Quilting is therapeutic for Georgette Ehr, who suffers from fibromyalgia.
She can pace herself with the craft and take the time to rest as required from a condition that contributes to chronic fatigue.
“It’s something I can do that doesn’t expend a lot of energy,” said Ehr, who lives near Delisle, Sask.
Her quilts will be among the 450 displayed in the 2017 Saskatoon Quilters’ Guild Show Oct. 27-28 in Saskatoon.
Ehr feels fortunate to have this passion to fill her days while on medical leave from her job.
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“Resting is very boring, but a requirement,” she said.
“When I’m too exhausted to quilt, that’s the hard part.”
She described wandering into her sewing room some mornings in her pajamas and just “getting lost there.”
It’s a portable art that can be done anywhere, she said, recalling the benefit of having something to do with her hands while tending to a dying father in hospital.
Ehr makes quilts for special gifts and babies and generally does one to two large ones a year.
“I am kind of a traditional hand quilter but not with traditional patterns,” said Ehr.
She begins by putting the top pieces together by machine, but when it comes to quilting, she uses thimbles, needles, stencils and a large floor hoop.
Ehr likes attending the guild’s show to see others’ work and get feedback from judges.
“I’ve been told I do pretty good work. It’s nice to have that acknowledgement.”
One of her quilts won the hand quilters and viewers choice awards in Saskatoon and was juried into the Canadian Quilters Association National Show.
Anna Hergert of Buffalo Pound Lake, Sask., is entering her Prairie Springtime Ritual, The Return of the Great Blue Heron, a pictorial quilt that won the award of excellence in quilting with Saskatchewan Craft Council’s Dimensions show.
“It’s not about the money, it’s about the sharing, about showing people what can be done with traditional methods and how to push it a little bit further into a more contemporary approach,” she said.
Even though she is two hours away from Saskatoon, she maintains her association with the city’s quilters guild.
“They are very supportive of all styles of quilting,” said Hergert.
For more information, visit www.saskatoonquiltersguild.com.
