The seventh in the series from The Canadian Embroiderer’s Guild of Guelph for Canada’s 150th birthday and today is from west to east – from north to south – it is all, ‘Our Canada’!

My Canada

I am proud to say that I have traveled all across Canada – all 10 provinces and 2 territories. Nunavut is the only place I have missed which is why it is white. The silver french knots represent cities I have lived in from Vancouver to Kingston. Raw edge Applique in red and white.

The Province of Ontario

Ontario borders the northern shores of Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron (eastern) and Superior. Our provincial flower is the Trillium which grows wild in the woods and blooms during May.

The Red Barn

My Grandpa had a farm with a large red barn and my Grandma had a beautiful flower garden in LaSalle, Quebec by the St Lawrence River. This is dedicated to all Canadian farmers that have kept us nourished over the years.

The Bluenose

Fifty nine years ago I arrived in Canada and six years later I chose to become a Canadian Citizen. Canada is home for me. I am proud to celebrate 150th anniversary of this beautiful, rich and diverse country. Each time I go shopping, the dime with the “Bluenose” on it in my wallet reminds me how fortunate I am to live in Canada.

Arctic Spring

Northern Canada is vast and almost barren. Inuit have built Inukshuks from unworked stone for centuries. These markers were used for communication and survival. One of their traditional meanings is “You are on the right path”. I believe that Canada is on the right path.

My Canada

“West Montrose Covered Bridge”. Living in the Guelph / Fergus / Elora area provides not only wonderful scenery, but also, wonderful examples of our history. These are living reminders of what it took to create communities out of a wilderness.

Canada’s Guardians

I was raised along the St Lawrence River. To me, Canada is beautiful rivers, lakes and mountains. I also love lighthouses which are mysterious. It makes one wonder what these lighthouses have witnessed. My piece is based on the lakes, rivers so prevalent in Canada.

First Nations

We should all take time to remember that the Europeans were not the first people to call Canada home. Many people called this land home for thousands of years before the first Europeans landed on our shores.

THE END

Thank you for viewing this project from the Canadian Embroiderer’s Guild of Guelph for Canada’s 150th birthday and sharing the collaboration. There will be one last posting in this series tomorrow.

The sixth in the series from The Canadian Embroiderer’s Guild of Guelph for Canada’s 150th birthday and today is about our views of Canada.

My Canada

As Canadians we don’t make a fuss about being Canadian. We tend to be rather reserved. I hope that these samples of our needlework will shout out that we are proud to be Canadian more loudly than our spoken words.

Tom Thomson – artist

Born 1877 Died July 8, 1917 on Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park. His most famous works are – West Wind, Jack Pine, The Birches, The Drive.

Canadian Family

Canada is a mosaic of people and my family is no exception. We are blessed to have a diversity of background and we all learn from each other.

The Cloth of our Canada

“If it wisna’ fir the weavers, what would ye do?”

Folk respected for their skills, their creativity, their resourcefulness, brought with them the tools and materials of their trade. Manufacturing, visual arts, and social justice. And their strong sense of equality.

They wove the cloth of our Canada.

The Red Canoe

Eric and Liz were married at our family cottage in 2014. Eric restored the canoe and made their paddles. Nothing says Canada more than a red canoe on a beautiful Muskoka lake.

“What Canada means to me”

friendship from coast to coast
a cup of coffee…
that starts a conveersation,
heals a friendship
begins the day, warm, comforting, ubiquitous, a smile, your home, our home.

MY CANADA IS INVITING TO ALL

Bonjour

My Canada

“We had to walk over a mile to school”…. “Sure, sure, uphill both ways”. Scots settlers made sure there was a school for every child…and universities, and libraries, and stories and songs. Step by step, those cold, weary walks built our Canada.

My Canadian Ribbons

My ribbons are a result of great exposure to many options in this country. My parents came to Bath, Ontario in 1953. With my two brothers we lived in a house built in 1784 for soldiers. I did 4H and Church groups learning. We had a terrific education,

The dates are significant in my life and the ribbons are some of my personal accolades.

The fifth in the series from The Canadian Embroiderer’s Guild of Guelph for Canada’s 150th birthday and today is about the connections and threads that keep us together.

To all our American friends, I wish you a happy and safe American Independence Day tomorrow.

Threads Of Our Country

Every Canadian citizen is a thread in the fabric that we call Canada. Our strength comes from weaving all those individuals into a sturdy, durable fabric.

