Alice Disaster Quilting society

The Alice Disaster Quilting Society was originally formed to make a quilt in memory of the victims of the Alice Disaster. Each year the quilters have a week of residency at the Alice Art Initiative and add to the memorial quilt hanging in the Alice Disaster Quilting Project Museum.

The quilt has reached mammoth proportions as hundreds of quilters have added to the quilts over the years. Most of the quilt includes equisite workmanship as quilters add only a small piece to the quilt. In many Darrenite families, especially those with relatives killed in the Alice disaster, it is considered a right of passage for the girls in the family to add to the quilt.

Each year a different master quilter is enlisted to teach workshops. This year Cynthia Meedham was enlisted to teach a machine quilting workshop. Twenty women/girls are selected to attend the workshop each year. While the selection process is difficult, almost all who complete the application process are accepted. Additional weeks are added if too many women apply and complete the onerous application.

In addition to quilting the woman in this workshop are also leaders in organizing Le grève du sexe Pastor Wilhemina Baxter from Lakeside has been instrumental in advocating for the reproductive rights of the women of Darren. She is assisted by another Lakesider Wendy Muholland. Since, they are also responsible for choosing the women attending the workshops they can ensure that they have appropriate leadership for les greves du sexe.

The present Prince of Darren, Reny Rousseau, has tried unsuccessfully, to shut down these workshops. He has been overruled by his council. Wilhemina Baxter is so popular with the women of Darren that the counselors feel it would be political suicide for Reny Rousseau to try to oppose her workshop leadership. He has tried to oppose the workshops on the basis that they do not allow boys or men into the workshops. Pastor Baxter has indicated that any male who is able to complete the onerous application will be admitted to the workshop. So far no male has been able to do that yet.

Applications to the workshop can be found at: Quilt workshop application.