A festival of quilts: Meet the colourful crafters who keep a tradition alive

If you visit communities in Conception Bay North and listen intently, you might just hear the whirring of sewing machines.

As it is in many parts of Newfoundland and Labrador, quilting is a long-standing tradition in Bay de Verde, Grates Cove and Red Head Cove.

Dee Riggs spent her teenage years in Bay de Verde, when her parents moved back to where they were born.

She remembers her grandmother's skill at turning scraps of material into quilts.

"Old shirts were never old shirts. They were the original recyclers," said Riggs. 

"They were people who threw away nothing. It was a culture where they used everything they had and they made it into something that they would use for generations." 

She watched her grandmother make a quilt for her out of the curtains in her own kitchen window.

"I still have that piece. And I think at that time that just struck me so much that she was so efficient and practical and had made something beautiful in such a short time. And that was one of the things that had stayed with me for a really long time," said Riggs.

So, years ago when Dee Riggs and others in the community were trying to develop a tourism draw for their area, showcasing the area's quilting talent was high on the list.

"There is no better greeter or welcoming committee in the world," said Riggs.

Cosy comforters on the line

Back in August 2019, the towns hung out their beautiful blankets for all to see, and so began the annual Festival of Quilts.

Organizers invite quilters in the area to display their cosy comforters on their clotheslines and deck railings.

The churches in Bay de Verde and Grates Cove are turned into exhibit spaces with the colourfully crafted pieces draped over old wooden pews

Valda AuCoin and friends from her quilting group in Bay de Verde stretch a huge clothesline across the full length of her lawn to create an outdoor gallery with quilts blowing in the wind.

"Just like when you take your threads and you connect them to fabric and you make a quilt, this quilt festival takes all the different communities in the area and it connects us and it just gives us this warm, beautiful feeling to know that everybody is so happy and so excited and people come from everywhere," said AuCoin.

Exhibitors come from surrounding areas to display their quilts and offer them up for sale.

Dee Riggs says the buzz seems to build earlier about the artwork on offer every year.

"It always amazes me how much earlier and earlier they show up because they would like to purchase something or be the first to see it," said Riggs.

"We have people who show up here from across the province and, you know, visitors from other countries — it's astounding. It's astounding how hanging out your quilts can draw people in to see to see them. It's a beautiful thing."

The Land & Sea team visited the towns during the festival in August 2023.

You can view the Land and Sea episode Festival of Quilts and see that gathering of talented crafstpeople in Conception Bay North by clicking the video above. 

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