West Shore quilt show supporting women’s shelter
When Margaret Shamlock compares a quilt to love, her eyes light up.
Shamlock, a member of the Westshore Quilters’ Guild and chair of Quilts Along the Shore, knows when she sits at a sewing machine, she is making a hug for a woman going through turmoil.
“With quilts it really is being wrapped in a little bit of love,” Shamlock said. “Quilts are about love.”
The Westhore Quilters’ Guild donates more than 100 quilts each year to the Cridge Transition House for Women in Victoria. Enough so every woman who passes through its doors is given one to keep.
“The quilts really provide a lot of comfort, many women have to leave all their stuff at home and this gives them something to start over with,” said Shannon Whissell, Cridge Centre’s manager of communication and fund development.
“As you can imagine when women and children come here it can be a very traumatic time,” she said adding it’s not uncommon for the woman receiving the quilt to be brought to tears by the generosity of the gift.
The quilt show this weekend is a fundraiser for the transition house quilt project.
To boost revenue, the guild is raffling off three quilts ranging in price from $990 to $1,450.
At the show, a build-a-quilt station will be set up for anyone wanting to get a taste of quilt making. Participants can help sew strips together to make a strip quilt, similar to a patchwork quilt. All quilts made at this station are donated to the transition house.
In the 2009 quilt show, four quilts were created at the build-a-quilt station over the weekend.
This weekend more than 200 quilts are on display and entered in the competition. Members of the public are given ballots upon entering and can vote on their favourite quilts.
“Some quilts are so intricate people spend years making them and others people can rattle off in a weekend,” said Yvonne Court, a guild member.
This year the arena has an eye-spy game. Children are given a list of items to search for that are hidden throughout the venue.
A guild boutique is also set up at the show for people to purchase smaller quilted items and fabric art pieces. Not all quilts on display are for sale.
The Westshore Quilters’ Guild hosts the show every two years.
Quilts Along the Shore is at Eagle Ridge community centre, 1089 Langford Pkwy., Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $5.
For more information go to www.westshorequiltersguild.com.
reporter@goldstreamgazette.com