Daron Letts
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 04/05) - Whether it's to pass the time on cold evenings, make gifts for the holidays or create something warm to curl up in, quilters are picking up armloads of new material and patterns for winter.

Helen Simpson, owner of Quilter's Getaway, received piles of new winter stock last month, including quilting kits, high threadcount fabrics and new patterns by Yellowknife artist Janet Pacey. - Daron Letts/NNSL photo

Dozens of novice and experienced quilters are working on a new series of patterns by Yellowknife artist Janet Pacey, said Helen Simpson, owner of Quilter's Getaway in the Stanton Plaza.

"They're awesome patterns," she said. "They're really good for beginners because they can be done in a day. The comments about them have been great."

The three patterns feature familiar Yellowknife scenes, with ravens perched on powerlines and ptarmigans dancing on the roof of the Wildcat Cafe. Each one includes the Northern lights as its background.

Pacey, who works as a graphic designer, has several acrylic paintings hanging in the Birchwood Gallery. She signed up for a course with Hazel Wainwright, one of the store's four instructors, after designing a new logo for the business last May.

One thing led to another and now she is working at Simpson's store on Saturday afternoons. She and part-time quilting instructor Mickey Brown pulled together some ideas to come up with Pacey's first pattern, called Raven Town.

"I got a lot of encouragement from the regular quilters and I asked them what they wanted to see," Pacey said. "I see what other quilters are doing and I take ideas from that."

Brown completed a quilt last month, using the first pattern. The framed quilt is displayed in the store over the weekend.

Pacey designs her patterns by first drawing a six-inch-wide image, which she then recreates into a full-sized pattern. Once she finishes the quilt, she works backwards to complete the 24-inch by 30-inch patterns using her graphic design software. Stores in Ontario and Newfoundland are distributing the patterns in the south.

Pacey also serves as president of the SPCA. Her next design may be of a dog in a familiar Yellowknife daylight scene, she said.