Skip to content

Chilliwack quilters join national charitable quilt drive

Chilliwack’s quilting guilds working to help create 1,000 quilts for Ronald MacDonald Houses.
web1_CanadianQuilts2.0426
JENNA HAUCK/ THE PROGRESS Members of the Chilliwack PieceMakers Quilt Guild open up some of the quilts they’ve made as part of a national charity effort to donate 1,000 quilts to Ronald MacDonald Houses across Canada.

Nothing says comfort like a handmade quilt.

So, when Chilliwack’s 200 or so organized quilters heard there was a drive to fill Ronald MacDonald Houses with handmade quilts, they were quick to jump on board. They gathered supplies, made a plan, and dove right into making quilt blocks and even entire blankets.

Soon, it will be time to send all the blocks and quilts away to the Canadian Quilters Association. That organization’s goal nationwide is to create 1,000 quilts, as a way to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday. In mid June, quilters from all over the country will descend upon Toronto for a three day Big Quilt Bee. Blocks from all over the country will be used to create the remaining needed quilts, which will head off to the Ronald MacDonald Houses.

Chilliwack’s quilters, both from the Chilliwack PieceMakers Quilt Guild and the Chilliwack Quilters Guild, have already created 282 blocks and nine quilts. On Wednesday this week they were gathered for their usual meetup at Sardis Library, where even more were being created.

“It feels good to give,” says Kate Davies. The quilter notes she hasn’t been as prolific as some of the quilters in the groups, but she’s driven to do as much as possible. She’s the organizer/collector for the local arm of the quilting project and for the entire lower mainland. She’s eager to see the quilts sent off, and regionwide she’s collected 50 already.

She predicts that by June, Lower Mainland quilters alone will donate over 100 quilts, bringing smiles and comfort to sick children and their families at the Ronald MacDonald house in Vancouver.

The houses are designed for families of children who are staying in hospital. Vancouver’s house is a grand, 73-bedroom house on the grounds of BC Children’s Hospital that serves 2,000 families each year. The quilts will help comfort the mothers, fathers and siblings of sick children, while they stay nearby the hospital.

There are some 200 quilters between the two guilds, with some members a part of both. And this wouldn’t be the first time local quilters have come together for the greater good. They are the driving force behind quilt donations throughout the community, giving to Ann Davis, the hospice, the hospital’s maternity ward, Better Beginnings, and even to the RCMP for police cruisers.

They make placemats for Meals on Wheels clients, pillow cases for hospitals, and youth bags that are filled with necessities for disadvantaged youth.

So, getting on board with Canada’s Big Quilt Bee was an easy choice.

There were only a few guidelines to follow for submissions. In keeping with the theme of Canada 150, each block has to have a piece of Canadiana fabric. The guilds purchased the Canadian themed fabric while members of the guild used their own supplies to finish off different blocks. When all put together, the combinations are equally patriotic, whimsical, and comforting.

Each quilt top comprises either 12 blocks (for crib size) or 24 blocks (twin size).

The Big Quilt Bee will be held June 14-17, 2017 at the CQA’s annual conference, Quilt Canada 2017 to be held in Toronto, ON. An army of volunteers will be at the Big Quilt Bee to complete making the thousands of donated blocks and tops in finished quilts ready for gifting to patients and their families at Ronald MacDonald houses.

See more info about this on the Quilt Canada web site.

web1_CanadianQuilts1.0426
JENNA HAUCK/ THE PROGRESS Members of the Chilliwack PieceMakers Quilt Guild open up some of the quilts they’ve made as part of a national charity effort to donate 1,000 quilts to Ronald MacDonald Houses across Canada.
web1_CanadianQuiltsDetail1.0426
web1_CanadianQuiltsDetail2.0426


Jessica Peters

About the Author: Jessica Peters

I began my career in 1999, covering communities across the Fraser Valley ever since.
Read more