Celebration of quilting 2024 Quilt Show

Jane Souch has been chosen as our featured quilter for the Durham Trillium Quilters’ Guild 2024 Show. 

Jane has been sewing virtually her entire life. At the tender age of four, she began by making clothes for her dollies and eventually progressed to making her own clothes. Following in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother, she even made a few quilts in these early years.

As a young mom, Jane learned to hand quilt with the help of the ladies in the Kingsview United Church quilting group. She made many quilts to be sold at the annual Church Bazaar and eventually went on to lead the Kingsview Quilter’s group. Meeting weekly, the ladies hand stitched beautiful quilts, often gifted to those in need.

Over the years, Jane made numerous quilts for her children, but really got bitten by the “quilting bug” upon her retirement. The subsequent purchase of a longarm quilting machine now has Jane involved in the making and/or quilting of no less than 130 quilts per year.

When Covid 19 hit, Jane took it upon herself to pass the hours in “lockdown” by making a new quilt for each of her 13 grandchildren. She then expanded her sights and produced new quilts for each of her four children as well as members of her extended family who were getting married.

Jane loves to design her own patterns and has a keen eye for colour and the principles of design thus allowing her to create stunning works of art. When looking for inspiration, she also finds lovely ideas on YouTube which she then adapts to her own style. She is particularly fond of the works of Angela Walters, Pat Slone, Helen Godden and Donna Jordan.

Several years ago, at the urging of her grandchildren, Jane was convinced to enter some of her quilts into the Fair near the family cottage. She has been awarded many ribbons for her talented work. She now is passing on this knowledge to the next generations of her family and encourages many of her own grandchildren to make their own quilts and enter the same contests!

Jane enjoys making quilts for charity and this year, alone, her donations include 11 quilts for Quilts of Valour, some for Ukrainian refugee families who have relocated to Canada, other to her local Cancer Centre and still others to the many local groups supported by Guild charities.

Several years ago, Jane was approached by Northcott Fabrics and asked to make quilts for their promotion of new fabric lines. She is always excited to complete these projects as not only does she get to sew with some lovely patterns and fabrics, she also gets to quilt them herself. This has raised Jane’s longarm quilting skills to a new level, admired by all who see her finished work. What could be more fun than getting to do something you love! 

Look for Jane and her quilts at the 2024 Quilt Show.