Stitcher’s Mosaic

I wanted to put together some of the many types of stitching that come together in Canada – especially at the Embroidery Guild. Shown are Norwegian Hardanger, Brazilian Embroidery, Porcupine Quillwork with beads, Stumpwork, Machine Stitching. Jugoslavian border (Bosnian woman’s cap) and English smocking. I estimate that this piece took 60 + hours to complete.

Emigration and Immigration

I arrived in Canada in late October 1969 from Scotland. I did not plan to stay long in Canada but only to use it as a jumping off spot for my “round the world trip” to New Zealand and then return to Scotland. My girl friend, who was to accompany me, backed out for personal reasons and since I had given up my job and social organizations, I decided to come on my own!

On my arrival at Toronto airport I was greeted by several inches of snow and a howling wind and I was wearing my skinny wool coat. But I did not experience real cold until I moved to London a few weeks later. It was so cold and the wind chill so biting, I thought that Canada was the most God forsaken country in the world! I was so homesick and I thought that I was never going to be warm again.

However, I found a Canadian coat called LaParka by Linda Lundstrom and it was bright red! The colour cheered me up and kept me warm for many winters, since by that time I had met a fella.

The rest is history.

My Canada

We arrived in Canada as immigrants from England in November 1986.

Looking out of the window of my new home in Ottawa, all I could see was white and grey. The roads were white with salt and frost, the grass was blanketed in snow as were the roofs of all the buildings which were all shades of white, cream and beige. Even the evergreen trees were tightly bundled in burlap. There was no one to be seen in the street. I thought I had landed on the moon and I was very homesick.

It took a long time for me to see the beauty in the winter, the silver glints amongst the grey, and admire the cold, crisp sunny days.

Embroidery, Stitching and Fabric

As a child, my mother showed me how to embroider and cross stitch on cloth. As an adult, I learned to make large bed quilts, art quilts and art bras full of free motion quilting as well as embroidery and beading. As a child of immigrants (from Poland), I am grateful for my life, my family and all my creative adventures in Canada.

Underground Railroad

According to popular history, escaping slaves were guided on their way by quilts displayed on clotheslines or porch railings. Log cabins meant a safe house.

The Flying Geese pattern meant: “Follow the migrating geese northward to find sanctuary in Canada”.

Canada’s Fall Colours

The riot of colours of maple leaves each Fall evokes fond memories of my first Fall in Canada, thirty years ago in Montreal. I never cease to be amazed at these delightful colours.

My Canada

My Canada is filled with caring people who support one another.

I’ve met the most incredibly giving people through my involvement with the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides. I can’t think of a better volunteer job than to foster future dog guide puppies who grow up to be life changing partners for the client with whom they are paired. These wonderful Dog Guides provide disabled Canadians with greater security and independence to live their lives to the fullest.

The forth in the series from The Canadian Embroiderer’s Guild of Guelph for Canada’s 150th birthday and today is about Canadian animals, birds and nature. I hope everyone had a wonderful Canada Day.

Beaver

Canada was first explored to find a passage to India and China. The explorers discovered a wide and rich land. European hunger for beaver hats meant the beaver played a pivotal role in opening this land to European settlement. My ancestors (French, German / Pennsylvania Dutch, Irish and Manx came here as farmers and craftsmen to settle this land.

For me, the beaver was also part of cottage life. Our property had a stream. Hiking along it you came to a beaver dam and pond. Even in the driest summers, the stream still had a trickle of water. The pond was a watering hole for deer and other animals. The beaver showed me his important niche in the ecology at the cottage. It is an area I love (and miss).

Moose

After World War II my Dad worked as a scaler for the department of Lands and Forests. He used to tell a wonderful story about spending a day sitting on a rocky outcrop because a bull moose didn’t want him in his territory. My Dad had enough sense to not try to out run the moose.

Loon

My Canada includes waking up to the call of the loon on the lake.

Grey Jay

The Canadian Geographic society chose the Grey Jay as the Canadian National Bird. It is the only bird found in all of Canada’s provinces and territories. The Grey Jay or Whiskey Jack, is known as a curious, smart and people friendly bird. It is a tough bird that lives in Canada all year round.

Monoprint Of A Leaf From Grandmother Tree

This is a magnificent tree (populus deltoides) growing in the Milk River valley in the city of Lethbridge, Alberta. It has survived floods, beaver degradation, drought, freezing temperatures, blistering sun, and insect attacks. In the process, it has given life to generations of poplars lining the river valley. To me, it represents the spirit of the west.

Fireweed

Fireweed is Yukon’s official flower and is one of the first plants to grow after a forest fire. As we drove through the Yukon, there were patches of fireweed everywhere. However, it was truly impressive to see a carpet of fireweed in the burn area north of Whitehorse after a major forest fire had occurred there two years earlier.

