Log Cabin Quilt

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.