The quilts made by the York Colony Quilter's Guild will keep you warm on a cold day, but they're more than just a blanket. The community pARTners gallery in the Yorkton Public Library's current show highlights the art of quilting and the work that goes into every piece the guild does.
Paula Maier with the guild says that she has always felt that the work done by the local quilters was of an extremely high quality, but that the members were too modest to really show off their work. As a result, she approached Sandra MacColl about doing a show to highlight the work the quilters were doing.
"There really is a skill involved in picking the right pattern and picking the colours to go with it. The work is very precise."
The show also features the different styles of quilt that members do, from group quilts to individual work, as well as both free form and more traditional quilts. Maier says seeing it all displayed together in the gallery is a wonderful feeling, and a great way to see what the guild does.
One of the challenges for putting the show on was just finding quilts, Maier reveals, because they are meant to be used. She says within the guild itself, work is often given to charities such as the Health Foundation, Victim Services, Ronald McDonald House and the Red Cross, as well as placemats for Meals on Wheels clients and cosmetics bags for Shelwyn house. Even personal work was hard to come by, as most of it is given to friends as family as gifts if not used in the home itself. The quilts are meant to be used, she says.
Maier hopes that the show inspires people to join up and become part of the guild itself. The club, which meets every Wednesday a the Western Development Museum.