The Sap Bucket

When I was growing up we had two big maple trees growing in our front yard. When I was 7 or 8 years old my father borrowed 2 sap buckets and spiles and tapped the trees. He wanted to learn and teach us about maple syruping. My mother boiled the sap on the stove. Suddenly there was a big crash upstairs. Then another one. There was so much steam in the house that all the adhesive picture hangers let go and all the pictures in the house fell off the walls. We had to open some of the windows to let out the steam. Eventually, the sap was boiled down and thick enough to be called syrup. The syrup was even more delicious because we had made it.

Water, Water Everywhere

My adopted hometown, Hamilton, has more waterfalls than any city in the world! The beauty of the falls delights me daily, and reminds me of the richness of Canada’s plentiful water, in all its many forms.

This is the third in the series from The Canadian Embroiderer’s Guild of Guelph for Canada’s 150th birthday and on this special day it is all about summer. Happy Birthday Canada!!!

North Shore

The north shore of Georgian Bay is very rugged and it is one of the most beautiful places in Canada. To me, the wind swept pine on a small rocky islet is a symbol of true Canadian grit and determination to survive.

PS. Georgian Bay is in the eastern part of Lake Huron.

Georgian Bay

This year, my husband and I are celebrating twenty five years of boating in the beautiful waters of Georgian Bay. As seasoned Canadian boaters we are so very, very fortunate to have clean and well marked waterways. But the most stunning sunsets that we have experienced while on the water cannot be described. They literally take your breath away and make you appreciate all that life has to offer. They are truly a unique and amazing experience that makes us proud to be Canadian.

Summer

Our northern Ontario lakes are surrounded by rocks and colourful trees. At sunset the orange glow through the pine boughs is one of my favourite summer scenes.

Aurora Borealis

As a northern country, Canada revels in rare beauties such as the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis. I’ve seen them only twice, but will never forget their ethereal dance.

Mother Nature

In my garden or travelling in spring, summer, fall and winter, Mother Nature provides a glorious panorama of colour and texture that is so inspirational. As a gardener and an embroiderer, I am totally in awe. We are so fortunate to live in such a beautiful country.

The Four Seasons

All my life, I have loved trees, have picked my favourites wherever I’ve lived. Each tree has a different look in each season. Trees ground me and have been my “friends” when people couldn’t. My painting and fabric work are and, have been inspired by trees in all their seasons.

My Canada

My Canada is sitting beside one of our many beautiful lakes or rivers and enjoying the sounds of nature.

Harvest Time

I grew up in Saskatchewan where the harvest time was spectacular with wide open spaces, big sky, and vast fields of golden grain stretching to the distant horizon.

This is the second in the series from The Canadian Embroiderer’s Guild of Guelph for Canada’s 150th birthday and is all about the winters here in Canada.

Winter in Canada

What is more Canadian than hockey? Canadians love their hockey. Hockey is played most of the year – and some centres – all year. I have seven grandsons – six of the seven play hockey – so I could almost always be at a hockey game.

Hockey skates

When I was young in the 1950’s, hockey was an exclusively male game. Even years later, when my daughters were grown, I remember stopping at a local arena and marveling that there were girls on the ice, not figure skating but playing hockey! Now, my grand daughters take hockey for granted, and will be given equal ice time, equal teaching and equal encouragement. My Canada is a country where girls’ hockey is commonplace and thriving.

Our hockey lives

Our family grew up with hockey. Gord (Dad) played hockey as a teen then coached for 30 years. Our two boys played from ages 7 to 16. One son refereed through teens and University. Now in retirement we are season ticket holders for the Guelph “Storm” team.

Tuques and baseball hats

I made a piece with a tuque and a baseball hat. It represents winter and summer. Being a mother of 3 boys, it is what I see all the time. They either wear a tuque or a hat. Both are a Canadian necessity.

Mittens

During the 1970’s, I spent most of the decade in the Northwest Territories. I was teaching in Inuit communities. One of the first pieces of clothing I made was a pair of moosehide, beaded, blanket lined and fur trimmed mitts. I learned the 4 string braiding to make my “idiot” strings. Hung around my neck, the mitts could then be twisted behind me when not needed. Mittens were an absolute necessity!

Snowmen

Growing up in Sudbury in the 1950s, kids played outside all year round. I have many happy memories of outdoor skating rinks, tobogganing, broomball,
building snowmen, snow forts, snow ball fights – girls against boys, walking home from school at lunch time for a hot meal. I remember all this with great fondness.

