Quilts made during COVID-19 pandemic come out of isolation to appear at art centre

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison would end her almost-daily news briefings by reminding Islanders to be kind to each other.

Reina Lamothe and her quilting group must have been listening.

At that time, they came up with an idea — the COVID Caring and Sharing Challenge.

They asked their members to make a quilt for someone who was having a difficult time during the pandemic — maybe a health-care worker or somebody who was sick or lost a family member.

Lamothe couldn't immediately think of anybody. Then it came to her.

"I had this fabric that had angels on it and I was like, 'Oh my God, Dr. Morrison.' And from there I proceeded to make the quilt."

The quilt, which she named Angel in Disguise, is among more than 40 items on display this summer at the Eptek Centre of Art and Culture in Summerside. The display is called Quilts of COVID.

Penelope Player said the COVID-19 pandemic, when people were spending more time at home, was the perfect time for a quilting project. And it just so happened there was a fabric "calling her from the back of the drawer."

"The thing with COVID, I would have never done it, because it really was a lot of work and very complex," said Player, who spent hundreds of hours on the quilt.

"There was as much picking out as there was sewing in, and to try to get all the points lined up and everything evenly matched … and suddenly it was done."

At a certain point, you're almost like a kid at a dance recital or a hockey game.— Penelope Player

Player said she was proud to see her quilt on display Sunday.

"At a certain point, you're almost like a kid at a dance recital or a hockey game. You want people there to see you."

Player said because people were quilting in isolation, she was eager to see the work of others and the stories behind them — like Lamothe's quilt for Morrison.

Lamothe remembers seeing Morrison working as an emergency room doctor in Charlottetown during the COVID-19 pandemic, and there were many stressful times when she looked like she could use a quilt.

She said she presented the quilt to Morrison in March of 2021 as a "remembrance of what she has done for P.E.I. during COVID."

"I was able to hand it to her directly," she said.

"I have photos of the two of us, and she was over-the-moon pleased with it."