O Canada! Canadian quilts

Since Canada Day is coming up (July 1), we wanted to share some of these wonderful quilts.  They were made by Canadians to honor the country's 150th anniversary in 2017.  Each of these outstanding quilts incorporates a nine patch design, either overtly or in a subtle way.  The quilts represent Canada’s history, geography, and culture as expressed by each artist.

p.s. For bargains on quilt books, magazines, and jewelry, visit us on E-Bay - we're Top Rated Sellers ! For continuous listings of free quilt patterns, please check us out on Twitter !

I Must Go Down to the Sea Again by Leah Gravells (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)

Leah Gravells says she was inspired by Canada’s smallest province, Prince Edward Island’s potato fields, the Westpoint Lighthouse, and the sea. "My maternal grandfather and my father were lobster fishermen. The Westpoint Lighthouse (now iconic) guided them home to a safe harbor. I spent my early years at the shore and the lighthouse. I make a pilgrimage annually, as I must go down to the sea again."

This beautiful landscape quilt was created with machine piecing, hand applique, hand embroidery, and quilt-as-you-go techniques using cotton batik, wool, velvet, rayon, toile, silk, and ribbon.

Paint The Town Jelly Bean by Shelley DeHay-Turner (Oakville, Ontario, Canada)

Paint The Town was inspired by the brightly colored, whimsical Jelly Bean houses of Newfoundland. Shelley DeHay-Turner says, "My quilt pays homage to the people of Newfoundland who showed tremendous compassion, kindness, and generosity in their support of the many passengers re-routed to Gander, Newfoundland following the tragedy of 9/11."

Spinnaker Sails by Leslie and Ronald Prokop, quilted by Shelley DeHay-Turner (Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada)

Canada can boast the longest coastline in the world with over 200,000 km of shoreline (over 152,000 miles)!  It is no surprise that Canada has a proud nautical history.   In this quilt, competitive sailors at the regatta, with colorful spinnaker sails full of wind, make a patchwork of color across the horizon.  This colorful quilt was hand appliqued, machine pieced and quilted.

Winds of Change by Kathy Mundy (Oakville, Ontario, Canada)

Winds of Change is a tribute to the First Nations of Canada. It is based on a dreamcatcher pattern from No Hats in the House, a dreamcatcher pattern. It is the belief of the Ojibwa, that the dreamcatcher allows only good thoughts to pass through and provides a positive lens for the hopes, dreams, and ambitions of future generations. Kathy Mundy incorporated blue jay feathers as she loves catching a glimpse of the vibrant blue color throughout the four Canadian seasons.

Late Skate by Janet Waurechen (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada)

Late Skate was hand pieced, appliqued, embroidered, and embellished, machine pieced. Janice Waurechen says, "I wanted to create a quilt to portray an iconic Canadian image. My Canadian nine Patch quilt pictures a lone figure skater on a frozen pond at night. She is illuminated by the Northern Lights, the moon and the stars. I called my quilt Late Skate, ice dancing under the stars."

Fall in Canada by Helen Monighan and the Stoney Creek Quilters’ Guild, quilted by Ginny Hoages (Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada)

The Stoney Creek Quilters Guild members were each asked to create a Maple Leaf square. The 56 maple leaves were brought together by the design of member Helen Monighan. Each Maple Leaf square is unique, as each guild member comes from a different cultural background. Fall in Canada was hand appliqued and embroidered, machine pieced, appliqued, and quilted.

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival.

O Canada ! Canadian Nine Patch quilts

What are Canadian Nine Patch quilts?  They are quilts made by Canadians to honor the country's 150th anniversary in 2017.  Each of these outstanding quilts incorporates a nine patch design, either overtly or in a subtle way.  The quilts represent Canada’s history, geography, and culture as expressed by each artist. Since Canada Day is coming up (July 1), we wanted to share some of these wonderful quilts.

p.s. For bargains on quilt books, magazines, and jewelry, visit us on E-Bay - we're Top Rated Sellers ! For continuous listings of free quilt patterns, please check us out on Twitter ! 

Maple Leaf by Susan Therrien (Winona, Ontario, Canada)

Maple Leaf was hand appliqued, machine pieced and quilted, and paper pieced. Susan Therrien says, "I am proud to be Canadian! Finding a variety of symbols representing life in Canada became the inspiration for my Canadian Nine Patch." The nine-patch center of the quilt, inspired by clip art from the web, reflects the many aspects of Canadian heritage and cultural activities.

The red Maple Leaf and small quilted leaves are internationally recognized as symbols of Canada.

Canadian Tartan by Rebecca McAlpine (Oakville, Ontario, Canada)

This map quilt was inspired by the Canadian Nine Patch theme, the map of Canada, and Scottish heritage. All of Canada’s provinces and territories have official tartans. The Canadian Tartan quilt is a map of Canada with each province and territory depicted by its tartan as registered in The Scottish Register of Tartans.

The Tartan map of Canada is on a background of the Maple Leaf Nine Patch. The quilt is bound in the national tartan, The Maple Leaf. The Canadian Maple Leaf tartan was designed by David Weiser, for Canada in honor of the country’s centenary in 1967. If you look closely you can see the maple leaf block in the white-on-white background, shown below:

Modern Hudson Bay by Joanne and Jenna Prokop, quilted by Leslie Prokop

Machine pieced and quilted, Modern Hudson Bay is a modern interpretation of the iconic Hudson Bay Blanket. This quilt uses a variation of the traditional Nine Patch to illustrate Canada’s patchwork history.

Founded in 1670, the Hudson Bay Company was at the center of Europe’s exploration of what would become the second largest country in the world, Canada. Driven by the fur trade, HBC was the driving force in developing the trade routes across Canada, connecting Newfoundland and the Atlantic Ocean to Vancouver Island and the Pacific.

True North by Karen Brown (North York, Ontario, Canada)

Machine pieced and quilted,  Karen Brown's Canadian Nine Patch quilt takes a modern approach to traditional blocks. You can see traditional blocks, such as the Maple Leaf, viewed from a perspective.  She says, "Learning from the past and building toward a future brings Canada together as a country at the top of the world."

O Canada in Morse Code by Susan Richard (Oakville, Ontario, Canada)

Susan Richard says, "I have always been intrigued by Morse Code, a special alphabet represented by a series of dots and dashes... In this strip pieced quilt, I used the combination of dots (replaced with Canadian maple leaves) and dashes to spell out Canada’s National Anthem, “O Canada”. Within the quilt, there are two places where the dots and dashes line up and appear as three mini Canada flags sitting one on top of the other. Each flag, composed of three pieces of fabric, creates a Canadian Nine Patch out of Canadian flags."

Image credits:  Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2017 Houston International Quilt Festival.  The Canadian Nine Patch exhibit was organized by Leslie Prokop and Shelley DeHay-Turner in honor of Canada's sesquicentennial.