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Quilts to be documented as historical resources
Local group successful applicant for Heritage BC 2024 Legacy Grant
A Virtual History of the Cranbrook Quilters Guild will preserve images and the history of quilts and the guild makers, along with a dialogue about the craft in the Cranbrook area. This project is funded in part by the Heritage BC 2024 Legacy Grants Program as an Heritage Awareness project.
A letter of endorsement from City of Cranbrook Mayor Wayne Price states: “Showcasing the quilts and the quilters will highlight this aspect of Cranbrook’s heritage. Such pieces of history are often overlooked to preserve more obvious hallmarks of an era, such as our city’s buildings and the stories of our prominent citizens. Quilts can tell us much about traditions, textiles, craftsmanship, and the women of our town. This web-exhibit will make the body of art, handwork, and the makers stories available for study and other instructional purposes.”
The virtual history exhibit is being developed through a partnership between the Cranbrook Quilters Guild (CQG) and the Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History (CBIRH). It is “phase two” of the group’s History of the Cranbrook Quilters Guild 1985-2023, found at www.cranbrookquiltersguildhistory.ca. The project will be the first digital quilt registry in British Columbia. It will differ from other registries by including both vintage and contemporary heritage-worthy quilts.
“Quilting is a living craft, and preserving the quilts now while the people are still here to tell the stories and teach the craft has value,” said Tom Shypitka, Kootenay East MLA, in letter of support).
As a historical exhibit, details will include specifics about the pattern, the tools used, the fabric designers and the source, with the story of the quilter. This will be presented in an eye-catching visual smorgasbord on the website.
Through the ages, women have quilted bed covers and home decor items for their families. Significantly, quilters have generously given quilts to “the needy” by responding to calls during the wars and in peacetime to social and health agencies. These women added quilt-making and giving to already full agendas, as post-war most were working 40-hour weeks while doing all the “home” things that women traditionally do. Quilt guilds are a vehicle for such donations to the community.
“Quilts are an important part of the historical record that must be preserved. The Cranbrook Centennial Quilt, on display in our museum, is a piece to be preserved, commemorated, and enjoyed beyond the confines of the museum. The makers of this quilt are the quilters of the Cranbrook Quilters Guild. This project will honour these quilters by showcasing their personal pieces and their stories for future generations and students of the art of quilting and the history of women…” Honor Neve, Chief Curator, Cranbrook History Centre in a letter of support for the project.
The photo shows quilts from two eras: 1950 and 2023. Hilda Pingitore (1915 – 1995) created the first, likely using fabric ends purchased from Eaton’s Department Store. Hilda started quilting when she was 20. The block is a scrappy “crazy block” sewn completely by hand. We know she quilted as a business and won awards. One of her quilts won second place in the 1967 BC Centennial Quilt Contest. We have yet to find a picture of this quilt.
The second quilt features a half-log cabin block on point using fabric from designer Kaffe Fassett, purchased online from “Out of Hand” of Calgary. It was pieced on a Janome Memory Craft sewing machine and quilted on an APQS Lenni frame long-arm quilter. Susan worked full-time in nursing, raised three children and started quilting seriously at age 60. These are snippets of the divergent stories of two quilters. Both were born and raised in Cranbrook.
All former and present members of the Cranbrook Quilters Guild are invited to register a quilt (or two or three). Invitations and an explanation of the process will be sent through the local papers and other contacts in late September. The first documentation day will be Saturday, October 19, at the Seniors Hall.
The Cranbrook Quilters Guild will resume meetings for the 2024-2025 year on Tuesday, September 10, at 7 p.m. at the Cranbrook Seniors’ Hall. Anyone interested in quilting is welcome.
The Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History will be working with the CQG to document the process of creating the heritage registry and capturing the legends of the submitted quilts and their makers. Collecting the hundreds of photographs and stories generated by the project, it will be up to the CBIRH to create a stimulating website that will place the remarkable quilts and their makers in the unfolding history of the Columbia Basin.
Executive Director Erin Knutson stated, “This is a large and important project. It will assist in writing women into the ongoing history of the Basin while at the same time presenting the incredible art of the quiltmakers. Thank you to Heritage BC for helping to fund our combined efforts. We are pleased to be a part of this undertaking.”
Above images: Two bed quilts – 1950 and 2024 (Hilda Pingatore 1950) (Susan Little 2023). Photos submitted
Cranbrook Quilters Guild
