Our research into the unpaid production of supplies and comforts by civilian Canadian women on the home front in the First and Second World Wars is ongoing. The purpose of this blog is to share some of the information we are finding as we delve deep into primary sources – from newspapers and periodicals of the day, to archives of the Federated Women’s Institutes and Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire (IODE), Salvation Army and Canadian Red Cross, letters and scrapbooks, and to the quilts themselves. The information shared here is by no means comprehensive, because so much of this story has yet to be uncovered. As we uncover new information, the details of these posts may change. If you see anything posted here which may not be accurate or to which you could add more information, please do not hesitate to contact us.
The Cowichan Sweater and WW2
In October, on CBC Gem (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's digital video streaming service), I...
Canadian Red Cross Quilts found in Germany
Joanna's note: This month, I have invited Monika Modersitzki as a guest blogger, to relay this...
A ‘Warsage’ and collecting War Savings Stamps
I made a discovery last year on Carrie Lord’s Instagram account called @homefronthistory. On March...
A Canadian Victory Quilt comes home…
Quilts tell stories. Quilt tell stories about who made them. The designs, the colours, the...
One city’s account of Red Cross Work
I am often asked what we know about how Canadian women went about completing the work of producing...
“A Fine Token of Friendship and Good Feeling”
This week, after finding the 1941 image of an underground hospital in London in wartime (posted on...
Mrs. Walking Sun donates beaded dress to Red Cross
The contributions by Canadian Indigenous women to the war effort, both WWI and WW2, has been...
Lucy Maud Montgomery, Rilla and the War Years
The book series of Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery, is known internationally and has...
Quilting on a Continuum
One of my interests in considering Canadian women’s wartime charitable work in textiles, is the...
Finding Mrs. Gordon Boyd in The Daily Gleaner – ‘Hands Across the Sea’
Last month when I made a presentation at the Museum of Lennox and Addington in Napanee, Ontario, I...









