All winter long this group have been meeting regularly at the Tisdale and District Golden Age Centre making this year's crop of quilts. It was at ten this morning when I dropped by to see how they were making out. They normally wrap up their projects by April so today was an all day session to finish up as many quilts as they could.

Though they produce a large number of full size quilts each year the ones they were working on were all small sized ones for cribs. These light and colourful versions of the tradition quilt are

something that really adds to the ease of looking after a baby.

The quilts produced by this group are donated. Some to places like Ronald Macdonald House in Saskatoon but many are donated to single mothers and seniors who may need both something to cover up with but also something to lift their spirits.

Quilts have such a rich tradition in Saskatchewan and I suspect in other parts of North America as well. Since they have to be fashioned and

created by hand there is something extremely personal about these blankets that make them part of a family's prized possessions. We still have several quilts made by WA quilting bees that my mother belonged to in the 1940s. Though they are worn they are things of considerable value.

Many of the quilts made today will have a life of more than half a century and should look pretty much then as they do now as their covers and patches are made from synthetic materials that are basically forms of plastic and virtually indestructable.

But when it comes right down to it, the material from which a quilt is made is only a small part of the story. It is the attention to detail, the handcrafted product relies upon sure hands and fingers weilding needles and thread to bring the quilt into being.

There is one other rermarkable element to the traditional quilt. As it is being brought to life the shared experience of those making it give it the "specialness" that make us all realise its true value and make the quilt something that we appreciate and respect.