A cornucopia of talent with needle and thread

St. Vital

Yogi Berra’s famous quote,”When you come to a fork in the road, take it,” didn’t do much for me when I had to decide which artisan at Dakota House I should write about first. The suites of both Helen Flint and Olive Norberg, with their plethora of quilts and other handicrafts, qualify as miniature art galleries. I chose to do Helen first, the elder of the two.

Helen met her own fork-in-the-road when she retired in 1992 at age 59.

“I didn’t want to sit and do nothing,” she says. “I had been golfing regularly, but something about quilting called to me, so I decided to trade in my clubs for needle and thread. I took all sorts of lessons, learning everything about this beautiful craft for years. Every quilt taught me something new.

“The community around quilting became just as meaningful as the quilting itself. I joined the Manitoba Quilt Guild and other local groups, as well as the Rio Grande Valley Guild when wintering with my husband in Texas. The friendships made were stitched together with laughter, shared stories, and creativity.

“My first quilt block was quite the learning moment. I had no idea what ‘a scant 1/4-inch seam’ was back then. But I kept attending classes and got an electric threader — I didn’t give up. Years later, I was winning ribbons at the Manitoba Agricultural Fair and at quilt fair shows in Texas. It made me realize how far I had come.

“Applique became my favorite style — hand-stitching small flowers and fabric pieces. Over the years, I’ve made nearly 100 quilts alone. Each one carries a little piece of me, with my name, date, and message on it. A labor of love — some took up to a year to finish. Most are stored with my daughters.”

“Fabric shopping became nearly addictive. Travels with family or friends usually took in visits to quilt shops. Daughter April, my watchful overseer, accompanied me to Hamilton, Missouri, a quilter’s paradise where one company owned 13 quilt stores. The shopping, the patterns, the colours!

“Giving back through quilting is important to quilters. For quilts for war veterans, we’d each sew a block and meet to piece them into quilts. We’d then sell raffle tickets and donate the proceeds to charity, bringing us closer together.

“Quilting has brought me much satisfaction. Every stitch I made was a reflection of love, dedication, and creativity. I’m proud of the legacy I’ve created — one quilt at a time.”

Since her early years Helen has been hobbled with a condition called essential tremor, causing her hand to shake involuntarily. It boggles my mind to learn about the enormous amount of beautiful needlework this 92-year-old has produced, electrical helps notwithstanding. Can we attribute it to her big heart?

(My thanks to Helen’s daughter Sylvia for this abridged interview. Both daughters graduated as nurses in keeping with their mother’s yen for service to others.)