LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
The first of two quilting workshops filled the Open Sky Gallery with the sounds of sewing, laughter and cheer on Jan. 9 as six participants set their minds on making colourful creations.

Amaria Tanche-Hanna, left, and Josanne Tanche hold up the quilt they spent the morning and afternoon working on on Jan. 9 at the Open Sky Gallery. - April Hudson/NNSL photo

The workshop was led by Deb Stipdonk and continues Jan. 16, at which point quilt-crafters will finish layering their projects with batting and attach a flannel backing.

The Jan. 9 session was attended by three adults and three youth, some of whom brought their own sewing equipment and some who were trying out sewing for the first time.

Brightly coloured strips of 100 per cent cotton material were provided by the gallery. During the workshop, crafters learned how to join the strips with straight seams to create a neat rectangle, forming the basis for the quilt, called a jelly-roll race quilt.

Stipdonk said material quality makes a difference and springing for cotton often yields better results than cotton blends.

"A lot of people are tempted to use cotton blends because they're cheaper, but those tend to be more slippery and can be harder to sew," she said.

"Buying the proper materials is important."

This isn't the first workshop Stipdonk has led through the Open Sky Creative Society. Stipdonk is a well-known teacher who has led quilting workshops in the past as well as sessions showing crafters how to make parkas.

"When I was seven years old, my grandma taught me how to sew," she said.

She has been sewing ever since.

For this workshop, Stipdonk said Open Sky heard from people who wanted an intergenerational session that could involve both adults and children. She kept that in mind and was pleased to see adult-child duos attend.

"This is a great chance to connect with ... other adults," she said.

Rhys Dowdeswell, a Class 3 student at Bompas Elementary School, said the workshop was his first exposure to the world of sewing. He learned how to use a sewing machine and said he planned to return the following week to finish the project.

"It's fun," he said.

"Lining up the cotton strips to sew was hard though."

Meadow Okrainec, who attended the workshop with her mother Merle Snider, said she had never tried quilting before but found it fairly easy.

She brought her own sewing machine, which she has had for three years. In the past, she has used it to make doll clothes and a stuffed bunny.

During the workshop, Okrainec said she learned how much material is needed for a small quilt - in this case, 32 strips of cotton fabric.

"I was a little scared of the sewing needle at the start, but I learned how to hold the thread properly," she said.

Amaria Tanche-Hanna and Josanne Tanche were the first ones to finish sewing together their materials. After they finished, Stipdonk showed them how to properly iron the material to avoid creasing it.

The workshop kicked off Open Sky's 2016 season and will continue Jan. 16.