Stitching to help others
For two and a half decades, members of the Chatham-Kent Quilters’ Guild have been stitching warmth into people’s lives, and learning along the way.
The guild is celebrating its 25th anniversary on the weekend, with high-profile Jenny Doan of the Missouri Star Quilt Company speaking at a dinner Friday night, and hosting a workshop the next day.
Karen Pynenbrouck, chair of the 25th anniversary committee, said a key mission of the guild is to make and donate quilts to various organizations, including ChildCan in London, where a quilt is provided to every child diagnosed with cancer, she said.
“Each year, our guild donates over 100 quilts to them. We donate even more quilts to local residents who are faced with a life-threatening condition, or trauma, such as a house fire,” she said. “Or we donate to new immigrant residents to make them feel welcome, and to various hospitals and nursing homes.”
Pynenbrouck said all of this is done by donation and the work is all completed by volunteers.
“It’s quite the feat.”
The Chatham-Kent Quilters’ Guild began in 1998 thanks to Joyce Martin-Bruce and Donna Landry. They had wanted to gather together some women and start a quilting bee.
“They started at the W.I.S.H. Centre and put the word out, hoping to get a dozen people,” Pynenbrouck said. “They outgrew their space the first night. That’s how popular it was right from the start.”
The pandemic damaged the guild in terms of membership, but they are back, 114 members strong.
Pynenbrouck said Doan is a YouTube “sensation” when it comes to quilting.
“A lot of the women I talked to who are coming to this…Jenny has taught them how to quilt,” she said. “She taught a lot of us – tips and tricks and things like that.”
Doan’s workshop takes place at St. Paul’s Congregational Church on Park Avenue West. Running from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the event will host 60 quilters.
The workshop and the dinner, which is for 300 people, are sold out.
The quilters’ guild hosts a workshop every month, or a teaching session of some form, Pynenbrouck said. It also features guest speakers.
There are open sew days as well.
The guild is always looking for new members. Anyone interested can check out the guild’s Facebook page or ckquiltguild.com.
Membership is $50 a year.
“There’s always something to learn and you get the camaraderie of other quilters,” Pynenbrouck said. “Everyone’s willing to share their knowledge of quilting.”
