Chosen by Canada 150 Coordinator Delany Leitch as a symbol of our rural
history and culture which can also be found across Canada over the past
150 years.
What makes the quilt important to both Ontario and Canadian culture is
that it is the product of a craft that brought people, generally women,
together in collaborative community groups. Quilting bees provided the
opportunity for women of varying ages to share recipes, advice, and
familial news in addition to keeping their family members warm during
the winter months. According to professional storyteller Pauline
Grondin, “No thread running through Canada’s history is stronger or more
consistent than in their use as links between women and their female
descendants. Generations of women were united by the quilts that were
the works of their hands and their hearts.”
This particular quilt is special because it features the iconic Log
Cabin pattern. Jane Hall, author of “Quilt Patterns Through Time” at
www.womenfolk.com, writes that “Log Cabin quilt designs were among the
most popular and easily recognized of all quilt patterns. Beginning with
a center shape, usually a square, the traditional design is made by
sewing stripes in sequence around the sides of the square, varying the
values between light and dark.” In the British Isles, this easy-to-make
design is often called “Canadian Logwork,” and there are many Log Cabin
quilts found in Canada.
The message this quilt brings to present and future generations is that
there was a time in the not-so-distant past when people in communities
would join together to quickly accomplish tasks that would have taken
one person a great deal of time to complete. Work was all done by hand,
but instead of being tedious events, bees were some of the most
enjoyable social gatherings of the year for the quilters and their
families. People today can appreciate not only the skill required for
the craft itself but also the togetherness it brought, both things that
often aren’t as prevalent in 2017.