Flathead Quilters' Guild holds camp for teens

On the most basic level, a quilt is two layers of fabric sewn together, sandwiching a layer of batting with the end goal of providing warmth.

For the quilters, they represent much more.

To first-time quilter Melina Baracker, 15, a quilt is an expression of her interests.

On June 21 at Glacier Quilts in Kalispell, Baracker picks up a quilt she completed that symbolizes her interest in astronomy. Holding two corners of the quilt, squares of bright firework-patterned fabric unfold before a dark blue background dotted with stars. The edging is a more abstract pattern representing aspens, she said.

“The border is trees as if you’re looking up through the trees to the sky and seeing the stars and fireworks,” Baracker said.

Baracker was learning to quilt during a five-day camp for 12- to 15-year olds put on by the Flathead Quilters’ Guild.

The guild has held the camp for nearly 20 years, according to instructor Sylvia Kerchner. Kerchner has been helping with the camp for the past five years.

For Kerchner, a quilt is a gift of love and comfort.

Kerchner said she mainly does uncomplicated designs. What is most important to her is that the quilts are well-used and well-loved, whether laid out on the lawn at a picnic, or covering a baby in warmth.

“I used to say you’re wrapped in my love when I give you that quilt,” Kerchner said.

This year, there are six beginners and six returning campers. The beginners learn the basics of quilting, operating a sewing machine and use sewing notions.

This is 14-year-old Anna Bergstedt’s third year attending the camp. She now focuses on helping her peers, while also practicing her skills. Quilting takes patience, careful planning and attention to detail.

“There’s a lot of measuring. You have to get it exact or it can throw it off,” Bergstedt said.

Susan Gilman, owner of Glacier Quilts, added, “It’s a practical application of all their math, especially geometry.”

Gilman said quilting also sharpens hand-eye coordination.

In a back room at the shop, Gilman oversees campers using a long-arm quilting machine. This specialized machine speeds up the quilting process, so that each camper can go home with a completed project.

As the namesake implies, the long arm looks is an elongated sewing machine with handlebars on the end. Holding onto the bars with both hands, 14-year-old Isaac Bertrand concentrates on guiding the long arm in waves around the expanse of the quilt.

“Remember, no race car-ing so your stitches are big,” Gilman said.

Pacing himself, Bertrand reaches the final corner of his brightly colored quilt. The whirring machine goes silent.

“[This is] my first time actually making a quilt and using all this nice machinery,” Bertrand said.

“This pattern that I chose is called a twisted square. It’s an optical illusion,” he said describing how the fabric pieces look like they’re layered, but are sewn side-by-side.

For Bertrand, quilting is a fun and relaxing process.

“You get to choose your own fabric. You get to pick so many cool fabrics and bright colors, shapes and sizes and designs — that’s my favorite part about quilting — and also sewing them together because it’s relaxing,” Bertrand said.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.