The craft room in the basement at Echo Centre bustles and hums with chatter and the sound of sewing machines every Wednesday morning. This is the time the Sunshine Club Quilters meet; club members bringing their own machines and projects to work on.
Every year its members make items for charitable giving: sometimes for quilt raffles, and every Christmas, placemats for Meals on Wheels clients.
Piecing, sewing and quilting the placemats begins early in the new year, as club members strive to create 100 colourful mats for meals every year. This year, they donated 50 at the behest of Meals on Wheels, which still has a stockpile from last year, said Barbara Smith.
This year Meals on Wheels assistant coordinator Karen Hutchinson accepted the placemats, which bring some cheer to meals for people who for whatever reason are shut in at home or unable to cook their own meals.