QUILTER Kim Reilly recalls a story about a woman from Hobsons Bay’s flood-ravaged sister city of Buloke in the state’s north-west.
The woman, whose home was flooded for the second time in January last year, was mourning the loss of a treasured family quilt.
“She lamented its loss . . . only to find that her son had picked the quilt up and thrown it on top of the wardrobe,” Ms Reilly said.
She said that after the floods, a group of Hobsons Bay women travelled to Buloke shire to lift the women’s spirits by holding quilting workshops. “Eighty women turned up and they just kept coming in.”
Quilts and other handmade crafts created in the workshops feature in an After the Rains exhibition running at Altona’s Joel Gallery until Sunday.
The Hands of Friendship quilt, woven by Hobsons Bay quilters, has sold for $1000. Proceeds go to the flood recovery fund. All items are for sale to raise money for the flood victims.
