Quilts of Valour. Staying busy during the COVID lockdown.

Peter Bird | Feb 10, 2021

I was speaking with a couple of friends, Doug and Christine Cromey, about keeping busy during the recent lockdown. Doug and my-self are interested in our own model railway projects and Christine in quilt making

Their adventure into quilting was rekindled about 3 years ago when Christine decided to get back to making quilts. “After two quilts”, Doug told me, “we tried a software program EQ7 (now EQ8) to help with the design of the quilts and Christine worked on a third. Both of the second and third quilts were long arm quilted with excellent results.”

“While attending one of the local Quilt shows”, he continued, “we picked up some Quilts of Valour block kits, made them, and then took them up to the Quilts of Valour (QOV) representative in Westport”. At one of these meetings, Doug made a suggestion for a possible technique for using some donated fabric in a quilt. Doug was given the donated fabric to see what he could do with it. So quilt making became a shared adventure with Doug working mainly on the designs and Christine working mainly on the piecing.

Quilt making to Doug and Christine can be simple or quite evolutionary. It is a world of colours, patterns, materials, techniques, themes, images, and imagination to name a few. It is a world of people: ideas, (shared and diverse), working together, working individually. It is world where one is comfortable with some skills, challenged by others, and growing as a result. Two groups have been and continue to be very important to them are the Perth Road Village Crafters group and the Quilts of Valour group in Westport. They are a source of fellowship, community sharing, and personal development.

One of the interesting components of the QOV quilts is that one starts with donated fabric and then let the fabric “suggest” a theme and a design. Another rich source of themes and design are the many examples of the work done, and ideas shared by the many gifted quilters in the QOV group and the Perth Road Village group. Whether this sharing is in person or virtual, it is a resource that very much appreciated and respected.

Another interesting component of quilting is that sometimes the first draft of the design is close to the finished design and other times it is completely different. Piecing is where the magic happens. Being able to sew the pieces of fabric together and adjust as required (redo if necessary) to let the picture in the quilt work better is where patience, imagination, and skill shine. This is where the colours, patterns, and images in the quilt really come to life. The final quilting stitches (hand stitching, sewing machine, or long arm quilting machine) adds a rich three-dimensional texture to the finished quilt.

“Over the three years”, they continue, “we have achieved a great deal. The last year challenged us in different ways than before. The work in the Perth Road Crafters has shifted to special needs work (masks and gowns). The QOV group have adapted to drop off and pick up of material and finished work (blocks, tops, quilting, binding, remote presentations). Our fellowship contacts has shifted more to phone calls, emails and other forms of digital communication. Our work on the quilts for the Quilts of Valour has pretty much kept us busy throughout the year, except for a break to make 3 family quilts. We are continuing into 2021. Still growing. Still sharing. Still keeping our communities healthy. Still, as always, working with the best of the present to create a better future.”

With the present challenge, the presentations by the QOV group have been put on hold but the group is continuing to create quilts for use in 2021. Keep these groups Quilts of Valour (www.quiltsofvalour.ca) and the Perth Road Crafters in mind and support where you can and however you are able. If not these groups, then enjoy supporting the ones that you are supporting (and maybe add others). Keep strong, strengthen the present, support your community, and built a better future.