1939 - Convention Report

              64 A L B E R T A WOMEN'S INSTITUTES
Eight Institutes report having had demonstrators sent out from the
Department of Agriculture, for one or two day short courses. Others re­port
demonstrations given by members. Rug- making takes the lead, closely
followed by chenille flowers and glove- making— one Institute reports mak­ing
24 pairs of gloves. Then comes sewing, knitting, weaving, woolcraft
embroidery, etc., in fact, every phase of needlework from tatting to mat­tress
making. I have had reports on 73 demonstrations and I am sure there
have been many more unreported.
A great number of quilts have been made, some for members, some for
needy of the districts, some to raise funds for the Institute, the hospitals,
the Radium Fund, and some to satisfy the need to make something really
lovely. These are the ones on display at this Convention. One group re­ports
piecing 25 quilts and two others report 10 each.
There have been 15 reports of Handicraft Displays at Constituency
Conferences, all reporting an improvement in work and a greater enthus­iasm.
In some cases, prizes are given to individuals, in others the Institute
with the greatest number of points wins the prize. I have attended four of
these and have assisted twice with the judging.
Several Institutes have subscribed for Handicraft or Needlework Maga­zines.
Several get the C K U A lessons which they follow on the radio. A
great many have their members cut interesting articles from magazines
and papers to be read at meetings, then ' filed for the use of members. At
least three have had information on " How to Judge Handicraft."
The First Prize Rug and Quilt from the 1937 A. W. I. Convention were
sent to the British Exposition held in Glasgow that year. These were from
Angus Ridge and this Institute also reports sending work to the Calgary
Handicraft Guild Show held in January last. Splendid work is done by this
group; their standard is high indeed.
Last Fall I wrote to all the Constituency Conveners asking them to
ascertain if their Institutes would like a demonstration at this Convention.
The response was very satisfactory and as weaving and needlepoint were
the subjects most generally requested, demonstrations for these were ar­ranged
for by the Council. This, I am sure, you will all appreciate greatly.
I do hope each delegate will attend these demonstrations, so that she will be
able to help her fellow- members this Fall, by showing them how the work
is done and telling them what kind of work is shown.
I have had a number of very good papers sent in to me. These I send
on to other Institutes. Some papers have become seasoned travellers. I wish
to thank the writers most sincerely, as they have been a great help and I
hope our work becomes better each year.
The following are the results of the competitions, and I congratulate
the winners:
RUGS
Class 201— Braided Rugs of Old Material—
1. Mrs. R. R. Clelland, Angus Ridge.
2. Mrs. C. Duke, Donalda.
3. Mrs. W. F . Wilson, Lethbridge.
Class 202— Hooked Rugs of New Material ( Clipped) —
1. Kirkcaldy W. I.
Class 203— Hooked Rugs of Old Material ( Clipped) —
1. Mrs. Thomas Angus, Angus Ridge.
2. Miss Betty Befus, Cluny.
3. Mrs. S. Raafiaub, Boyle.