A blanket can provide warmth in more ways than one.
That became clear as a group of elders gathered at the Flin Flon Aboriginal Friendship Centre on Tuesday evening to take part in a ceremony and feast to celebrate the conclusion of a special quilting project.
The women had come together about a year ago, after community volunteers and Friendship Centre employees successfully applied for a federal New Horizons grant that provides support for seniors programming.
A committee formed to identify projects that would be a good fit for the elders in the community.
Margaret Head Steppan, cultural advisor at the Friendship Centre, brought forward the idea of making star quilts, blankets traditionally made by the Lakota and Sioux first nations.
“They believed that the stars represented immortality, and a new beginning,” says Head Steppan, of the indigenous groups. “Stars reflected that light, standing between the darkness – ignorance – and the light – knowledge.”
Head Steppan said the quilts’ central star pattern traditionally symbolizes the brightest star in the sky, which is Venus, also known as the morning star or the guiding star.
“When you place the blanket with the star facing up, on top of your bed or on an altar, that is the road to the spiritual journey, that star will guide those spirits back and forth,” Head Steppan explained.
The $9,900 federal grant provided for the purchase of sewing machines, sergers, quilt stretchers and fabrics, as well as snacks for the weekly sewing circles.
Twelve elders signed up to participate. Local elder Jane Anderson, an experienced quilter and seamstress, said she could provide instruction, and the program began.
The project proved to be challenging for participants, many of whom had never used a sewing machine.
Celina Bone, one of the quilters, said the project was frustrating at the start, as the design called for precise seams and she often had to redo her work.
It wasn’t all hard work, though.
“We had a lot of fun,” Bone said with a laugh.
“I’m sure the people who came by, or were eating next door [in the Friendship Centre Restaurant] heard us. We just roared.”
The quilts’ designs also offered an opportunity for self-reflection and a kind of visual storytelling for their creators.
“They had to think about the different patterns, and the colours they chose and what they mean to them as a maker, and why they are making [the quilt], ” Head Steppan said.
“In the end, they really understood the spiritual significance of the blanket.”
As the end of their one-year timeline drew closer, nine women had stayed to finish their quilts, and the circle started meeting twice a week to complete the blankets on schedule.
On Tuesday evening, with all their hard work behind them, the women gathered to celebrate their completed quilts.
Head Steppan led a ceremony in which each elder was wrapped in her quilt by a loved one.
“This is to honour and protect that person on their journey in life, or their journey in the spirit world,” Head Steppan said.
As the ceremony wrapped, the quilters chatted and joked about the project over a generous potluck feast. For these women, it seemed the sense of community that grew in the sewing circle was just as valuable as the quilts themselves.
One of the star quilts from the project, created by Jane Anderson, will be raffled off to raise funds for future seniors programming at the Friendship Centre.
