Vernon Silver Star Quilters celebrate their silver anniversary Thursday with a special tea at St. John’s Lutheran Church, where they meet twice a month.
VSSQ began in 1986 as a group called Silver Star Quilting Squares, when a quilting enthusiast put an ad in the local paper asking if anyone was interested in quilting.
In 1999 the name of the group was changed to the Vernon Silver Star Quilters. The guild’s main focus is to promote quilting through literature, workshops, seminars, demonstrations and quilt shows. They also provide community services with donations of quilts and cash to many local charities, and by providing displays if requested.
Over the past 25 years, VSSQ has donated more than $35,000 to local charities and a few international charities, earned mainly through their raffles and quilt shows.
VSSQ members have also sewn and donated more than 2,500 quilts to organizations and individuals in our area. Making preemie, trauma and community quilts are ongoing projects for the guild, and this year they’ve added Quilts of Valour to the list. Quilts of Valour are made for Canadian soldiers who return from war-torn areas of the world injured in body and/or spirit, and are given as a small token of gratitude for the personal sacrifice they have made for our country. They are distributed through the Armed Forces Base in Edmonton.
This year, to celebrate the guild’s 25th Anniversary VSSQ is donating $2,500 to the Vernon Jubilee Hospital Tower of Care. Anyone interested in learning more about Vernon Silver Star Quilters can check out the website at VSSQ.org.
