six squares of fabric where some were lovely and fit together, and two of them were far out crazy. We had to incorporate them into a piece we made whether it was a quilt or table runner, etc.,” explained Carey. While visiting, viewers could vote on their favourite quilt in both the large and small quilt categories with the viewer’s choice announced at the end of the show on Sunday. Visitors could enjoy soup, sandwiches, cookies, and beverages prepared by the guild members, and were serenaded throughout the day with music by local talent as well as a lunchtime performance by the RGB Trio. ‘Comfort Quilts’ are donated each year by the Vermilion Quilters Guild to an organization(s) of their choice. This year the Vermilion Quilters decided to donate quilts to the Quilts of Valour for Veterans and the Cross Cancer Institute. “This has been a spectacular year for donation quilts,” said Swan. “It’s the first time donating to Quilts for Veterans. One of our members felt very committed to the organization and wanted to join the mission,” said a member of the Vermilion Quilters Guild, Marlene Lawrence.
- Vermilion Voice