For a group of Regina women in their golden years, it’s not just the camaraderie that brings them together. It’s a shared passion for quilting.
Connecting Threads has been around for nearly 27 years and many are members of the Prairie Piecemakers Quilters Guild.
Every year, the women donate their final products to local organizations supporting women and children.
Every Thursday morning from September until the end of June, the energetic bunch gathers at the Neil Balkwill Civic Arts Centre, sewing and showing off their final masterpieces.
“Our goal is to make as many as we have fabric and as many as we can possibly do,” said retiree Marlene Smith-Collins. “We could make 1,000 quilts a year and we would still have places to donate them to.”
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Last year, the ladies donated 620 quilts to places like the neonatal intensive care unit at the Regina General Hospital, as well as the Wascana Rehab Centre for kids with terminal and chronic illnesses and those in traumatic situations.
“When we take the quilts, they just marvel at how many we give, how beautiful they are and we get thank you notes from the organizations, sometimes from the individual that receives them,” Smith-Collins said.
The quilts are also donated to 4 Directions and to women with advanced cancer, along with women’s shelters like Sofia House.
“When the women arrive, often it’s just with the clothes on their back,” said retiree Bonnie Racz. “When the women leave, they get to take the quilts with them and it shows that someone cares enough about you to make and donate a quilt.”
Like the quilts themselves, all material is donated or purchased through fundraising, which takes place every two years through a quilt show hosted by the guild.
With every quilt hand-made with love, it goes to show that a little bit of kindness goes a long way.
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