A group that threads the community together: Supporting the Squamish Quilters Guild

Every month, a group of Squamish residents gather at a meeting room at the Sandman Hotel to spread a little warmth for friends, family, and those in need. The Squamish Quilters Guild is a group of 18 Squamish residents who gather monthly to sew together, working on their latest quilt creations.

“The Squamish Quilters Guild has existed since the middle 90s. It was started by a group of women who wanted the fellowship of quilting together and wanted to share techniques and ideas,” said Muff Hackett, President of the Guild.

But this group of artisans is connected with the community by stronger bonds than just thread. With a membership that works with a multitude of local charities and non-profit organizations, the Squamish Quilters Guild understands where there are needs in their community and puts their skills to use to help.

The Quilters’ Guild Community Quilts program puts beautiful and warm handmade quilts into the hands of the community. The Guild gathers donations of good quality cotton fabrics from the community to assist with constructing the quilts but provides the batting (quilt filling), supplies, and, most importantly, the workmanship to make the Community Quilts.

Community Quilts are distributed wherever there is a need in the community. They are provided to the local hospice and women’s shelter, as well as high schools for quiet or aid rooms. Every year, the Guild also makes a special quilt for the New Year’s baby to celebrate the first child born in Squamish for the year.

“We provide a lot of quilts that bring a little bit of warmth to the community,” said Hackett.

Through the Community Partnership Program, Woodfibre LNG is pleased to be able to support the Squamish Quilters’ Guild with a donation to help offset their ongoing costs, including storage, batting, fabric, and their monthly workspace at the Sandman Hotel. With some of their costs covered, the Guild can focus more on providing warmth and support to their neighbours in Squamish.

“As a group, we just want to give back to the community because the community has been good to us,” explained Hackett, “But our budget is a very small budget. Adding the money from Woodfibre has meant that I don’t have to worry about where we find the money for the hotel room rental for our sew days and I can provide my Community Quilts Committee with money to buy more batting. It has made a huge difference for us.”

The Community Partnership Program provides up to $5,000 to community and non-profit organizations involved in the following categories: sports and recreation, health and wellness, arts and culture, employment and skills training, and local search and rescue and marine safety organizations. Program intakes occur in the spring and fall.