GAMETI/RAE LAKES
Like many of the women in her community, Gameti's Rita Wetrade learned to sew by hand when she was a very little girl.

Mary Chocolate works on her quilt during Gameti's sewing group. Hers will be one of 22 quilts on display during the community's first quilt show on June 19. - photo courtesy of Lynn Turcotte

"I've been sewing since I was young, maybe like 11, 12 years old," she said. "I used to bead, make moccasins, gloves and things like that - traditional sewing." But thanks to the community's sewing group, Wetrade is learning new ways to put her talents to use.

"I learned how to use the machine. The sewing machine was different than traditional hand sewing," she said. "So that was a different thing that I had to learn."

The sewing group began after Lynn Turcotte moved to Gameti in 2014. She connected with Wetrade and taught her to use a sewing machine.

"I brought my sewing machine with me and I made a handbag with Rita, it went really well," Turcotte said. "Some of the other ladies started to hear that I showed her this and they wanted to learn as well."

Turcotte received funding through the Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE) and Dominion Diamond Corp. to buy four brand-new sewing machines and some fabric. She set up a classroom in the Community Learning Centre and was soon overwhelmed by the number of people who wanted to learn.

"Before I knew it, I had 12 plus a waiting list. We had classes days, evenings and weekends," she said. "I'm not kidding you, I was working 70 to 80 hours a week."

The group attracted both women and men, Turcotte added.

"Last year I had two men," she said. "They each made a bag for their mothers. They were really good."

Most of the community's sewers had never used a sewing machine and the ones who had were using antiquated models, Turcotte said.

"When they all started out, they were using hand-crank sewing machines," she said.

The first three months were spent making pillow cases and table runners before moving on to more complex projects, such as knife bags.

At the end of the year, four members of the group made their own lap quilts.

This year, Turcotte suggested each returning student try to make a king-sized quilt.

"Within two months, they had their quilts made and they were able to start on a second quilt," she said.

First-year students immediately wanted to make quilts of their own.

"What happened was the new people saw the quilts being made and as soon as the pillowcases and a couple of other small projects were done, they said 'okay we want to make quilts too'," Turcotte said. Together, students created 22 quilts that will be displayed at a quilt show on June 19.

Each piece is as unique as the woman who made it, Turcotte said.

Wetrade's quilt is black, white, gold and red - but that's all she will reveal for now.

"I'm still hiding my quilt until the quilt show," she said. "Just our classmates saw our quilts, but not other people. So we gotta wait."

While the sewing group did the majority of the work, a quilt machine was still required to make the final products.

The Quilted Raven in Yellowknife gave the group a discount and Air Tindi covered the freight costs to transported the quilts to and from the city.

Funding for this year's classes was provided through ECE, the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs and Dominion Diamond Corp.

Chief David Wedawin and Judal Dominicata, senior administrative officer, also supported the project, Turcotte said.

Growing economic opportunities

Now that so many residents know how to use sewing machines and read patterns, Turcotte said the possibilities are endless.

"There is so much potential," she said. "A woman can have a micro-business selling things on the side. It can certainly add extra income."

It could also provide a way to create made-in-Gameti products - a vital component of the Northwest Territories' tourism industry.

"You need gifts to sell to tourists," Turcotte said. "I think there is huge huge potential for income if somebody wants to go that way."

Wetrade agreed.

"It would be nice for Gameti to have our own business in sewing," she said.

Some members of the group have already purchased sewing machines to use at home, Turcotte said.

"Their knowledge level has gone up a thousand per cent compared to last year.

I've had three ladies buy their own machines and they're starting to sew at home," she said. "Others want to buy their own machines, it's a matter of money." Turcotte said quilting has become so popular in Gameti, it has the potential to become its own industry.

"I would really like the community to have their own quilting machine," she said. "They're very expensive. The ones that are computerized are $35,000 U.S."

In addition to economic spinoffs, the group itself is special, Turcotte said.

"It means so much to the women here," she said. "We really bonded and we've become really good friends. It became so much more than I ever thought it was going to be. It has become part of the fabric of the community."

Wetrade said she hopes Gameti residents, as well as people from throughout the Tlicho region, attend the quilt show.

"It would be really nice to see other people from other communities," she said. "They should come in and see the quilts."

The quilt show is scheduled to take place from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Gameti community hall boardroom on June 19.

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