- by Susan (Süz) Warkentin
Imagine the Bluewater Quilters’ Guild (BQG) webmaster’s surprise when she opened a recent email from Caithness, Scotland! It read that Cathy Gunn’s son-in-law, Gary Beardsley, was in possession of a Red Cross, WWII era family heirloom bed quilt that had been made in Owen Sound and photos were attached. That intriguing email was immediately forwarded to the BQG President, then to the Newsletter and PR Committees.
I took up quilting in 2015, was blown away by the stunning quilts at the Fall Fair, spoke with a couple of guild members there and joined BQG a few months later. Volunteering for the Executive has been an easy way to get to know more members and currently I do PR work. That made me the lucky choice to reply and seek more information.
It turns out that Cathy Gunn is also an avid quilter and a founding member of the Caithness Quilters. We share a hobby and both live in seasonal tourist areas. Caithness is at the northern tip of Scotland near the Orkney Islands, and I am hunkering in rural splendour on the Bruce Peninsula. Her overture and our subsequent correspondence has lead to a budding friendship across the pond.
She told me she had known about the Red Cross quilt for many years but it took the BQG’s Facebook Group turning up in her feed one day to spark a web search and make the contact. She was, “so happy your Guild was as excited as I was when I first saw this lovely old quilt.” The Beardsley family received the comfort quilt when their home in Blackfen, London, was bombed during WWII, and the label clearly records its origin in Owen Sound. Gary’s father, now in his early 90’s, and his aunt were children at the time and the quilt has been a well used and loved part of their family history.
I was immediately curious to find out more about Red Cross quilts and everyone I spoke with was enthusiastic about sharing their knowledge. Gunn has been eager to hear what I dug up.
According to Joanna Dermenjian, a Master’s student in Cultural Studies at Queen’s University whose research is on Red Cross quilts, more than 250,000 quilts from Ontario alone were sent overseas to give comfort to soldiers and civilians impacted during WWII. Archived newspapers have been the source of most of her information. There was no standardization requirement for these quilts. Women chose the patterns according to their fabric and personal taste. The tops tended to be pieced by individuals and then hand quilted during quilting bees with groups of up to 8 around a frame.
Beardsley’s quilt is a rare survivor of this massive humanitarian aid effort. The British Quilt Heritage Project of the 1990’s documented 54 quilts and though more have been discovered since, the total remains a tiny fraction of the original. One of the reasons these quilts have not survived is that the Red Cross requested that new fabric not be used. Instead the patchwork was made from sugar and flour bags, recycled clothing, even wool suiting. In Wooler, near Trenton, the scraps from a nearby pyjama factory were used. For people who had lost their homes or survived the battlefield, a gifted quilt was cherished but also used and many simply wore out.
The Red Cross has not compiled a detailed history of this relief effort but were happy to point me to the work of others. In 2016 The Comfort From Kindness exhibit of 40 WWII Canadian Red Cross Quilts toured Glasgow, Scotland; Birmingham and London, England; organized by the Canadian Red Cross Quilt Research Group, a group of British quilters dedicated to recognizing this history of community service. The webpage advertising that show includes quilt photos and a photo of a quilt label stating Gift of The Red Cross, Paisley, Ontario. The world can sometimes be a very small place! Gunn remarked that she wished she had known about this exhibit at the time because she definitely would have gone. A link to this site is provided below.
Here at home, Grey Roots Museum and Archives is also interested in the Red Cross heritage of comfort quilting and knitting and is researching a future exhibit. Assistant archivist, Kate Jackson forwarded some documents that reinforce the scale of the domestic labour involved in our area. The Markdale Standard of March 29, 1945, records a shipment of 50 quilts from the Markdale Red Cross. Women in every corner of the country were meeting in their homes, churches and community centres to quilt together.
Among the Museum’s collection are several examples of Signature quilts from the World War eras. To raise money for Red Cross relief efforts, groups would sell spaces on a quilt to individuals who would sign their names, sometimes including a message, and the signatures would be embroidered. These quilts could then be raffled to raise more funds. More of these survive because they did not leave the area and were considered something of a keepsake. An article in the Flesherton Advance, April 23, 1941, lists by name all the area women who donated quilt tops, who gathered to quilt them and also mentions a Mr. George McTavish who won a patchwork raffle quilt and generously donated it back to be raffled again. (Photos of the Grey Roots Collection are viewable online. Search ‘Quilt’.)
During the current pandemic the need for comfort is just as pressing and BQG members have continued to sew and quilt. They have contributed many hundreds of masks and long sleeved hospital gowns through a local Facebook group.
Requests for quilts from charitable organizations continues to grow. BQG is an organization of people dedicated to furthering a love of the art of quilting, not a registered charity. That poses challenges in meeting the high demand for items that are increasingly expensive to produce.
During the period from July to October this year alone, the Guild Outreach Program distributed 120 quilts to recipients such as: the GBRHC Neonatal, Oncology and Teen Mental Health departments, Habitat for Humanity, Summit Place (fidget quilts), Victim Services, and Keystone Residential Program; and scraps were made into pet beds for the Animal Shelter. The Hospital Foundation has supplied some money to help defray the costs of quilts going to the hospital. This is greatly appreciated. The value in materials alone of each quilt runs into hundreds of dollars, not to mention the labour. At times it can appear as though guild members are like workshop elves creating quilts from star dust but the reality is that a deep commitment to community service keeps these ladies digging into their reserves to meet the needs of worthy causes. Batting and backing fabric are always in short supply.
Outreach is only one facet of the Guild’s endeavours, which also includes education. Staying connected and continuing the Guild’s education goal while remaining physically distanced has been accomplished by embracing the use of Zoom. Guest presenters from far flung locales such as Vancouver and Calgary have become possible now that we don’t have to cover travel/hotel and food expenses. Photo close ups of quilts are even easier to appreciate online than in person from the back of the room. Our meetings are recorded and available to watch later for those who cannot make it during the live broadcast.
Monthly Zoom coffee hours and biweekly Zoom sewing groups keep members up to date with each other’s work. Not everyone is connected and able to join in but our numbers grow every month as people become more accustomed to this new way of life and realize that you can now belong to a guild, enjoy the camaraderie and learn from the comfort of your home. It isn’t the same but there are some advantages.
The guild storefront workshop and Outreach headquarters, Pauline’s Place, at 769 2nd Ave E in Owen Sound, is open with physical distancing, strict sanitation and masking. Small class size beginner quilting lessons are taking place. Pauline’s Place is our pick up and drop off location for Outreach supplies and finished quilts.
Covid isn’t fun but if we look for positives and adapt we can still make new friends, connect in interesting ways, help each other through these challenges and come out stronger. Wear those masks!
If you would like to help support the Outreach effort in any way please contact the Outreach Committee at [email protected]. We would welcome support from service clubs. For more information about the guild, membership and our monthly meetings visit bluewaterquiltersguild.ca
Quilter’s Meme - A quilt can cost thousands of dollars to buy but is free if a quilter loves you.
https://www.weavingmusicalthreads.com/projects/comfort-from-kindness-the-canadian-red-cross-quilts
