The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

14 - The Canadian Chamin Tuesday, September 5, 2000 'Quilter's Basket celebrates grand opening Sepnt. 18-23 By IRENE GENTIE The Champion Forget snowboarding or scooters - quilting could stili pull ahead as the hot hobby of the decade. It combines tise creative mising of colour and pattera witis tise locused precision of higiser geometry, Il decreases stress, heigistens concentration and, thanko b easy, isands-on lessons, can be done by anyone. Tisat's tise premise beisind the Quilter's Basket, wisich opened April 25 ai 264 Bronte St. S., unit one. A grand opening is sched- uled for the week of September 18 to 23. Thie woman behind it is Dagmar Scherer. who fed a recently- acquired addiction to quilting by opening her own store. "I was fascinated by quilting, the colours and the patteras," said Ms Scherer. "I took courses and decided Ibis town could really use s quilt shop." Others appear to agree. Since opening, Ms Scherer has ollered a variety of well-attended quilting classes for pre-beginners, begin- ners and kids. More complex lare is also offered. 'Me classes demolish the intimidation of complicated-looking quilts. Those who've neyer held a labric swatch belore.emerge from a two-hour pre-beginners session with a seilf-made wall hanging. Once the technique is grasped, quilting is as simple, challeng- ing or va;%ed as the people who do it. "The possibilities are endîcos," said Lynne Tompkins, s full- time employee at the shop. The Quilter's Basket sprawls across about 2,800 square feet of space, divvied up mbt a series of rooms. One is jam-packed with lashings of labric boîts in a kaleido- scope of colours, as well as books, patterns, kits a nd quilting accessories. Janome brand machines are also available. What isn't there can be ordered in. A cozy roomn complete with a couch and table curîs by one side of the shop, while another housing a 14-boot hand-guided and laser-lit quilting machine nestles on the other. A classroomn ares perches above it ail on the second floor. And s riot of completed quilîs cast both inspiration and a down- home glow throughout it ail. In running the shop, Ms Scherer and Ms Tompkins are good- natured wiîh a down-to-earth humour, both quick with a quip and containing a storehouse of knowledge on the various aspects of quilt-making. Quilting is an oId tradition, dating back sîniost as far as human creativity and resoureefulness. But judging by the number of young people passing through the doors of the Quilter's Basket, il won't go out of style soon. At ils basic, quilting starts wiîh selecting a pattera and plenîy of coloured cloth. The labric is then cul into pieces and sewn precisely back together again in distinctive design that can be as simple or com- plicated as thse maker chooses. .That outer covering is then sewn onto an inner tiller, or batting, for warmnth and texture. Historically, women used recycled clothing for their quilts when times were lean and money tight. -It was thse beginning of layering," said Ms Tompkins. "To stay warm you layer, and that's basically what Ibis is." Today, quilting is largely considered a hobby or art lorra, and thse people wbo make them are frequently hooked on trying ever more elaborate colours, labrics and patteras. 'You always bave to be challenged to do something cIsc," said Ms Scherer. But it's also a sure way to lower blond-pressure and stress lev- els. "People are so stressed out these days, they neecl something that can calm tsera," site said. "It takes their mind off the stress of working.' hugejt toi be la etUccty ike a te instrmen ies cýaunta-Mllos i sunamiU yeaterday as c pread tht belo0e ble cornucopiao beiic Photo by GRAHAM PAINE Owner Dagmar Scherer holds up a boit of cheerfully coloured fabrle, one* of many available at the Quilter'a Basket on Branle Street.