BOYLSTON — A collection of local artists is celebrating a piece of rich history – one with a deep connection to Guysborough County – with its most recent group project.
Eleven members of the Chedabucto Bay Quilters have been fashioning pieces that honour the Underground Railroad.
“It has been going really well,” Dale O’Connor – a founder of the group – told The Journal in a phone interview in the lead up to African Heritage Month in February.
The long-time quilter explained that each year members select a pattern to work on; one that is “beginner friendly,” so as many members as possible “feel comfortable” tackling the initiative.
And, O’Connor added, they also recognize – and embrace – the “historically significant” nature of the important era that their creations will depict.
The Underground Railroad helped slaves flee, providing them with the means to make their way to states in the United States that had abolished the heinous practice, along with several countries including Canada. According to federal government information, between 1800 and 1865, approximately 30,000 Black people came to Canada via the escape vehicle – the network of secret routes and safe houses coordinated with the support of abolitionists and their allies.
Legend surrounding the Underground Railroad – which remains a source of debate, when it comes to its historical accuracy – says that, as part of the system, quilts hanging from clotheslines and windowsills provided signals to fleeing slaves.
As for their way of marking that integral aspect of the North American slavery story, local quilters – starting in October – committed to completing two blocks per month until June.
The schedule provides everyone with “more than enough time” to fashion the 15-block design, O’Connor said.
She agreed that the quilters have “embraced” the project.
It is not the first instance that the quilters have selected the Underground Railroad for its annual project; a dozen or so years ago, she noted, they did the same. Many of the same quilters are making them for a second time.
As for the genesis of the quilters’ group, O’Connor explained the seeds were planted during sessions offered by the Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG) more than 15 years ago.
“We formed from that [class],” O’Connor, one of the two remaining founding members with the group, remembered.
Even though the instructor moved away, which meant the end of the municipal classes, the quilting gatherings continued.
“We still had plenty of people who wanted to support and help each other,” O’Connor said, noting that the initially nameless group became the Chedabucto Bay Quilters after a couple of years.
She recalled how the inaugural group included newcomers to the craft, while others had quilted for more than 50 years.
“There have been new people along the way,” O’Connor said of its development.
Although they haven’t had a teacher over the years, she explained that there have always been plenty of quilters “more than qualified” to provide guidance and instruction.
“Everyone is there to help each other,” O’Connor said.
The Chedabucto Bay Quilters meet every Friday – from September to June – with breaks taking place during the Christmas and summer seasons. Throughout the year, there are mini-sessions on every second Thursday evening.
“At the little red schoolhouse,” O’Connor said when asked about the group’s gathering place – the Boylston Community Centre.
Describing one of the participants in the Underground Railroad project as a “beginner, beginner” – she explained that members have been “guiding [her] all the way.”
“We have something for the beginning to the advanced [quilter],” O’Connor said of the group.
In order to encourage quilters “to keep coming back,” she explained that newcomers begin with “small projects, such as table runners, which solely involve “straight sewing.”
O’Connor added that the quilters are encouraged to work at their “own leisure.”
After the Chedabucto Bay Quilters returned to their regular schedule post COVID-19, they decided to host an annual open house each September, where members can share their work with the community. Visitors can also learn about the group, and what it has to offer.
The group’s many philanthropic endeavours include donating more than 100 quilts that are used in the recovery incubators in the IWK Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Quilts are also provided to children when they go home.
For anyone interested in quilting – or becoming part of the group, O’Connor encouraged them to visit one of their sessions “to see what we are doing.”
