CARNDUFF — There is something comforting about a quilt — not just in receiving one, but also in the making of it.
Carnduff is home to the Carnduff Comfort Quilters, a group of five women — Judy Adkins, Jean Kolb, Sandra Robertson, Eileen Simpson and Bonnie Taylor — who create quilts to provide comfort for those in need.
The group began in the 1990s at the local United Church, where community members donated bags of fabric. Quilters used the material to make quilts at the church until the group relocated to Prairie View Villa, where they could work on surprise gifts such as a wedding quilt for their minister, Susan Reid. Eventually, members began working individually in their own homes.
Today, their quilts go to charities and people in need, including shelters and those supported by victims’ services. They also contribute to province-wide efforts to supply quilts to neonatal intensive care units at the Regina General Hospital and Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital in Saskatoon. Carnduff’s quilters have set a goal of sending more than 50 quilts to hospitals, each backed with cozy flannel.
Alongside their charity work, the women also make quilts as gifts for family and friends or for their own homes. Donated fabric is reserved strictly for charity quilts.
Quilting, they say, is both an art and a labour of love. Sometimes an idea sparks the search for the perfect fabric; other times, the fabric itself inspires the design. While technology such as digital longarm machines speeds up the quilting process, many steps — from cutting and assembling to layering the batting — still require hours of work.
Much of the hand-sewn binding is done by Eileen Simpson, who is in her 90s and still dedicates countless hours to finishing quilts for donation.
Quilts from the Carnduff Comfort Quilters, Melita Cotton Attics and Redvers Piecemakers Quilt Club will be on display at Carnduff’s Fall Fling on Sept. 6 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Upcoming workshops may also be offered.
The Comfort Quilters welcome new members, even those without quilting experience, and accept donations to cover the cost of batting, which is one of their largest expenses.
