Thanks to the Dalemead Quilt Guild, Louise Beerman and the Chestermere Whitecappers for enabling the Alberta Quilt Study Society (AQSS) to be in Chestermere Sunday October 25th.
Quilt owners and makers of quilts made appointments to have their quilts registered and documented in detail with the AQSS. AB QSS endeavours to promote an understanding, appreciation and knowledge of quilt making and its heritage in Alberta and beyond. This information is recorded in the Quilt Index, an international database www.quiltindex.org of both historic and contemporary quilts.
In Alberta this is also supported by the Royal Alberta Museum. The documentation in Chestermere was done by local AQSS volunteers. Each quilt is numbered, photographed, and a detailed examination made of the style and materials. If unknown, the age is estimated and a personal history is taken of the quilt maker. Quilt owners are provided with copies of this information. I
t was fascinating to watch the volunteers scanning through books of fabric samples to ascertain the origin of the material used or looking up pattern names. My purpose in attending was primarily to have the replica of the 1917 Chestermere ‘red cross’ quilt documented. This quilt was made by the Chestermere Lakeside Quilters with support from the Chestermere Historical Foundation to recognize the original 1917 quilt made by the women of the Chestermere community as a fundraiser to support WWI veterans. See more of this story on the CHF webpage at www.chestermerehistory.org
My other purpose was to register a very colourful ‘Round The World’ quilt I purchased in PEI in 1974. (see photo) Quilt registry days happen all the time in various parts of Alberta. If you have a quilt that you would like to register contact the Alberta Quilt Discovery Project at abquiltstudy@gmail.com Thank you to the many women who give their time and expertise to recognize the handicraft of quilting and make this registry possible.
