The Prairie Hearts Quilter’s Guild has been a staple in the community for many years, and few other organizations can claim to have such a strong sense of camaraderie among seniors with the knack for quilting.
The guild meets on the first and third Thursday of each month in the art room at Vanier Collegiate. During these meetings, whoever is available from the guild’s 94 current members will attend to work on their ongoing projects, learn a few new techniques, and everybody gets the chance to socialize.
“Of course, we eat, and we talk. We chat and get to know each other. It’s kind of like party time,” explained the guild’s president, Ann Richey, with a laugh.
The Prairie Hearts Quilter’s Guild is comprised of like-minded individuals and is organized in a manner that differs from most traditional organizations. Organized specifically as a guild, a lot of the focus is on cultivating and sharing knowledge with an emphasis toward community involvement.
“The whole thing with a guild… is to share and teach your craft to new generations for the good of the community,” explained Richey. “We’re very community-minded that way.
“And you always learn something, because someone will always teach you a trick or something new,” she added.
The guild’s community involvement ranges from donating quilts to the dialysis unit to making pillowcases for children admitted to the hospital, and one of its most popular contributions is the placemat program. Each year, around 350 placemats are donated to senior care homes in time for Christmas, and this year saw a record number of donations with 525 total placemats handed out.
“One of (the projects) that we do… is we make placemats. They go to people who are stuck in the hospital for Christmas Day, (and) they go to Meals on Wheels for Christmas… and they go to local old-age homes,” Richey explained.
The guild also supports Meals on Wheels, a program that provides hot, nutritionally balanced meals directly to the home of its customers. The program allows older adults to remain independently living in their own home and the quilter’s guild works closely with the program.
“There are more folks getting Meals on Wheels this year than last year,” said Linda Owens, the guild’s committee co-ordinator. She views this as a positive development, as the numbers indicate that more people are continuing to live at home with the help of the program.
In 2022, 70 placemats were delivered to Meals on Wheels customers, and this number rose to 83 placemats in 2023. These were distributed to residents in Moose Jaw, Rockglen, Gravelbourg, and Assiniboia.
Becoming a member of the guild is easy, and everyone interested in the craft is welcome to join. Richey said members currently range from 15 to 93 years of age, “And every age in between.”
Marj Nicolle is one of those members, and she’s the oldest member of the guild. She co-founded the quilting guild back in 1990 and has maintained an active role ever since. One of her noteworthy contributions has been the simple gesture of providing coffee and home-baked goodies for guild members for 33 consecutive years.
“She basically started (the guild), kept it going, kept everybody enthused, and kept everybody fed,” explained Richey with a mind toward honouring Nicolle’s contributions.
As one example of the guild’s strong sense of camaraderie, a past member now living in Foam Lake, Sask. still receives placemats from her guild sisters. “She’s one of our people, so we sent some up to her place as well,” Richey said.
“It’s an incredible group of women,” said Richey. “They’re really amazing. They are great mentors, great examples, they’re very giving, and they’re all fun – there’s no grouchy ones (either)!”
For more information on the Prairie Hearts Quilter’s Guild, visit PrairieHeartsQuilters.com or the guild’s Facebook page at ‘Moose Jaw Prairie Hearts Quilters Guild.’
The guild can be contacted by sending an email to [email protected].