What Canada means to me

Canada has always meant the true north strong and free. Montreal born in the 30’s, I grew up on lots of snow, ice and sunny skies typical of Montreal winters. A common sight was Montreal girls in Red River coats (navy) with red tuques, sashes, mitts and leggings crusted with snow balls. Would they dry by morning? We wore black overshoes with four buckles and the leggings had feet to cover our shoes and keep us warm. Snow forts and snow ball fights kept us outside. My father flooded the backyard for a rink – brave man. I still have his wooden shovel. In the spring, we had matchstick races to the sewers with the riverways chopped by big brother in icy streets. Oh My! We had lots of carefree fun.

My world expanded from sea to shiny sea by reading everything from Sgt Preston of the the Yukon to the Anne of Green Gables books. My background was Maritime and a natural segue to World War 11 and shipping overseas without the responsibility of adulthood. We were safe, and, yes, I did toboggan down “Cow Hill”. We are truly blessed to live in this country. We stand on guard for thee.

Snowshoes and skis

This piece reflects the childhood memories of snowshoeing with my family and now as an adult, cross country skiing. Enjoying the Canadian winter and seeing the wonderful changes in our beautiful landscape is what being Canadian means to me.

On July 1, 2017 Canada will be celebrating its 150th birthday. Or, you can call it a Sesquicentennial celebration. In 1864 the Fathers of Confederation met in Charlottetown to begin the process leading to the enactment of the British North America Act which, on July 1, 1867, united the four provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario into one country, Canada. The other six provinces and three territories joined at varying later dates culminating with the creation of Nunavut in 1999.

Canada has been populated for thousands of years. The original settlers may well have migrated over the massive land bridge between Siberia and Alaska which eventually became submerged with the end of the last ice age about 13,000 years ago. As the climate warmed the descendants of the earlier migrants moved south and east. The many tribes of indigenous people have spread to all parts of Canada. The name of our country is thought to come from Huron-Iroquois word “kanata” meaning “village” or “settlement”. Many of our place names come from the languages spoken by the aboriginal settlers.

In reality, what we are celebrating is the European exploration and settlement of this country which occurred over a span of several hundred years. Today, our indigenous people have been joined by others from all over the world who have chosen to live here, creating a multicultural and multinational nation.

The Canadian Embroiderer’s Guild, Guelph, proposed a project for its members.

Create a 6” square in any fabric, your choice of design and stitching. Add an explanation on

What Canada Means to Me

Our Guild of 80 members produced 110 pieces and we are proud to share some of them with you.  All the stitchers expressed individual and varied experiences.

Canada 150 Logo

I loved the colour and the symbolic maple leaf. It speaks to the diversity and inclusiveness.

Go CANADA!

Parliament Hill in Ottawa

Parliament Hill symbolizes Canada. It is a public space, historic buildings and is open
to citizens and visitors. I remember summer visits to Ottawa and seeing the fireworks framing the Canadian flag flying at the top of the Peace Tower.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride

When I was in my 30’s I went to a swearing in ceremony for new Canadian citizens.
The stands were full of of many different nationalities all waiting to become Canadian.
The R.C.M.P. performed their musical ride with the interweaving of horse and man
into various formations. This was spectacular but the passion I saw for Canada as the new citizens pledged allegiance to Canada was spectacular and inspiring. We should not take Canada for granted.

Hudson’s Bay Point Blanket

These blankets were traded to First Nations in exchange for beaver and buffalo pelts in the 18th and 19th centuries by the Hudson Bay Company. The lines or points denote the size of the blanket.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

As an immigrant to Canada, I had a lot to learn. CBC has proven to my best teacher of Canadian values and, along the way I also learned so much about Canadian writers, musicians, politicians, everyday people and all that we hold dear. When I worked to adapt to life with small kids after a busy career, Peter Gzowski kept me sane. When I felt smug in my comfortable corner of Canada, my eyes were opened to the challenge others face throughout the land, when I needed hope it was there.

Thank you CBC – the best of Canada!

Dove of Peace

As a first–generation Canadian, with Latvian roots, this country was a safe-haven for my parents, who sought a life of peace an stability. Imagine the trauma of leaving family members behind an “iron curtain”. Canada welcomed us, healed us, and made life whole again.

From different lands
By different ways
They come to make
Our Canada

We The North… is the slogan which depicts the stoic toughness of some of the Canada’s people. It is admirable but more so is the endurance of all the creatures great and small who have been blessed with bodies able to withstand unbelievable cold and deprivation to survive and grace Christmas stamps. Bravo!

I have always loved animals of all kinds especially those indigenous to Canada. Can Spring be far behind?