Tanya Robertson is celebrating Canada's 150th anniversary with a sesquicentennial quilt - which she designed and created to pay homage to this country and its people.
听听听听听听听听听听听 The owner of Sew & Sews fabric store in Carlyle says the 64鈥� by 74鈥� quilt was 鈥渁 labour of love - something I did for me, because I'm a proud Canadian.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淚t took me a lot longer (to make) than I wanted it to,鈥� adds Robertson.
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淚 bought the fabric from a Canadian company in September 2016. I started blocking out the pattern, which took a while because I would do it between customers at Sew & Sews and I also have three kids I run with,鈥� she laughs.
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淭he pattern is a mix of Canadian images and symbols which translate into something uniquely Canadian,鈥� explains Robertson. 鈥淭here's an RCMP panel, a Canadian flag, a Saskatchewan flag and a few other things that are straightforward.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淏ut there are also geometric symbols and quilting symbols which have special meanings inspired by Canada.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淭here's a friendship star, because Canadians are notorious around the world for their friendliness and generosity,鈥� says Robertson. 鈥淎nd there's flying geese blocks, a Canada block and a Saskatchewan flag.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 Robertson's creation also pays tribute to Canada's Indigenous peoples.
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淭here's a medicine wheel - a symbol highly regarded in our First Nations' culture - appliqued onto a snowball block,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd there's also a Rail fence/Metis block, because both the railroad and the Metis people were integral parts of the formation of Canada.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淭he Metis flag that is used today has a lot of meaningful history behind it,鈥� she adds. 鈥淭he current - and most defining Metis flags consist of two variations - one is blue and one is red.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淎ccording to research I did, the Alberta Metis Historical Society states that the flag represents the Metis people with the infinity sign that symbolizes the coming together of the two cultures that came together to make up the Metis people.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淚 deal with a lot of First Nations people here at Sew & Sews, because we sell a lot of regalia supplies for their pow wow garments,鈥� says Robertson. 鈥淎nd I have First Nations connections with my own personal history.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淎nd Saskatchewan is home,鈥� she smiles. 鈥淪o I paid tribute to this province in the quilt. To me, Saskatchewan people are very down-to-earth. I love this province, but as a whole, Canada has so much to offer and so much to celebrate and take pride in.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 Robertson says that the response to her creation has come from quilters beyond Saskatchewan.
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淚've had a few offers to sell it,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut it's not for sale; I'm keeping it.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淚've had tons of compliments on it,鈥� adds Robertson. 鈥淨uilters from all over have really responded positively to it, which is nice. A former teacher of mine - who now lives in Vulcan, Alberta -听 even got in touch, so that's really gratifying. A few people have suggested that I enter it in quilt competitions, but I probably won't, because that would mean sending it away.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 However, as a result of the interest in 鈥淐anada Celebrates!鈥� Robertson sells both a quilt pattern and a kit 鈥� which includes a pattern and fabric needed to complete the quilt top.
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淎 lot of quilters are making their own 'Canada Celebrates!' quilt already,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t's not a difficult pattern to complete. Some people are gifting them and some are keeping them as their own keepsake of this special year in our nation's history.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淚 never started this project with the intent to sell it,鈥� says Robertson. 鈥淚t was something for me. But when you love what you do, you're not looking for recognition for it; you just want to share it.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淎s Canadians, we should be proud of where we live and who we are. I was happy to do this project and proud to do it. We should all be proud of where we live and I hope the images in this quilt reflect that.鈥�
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