Quilting is not just for grandmothers any more.
For three days, starting on April 23, the Barrhead Country Quilters tried to dispel the notion that quilts were nothing more than thick blankets made to keep people warm during their biennieal quilt show.
Tamara Hubscher, Barrhead Country Quilters incoming president, said the annual quilters show is a chance for club members and other quilters to show what can be done through the art of quilting.
“Quilting can be so much more than that. As you can see from all the wonderful quilts we have as part of our show,” she said, “We have some really talented ladies here in our club.”
The show included close to 200 entries, including one from Hubscher, called Prismatic Pride. The quilt has more than 3,000 individual pieces and took her more than three and a half years to complete.
“I would do a little bit and start to go a little bit cross-eyed so I would take a break and then come back to it,” she said, adding that she got the inspiration for this particular quilt from a magazine. “It was for a twin bed, but I modified it and made it a large sized queen.”
Hubscher said she first learned how to quilt 18 years ago from her mother-in-law and has been at it ever since.
“My mother-in-law’s syle was quite utilitarian, but as you can see I have ventured away from that,” she said, adding that she credits the Barrhead Country Quilters with helping her expand her quilting knowledge and boundaries.
The Barrhead Country Quilters began with a small group of quilters of about 15 people in 1997, meeting in the basement of one of its members.
Barrhead Country Quilters Vice-President, Karen Bohn-Kipper, said the club has tripled in size since then and now boasts close to 50 members.
The club meets every first Tuesday of the month from September to May at the St. Anne’s Catholic Church Hall (5210 50 St.)
Bohn-Kipper said the group is very active. Besides putting on a quilt show, the club regularly brings in a special guest instructor to teach its members the latest techniques or art style. One of the latest was Kim Caskey from Edmonton, who taught the club a new kaleidoscope pattern and style for creating quilts. The club also puts on a three day seminar and retreat every March at Camp He Ho Ha in Parkland County.
Bohn-Kipper said the club members are always challenging each other for new ways to keep their quilting from becoming old and stale, citing the example of the crayon challenge.
In the crayon challenge, quilters were limited to using only three colours, black, white and a mystery colour.
“I went into the store and bought a 64 pack of crayons and dumped them into a bag. People then had to reach in to the bag and select one crayon. The crayon selected was the only other colour they could use. “Unless it was one of the colours they always use, then I made them select again,” Hubscher said jumping in, adding the whole purpose of the exercise was to get them out of their comfort zone.
As for how the show went, Hubscher said the final attendance numbers weren’t in yet, but she suspected there may have been an increase from previous shows.
“We have been quite busy,” she said. “I know when I came here this morning at 8:30 a.m. (doors opened at 10 a.m.) there was already a line up of people waiting to get in.”
