About 150 quilters arrive at Kincardine Pavilion for Gathering of the Guilds

By: Liz Dadson May 17, 2015 2106

About 150 quilters arrive at Kincardine Pavilion for Gathering of the Guilds

The Kincardine Sunset Quilters' Guild hosted about 150 quilters at the second annual Gathering of the Guilds, held Tuesday afternoon at the Kincardine Pavilion.

Organizers hope this event will become an annual gathering. The first one was organized by the Georgian Quilters' Guild in Meaford.

Invitations went out to quilt guilds in Bruce, Grey and Huron counties to entice members to bring a sample of their work to "show and share a story," and to socialize and get to know fellow quilters/fabric artists living in the area.

Quilters came from Owen Sound, Goderich, Teeswater, Lucknow, Walkerton, Markdale, Bayfield, and Meaford, as well as Kincardine. There were also seven local vendors on-site, providing supplies for the avid quilters.

The event began with registration, socializing, and shopping at the vendors' booths, followed by a history of the Kincardine Sunset Quilters' Guild by Mary Coates.

Several quilters' tips were offered by Elaine Gostick of Shoreline Quilts in Port Elgin, and Coates gave a history of the Gathering of the Guilds.

A show and tell was held, followed by draws and raffles, another show and tell, the vendor door prize draw, and the closing of the event.

Two incredibly-beautiful and artistic quilts, by members of the Kincardine Sunset Quilters' Guild, were showcased at the gathering.

The first was "My Rose of Sharon Quilt," by Agnes White. The quilt was inspired by the book, "Rose Sampler Supreme," by Rosemary Makhan.

White says she always admired Rose of Sharon quilts, so she thought she would just try one block to see how it would look. She liked the results, so over the next year, she made 20 blocks.
Then she added the borders and finally, she decided that, since she had put so much work in it already, it would look much better hand-quilted. So, she spent all fall and winter hand-quilting it. The quilt was sewn, hand-appliqued and hand-quilted in 2013-15.

The second quilt was "Cathedral Windows," by Pat Blewett. This project stated out as a placemat that kind of grew into a full-sized queen quilt.

Blewett and her husband were on a five-month trip across the United States. They were finishing up a "bucket list" item - to see all the States - which they did. They also flew to Hawaii. The quilt project kept her hands busy until it was her time to drive. There are 2,520 one-and-a-half-inch squares in this quilt. She started it in 1998 and finished it in 2000.

Also on display, were Linus Quilts. For the past few years, the Sunset Quilters' Guild has made and donated more than 400 of these quilts to hospitals in Kitchener and London to be distributed to children with severe medical needs.