The Mount Forest-based Four Corners Quilters Guild is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a quilt show on the Mother’s Day weekend.
“We encourage everyone to fondly remember grandmother’s quilts and then come out and see the evolution of quilting through the work of our guild members – your own family, friends and neighbours,” said Guild charter member Linda Hruska.
“We also kept the admission price at a very low $5 rate. Many shows are now $8, but we really want to encourage everyone to come.”
Guest passes are available for purchase at the Cancer Patient Services Thrift Store in Mount Forest and would make “a perfect Mother’s Day gift,” she said.
Proceeds of the show, being held May 11 and 12 at the Mount Forest and District Sports Complex, will be shared with Cancer Patient Services and the Louise Marshall Hospital Foundation.
“Quilters have always generously embraced opportunities to support the community and remain open to doing more,” Hruska said.
“Every visitor will be helping the community with us, in addition to having the opportunity to enjoy the show.”
Over 200 quilts made by guild members will be showcased, as well as baby quilts, Christmas and Canada 150 items. There will be displays paying tribute to past members, and several quilts the guild has made over the years for the local community or for charitable purposes will be displayed.
Three quilts made for past International Plowing Matches will be part of the show, as well as Canada’s Quilt of Remembrance, which was donated to the Mount Forest Legion. A very intricate community quilt donated to the Dundalk library, one of three quilts made for local libraries, will also be at the show.
One of the earliest guild projects was creating the signature quilt, with the names of all the charter members, which resides with the Mount Forest Historical Society. It will be at the show.
Also on display will be many quilts representing the Underground Railway, which was the guild theme in 2014.
“Our local guild has an excellent reputation in the quilting community for high quality shows (this will be their fourth), and in particular the large number of hand quilted items,” Hruska said.
“For example, one special feature will be the ‘Provincial Wildflower Quilt,’ a hand-appliqued and hand-quilted showpiece made by (guild member and 2018 co-president) Linda Harris for Canada’s 150th anniversary. The quilt is the Harriston Fair grand champion and reserve grand champion at the Ontario Association of Agricultural Societies 2018 convention.”
A brief story about each quilt on display, written by the quilt maker, will explain the origins of the project, design inspirations, challenges along the way and/or lessons learned.
There will also be demonstrations by guild members, a dozen quilt-related vendors in the Merchant Mall and an upstairs tea room, operated by the Woodland Springs Women’s Institute, overlooking the quilt show.
“The Four Corners Quilters’ Guild was established in 1998 with the humblest of beginnings – a postcard in the window of Grace Copeland’s fabric store in Mount Forest inviting anyone with an interest in quilting to come out to a meeting,” Hruska said. Twenty-five attended and Copeland was the first president.
“The name, Four Corners, was also officially adopted as it represents the four local townships from which the member base is drawn. Four Corners is also a traditional quilt block name,” Hruska said.
The guild has, over the years, made raffle quilts for Birmingham Retirement Community, Egremont MapleFest, Cancer Patient Services, the Mount Forest Fireworks Festival, Habitat for Humanity, Kids ‘N Us Day Care, the Mount Forest and District Sports Complex when it was being built and for research into both Tourette’s Syndrome and neuroblastoma research.
Quilts have been donated to the Claire Stewart Medical Centre, Louise Marshall Hospital cancer treatment and birthing rooms and Victoria Cross Public School library. Comfort quilts have been made and donated to local families experiencing extreme loss, welcoming quilts for refugee families, baby quilts for the Ramoth House pregnancy center and emergency service providers. Lap quilts and pillowcases have been gift to local nersing homes and last year, as part of Canada’s Largest Quilting Bee, members donated a dozen quilt tops to the Ronald McDonald House nationwide challenge. The guild has also contributed to Stratford’s annual Quilt for a Cure auction and the Mennonite Relief Sale Quilt Auction.
The quilt show will be open May 11 and 12 from 10am to 5pm each day.
“Bring a mom, grandma, aunt, sisters and nieces,” Hruska said, “and the men in your lives too.”
The Four Corners Quilters Guild meets the second Tuesday evening of each month from September though June at the Mount Forest United Church where members listen to speakers, take part in mini-workshops and demonstrations and share recently completed projects.
Visitors are always welcome.
