Few countries can claim the exhilarating contrasts between summer, winter, spring and fall that Canada does. So it seemed natural to New Brunswick quilter and teacher Lois Wilby-Hooper to celebrate these dramatic differences by designing a Canadian Seasons quilt. Changing seasons have inspired artists, poets and songwriters, so why not quilters? “I'm greatly influenced by the landscape and seasons of this area,” Lois says. "They are reflected in most of my designs."
Canadian Seasons started out as a challenge when Lois's scrap bag threatened to take over her sewing room. "It's unthinkable for a quilter to throw out any bit of fabric," she says, "so I created a fun project to use my scraps, which were in a rich range of colours."
The finished twin-size quilt measures 225 x 150 cm (88-5/8 x 59-1/8 in).
You need:
Quilt pattern (PDF format, requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader)
Cotton or polyester/cotton broadcloth and calico, 115 cm wide, as follows:
- 7 m cream, for background and backing
- 1.40 m (total) print and solid greens, for summer trees
- .95 m (total) print and solid purples, blues and greys, for winter trees
- .85 m (total) print and solid yellows, oranges and reds, for autumn trees
- .80 m (total) solid greens, browns, blues and black, for trunks
- .45 m (total) print and solid mauves, pale greens, off-whites and pale pinks, for spring trees
- 8 m cream extra-wide double-fold bias tape, for binding
Matching thread
Twin-size polyester quilt batting
Cream quilting thread
Fine quilting needle
Quilting frame
Mylar or light cardboard, for templates
Twin-size flat sheet, for layout only
Water-soluble fabric marker
Pencil and ruler
Brown paper
To make:
Note: Preshrink and press all fabrics. Sew with right sides together using 6 mm (1/4 in) seam allowance throughout. Press all seams to one side. Avoid stretching seams when stitching along bias.
