KAMSASK — Kamsack’s Heart and Home Quilt Club held a dessert tea, which it plans to make an annual fundraiser.
Proceeds from the Afternoon Delight Dessert Tea, held June 7, will go towards making baby quilts, said Lise Rochefort, an organizer of the event.
For the past few years the club has been focusing on producing baby quilts. Some are given as part of Cote and Keeseekoose First Nations’ pre-natal classes. Others are donated to Stepping Stone Wellness Clinic and SIGN Kamsack Family Resource Centre.
Recently the club found out that Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital in Saskatoon “was looking for some baby quilts, and NICU quilts, which is the natal ICU. They were small quilts which had to fit into the incubators,” noted Rochefort.
While the club has received sufficient donations of fabric and applied for grants, they buy some of their materials in bulk, namely “the matting, which goes in between [each quilt]… [and the] flannel in the back of each quilt because it’s a bit warmer for the babies,” said Rochefort. The cost of each purchase can be between $400 to $500.
“To me, a quilt is a hug,” quipped Rochefort, “The front, it’s the smile when someone approaches you and is happy to see you. The inside, it’s the warmth, the comfort. It makes you feel safe. The back, for me, is the pride. Because these women come in and go ‘look what I did.’ They have so much pride in those quilts.”
“I’m praying that this new generation we’re giving the quilts to at least feel that: the love, the safety and the pride.”
The club, founded in 1993, has plans to bring back the event on an annual basis.“This year we’ve decided on a ladies tea, but in the future who knows [what the theme will be],” Rochefort said.
The event had door prizes for attendees and a silent auction.
