from her southeast calgary home, pat litke and a group of volunteers stitch together colourful pieces of fabric and warm batting, crafting quilts for cancer patients.
the roughly six-by-four-feet quilts will be given, free of charge, to provide some warmth and comfort to albertans battling the disease.
each quilt, produced by the okotoks branch of victoria’s quilts canada, takes a minimum of 25 hours to make. for litke, that “labour of love” is well worthwhile to help support those undergoing cancer treatment.
“what’s kept me going is being able to give to people who need a lift and are so courageous, walking the journey they’re on,” litke said.
“and the feedback that we receive — the cards, the acknowledgments — it’s so very, very moving and so very, very humbling that such a simple thing can have such a powerful impact on people.”
across its 24 branches throughout canada, victoria’s quilts has delivered more than 87,000 quilts since forming in 1999. the okotoks branch, which started in 2003, has 81 members who made and delivered 260 quilts in the foothills and southern alberta in 2021.
a calgary branch serves much of the city and rural areas to the north, while an edmonton group creates quilts for those in the capital region.