Oh Canada, Eh?

This is another quilt that I made a few years ago.  I call it "Oh Canada, Eh?" as a nod to my insessant use of the word "Eh" and to my country, Canada.  I always found it a little strange that people gave their quilts names, but I jumped on that bandwagon and gave it quite a fitting one, I must say.

I wanted to make something warm and cosy for those cold Canadian nights and wanted to use leaves and warm autumn colours. I then decided to use the symbol of everything Canadian, the Maple Leaf. I was inspired to do so, by seeing some beautiful American flag quilts in a magazine and I wanted to be equally patriotic.

I did not, however, like the actual red that is used so often in the Canadian maple leaf symbol.  I find it too bright against the stark white backdrop of the flag, so I decided to tone down the reds and use beiges, ecrus and taupes instead of the white.  I had seen many American flag quilts use tea-stained/aged looking fabrics instead of the white in their flag, so I did the same.  This gives it a more vintage/antebellum feel. 

I made this quilt, lap-quilt size and used flannel (of course) for the backing.  I tend towards using flannel as backing for all my quilts.  It just adds to the coziness, I think.

I used 16 squares for each block, using 1/2 triangle blocks and solids to make the leaf shape. I then cut small strips of fabric, turned under the edges and top stitched them onto the square, at the bottom of the leaf, for the stems. 

I hope you like this quilt. Has anyone else made a quilt with a Canadian theme?  I would love to see it.

Rosie