TOWER- The Vermilion Dream Quilters, an active quilting guild with members from Ely, Tower-Soudan, Cook, and the Iron Range area, is once again meeting in person.
Their first in-person meeting was held outdoors at Hoodoo Point Campground earlier this month, and quilters seemed excited to begin meeting in person. The group normally meets monthly in the basement of St. Martin’s Catholic Church but had to stop meeting indoors last spring. They held a few outdoor meetings last summer but stopped once the weather got colder in September.
At their June meeting, members voted to begin meeting indoors once again, starting in July.
Meeting outdoors made it difficult to hold quilting and sewing demonstrations, as members had to deal with issues including noise from campground users and boaters, and the buzzing of mosquitos and biting flies.
Members showed off some of the winter projects, mostly lap quilts which are donated to hospital infusion center programs in Virginia and Ely.
A favorite pattern for these lap quilts has been nicknamed the “potato chip” quilt, because, I was told, “you can’t make just one!”
The quilters seemed to have weathered the pandemic restrictions quite nicely.
“It helps that most of us are introverted,” they told me. And obviously they had plenty of time to work on their quilting creations.
While quilters may say they are introverted, most are more than willing to share their skills and teach new techniques to others in the guild. About 15 attended the outdoor June meeting, which is about half of the usual pre-COVID attendance. They are hoping that all their members will feel comfortable to start meeting in person again in July.
“We don’t want to talk about COVID anymore,” they said. Instead, they talked about plans for upcoming weekend quilting retreats this fall, challenge projects, and new patterns to try.
The quilting group is open to all area quilters, from beginner to expert, and guests are welcome to attend.
The next guild meeting will be on Thursday, July 8, at 6:30 p.m. at St. Martin’s Catholic Church in Tower.  This is a change from the regular monthly meeting date due to the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Masks are encouraged for those not vaccinated and/or vulnerable, and there will be sufficient space for social distancing.  No food or beverages will be served, but you may bring your own. In addition to the business meeting, Bonnie Harma and Teresa Dolinar will share information and samples of orphan block and scrap quilts.  Please bring your own examples and show and tell items to share with the group.