Last week, the Fun Friday Quilters group met up at the Timothy Eaton Gardens to host a quilt show with the intention of helping to raise funds in support of the centre where it regularly meets for a Friday “stitch and a visit.”

One of the pieces displayed on Aug. 14 was a crazy quilt created by Moose Jaw resident and Fun Friday Quilters group member Heather Grover.

Grover started quilting back in the ‘80s when she took up the hobby of scrap quilting made from spare clothing. She soon expanded into higher quality fabrics that she purchased from quilting stores, and has since discovered something new that’s attracted her attention.

“I’ve since gone back and I discovered crazy quilting, which I really, really like because it uses so much fabric that’s just sitting around,” she said.

“It’s a way of recycling and taking something that somebody else would dismiss and (doing something useful with it).”

One of her favourite attributes of the crazy quilt method is its unique ability to create a nostalgic piece that speaks to an individual at a personal level.

The quilt Grover brought to Wednesday’s show was also a way to remember her grandmother by.

“A lot of (the material was) … bits and pieces from my grandmother. She was a fabulous quilter, as well as doing crocheting, knitting — she did everything,” Grover said.

When her grandmother died, Grover was out of town and returned to find only a shoe box filled with bits and pieces of fabric, gloves, doilies, and similar items that were going to be simply disposed of.

“I took them and turned them into crazy quilt and used all the pieces that she had,” Grover said.

Now, despite initially only having a few scraps to remember her grandmother by, Grover has something far greater — a unique quilt that both honours her grandmother’s passion for the craft and is a way to incorporate a few personal items that she’d regularly use.

Her grandmother, who she said, “never needed a pattern” and who could “just look at a doily and then sit down and make it,” would certainly be proud of the masterpiece.

Grover said she’ll do the occasional quilt on request, but she clarified that — due to limited time and a part-time commitment — it has to be something she’s interested in doing. Her hand stitched quilts involve a lot of time and doubtless require a certain level of passion to create.

To Grover, the quilting process transcends the simple act of sewing and becomes a way to elicit fond memories.

“When you can turn around and take… pieces of fabric and bits of lace and stuff, and then put it into something that’s new and innovative… a lot of people love looking at it because it brings back memories for them,” Grover explained.

“They remember those doilies, and they remember that type of love (from a grandparent or parent), and they remember some of the lace and even some of the fabrics they can identify with. And so, it becomes almost a time capsule of fabrics.”

To learn more about the Fun Fridays Quilters group, you can visit them during a regular Friday meeting at the Timothy Eaton Gardens from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. To confirm their attendance, the centre’s receptionist can be reached at 306-694-4223.

The Timothy Eaton Gardens building is located at 510 Main Street North.

Aaron Walker

Reporter

Moose Jaw Express