Presentation themes:
‘Quilting as to War’ – Between 1939 and 1945, Canadian women made over 400,000 quilts that were sent to Britain and Europe in wartime. Quilts were distributed to military barracks, hospitals, bomb shelters and to civilians bombed out of their homes. Groups including the Canadian Red Cross, Salvation Army, Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire, and Bundles for Britain, among many others, shipped the quilts, along with sewn clothing, knitted items and hospital supplies to depots in Britain for distribution. This presentation tells a story that is well-known in Britain, but little known in Canada. 45-minute slideshow of 50 slides, showcasing some of the surviving quilts along with rare archival photos of this voluntary domestic production on the home front and the women who participated. I am currently booking presentations January 2026 through to June 2027.
The Influencers: Quilt-Making on a Continuum over International Borders and Generations – In the late 1970’s, skilled quilters in Kingston, Ontario, Canada were commissioned by a California quilt collector to make quilts that had been designed by California artists for an exhibition called “Artists’ Quilts”. Well before the term ‘Art Quilt’ began to be used in 1986, this cross-border collaboration happened. How did it come to be? Who were the artists, who were the makers, and who put them all together? Where are these quilts now? 45 minute slideshow of 40 slides showcasing these modern art quilts and their production, with introduction to the people who worked together to create a successful travelling exhibit in the US and Canada, 1981-1984. I am currently booking presentations for January 2026 through to June 2027.
Upcoming Presentations
January 7, 2026 – Wednesday Guild – Ottawa, Ontario – ‘Who Made the “Cat Quilt” – Virtual
February 5, 2026 – Quinte Quilters Guild – Belleville, Ontario – ‘Quilting as to War’ – Virtual
February 12, 2026 – Manitoba Prairie Quilts – Winnipeg, Manitoba – ‘Quilting as to War’ – Virtual
September 26, 2026 – Erie Shores Quilters Guild – Essex County, Ontario – ‘Quilting as to War’ – Virtual
January 13, 2027 – Grand River Quilt Guild – Fergus, Ontario – ‘Quilting as to War’ – Virtual
Publications
2025 – Watershed Magazine – Spring – interviewed for article by Meghan Sheffield – “National Heirlooms”
2024 – Canadian Quilter Magazine – “Modern Quilts Made Across International Borders”
2024 – Canadian Quilter Magazine – “80 Years Later – Canadian Wartime Quilts Come Home”
2023 – The Conversation – “Quilts from the Second World War tell the Stories of the Canadian Women who Sewed Them” – co-authored with Dr. Irene Gammel, Toronto Metropolitan University
2022 – Canadian Quilter Magazine – “A WWII Quilt Comes Home”: The story of the Winona Circle quilt of Gananoque
2021 – Canadian Quilter Magazine – “And the Women Sewed On…”; A reflection paralleling 2020 cloth mask making with charitable quilt making on the Canadian WWII home front
Interviews
December 17, 2025 – Textile Talks: ‘Who Made the “Cat Quilt”: Art Quilts made across International Borders’ – Interview with Sarah Walcott from the International Quilt Museum regarding the Canadian connection to their current exhibition
June 27, 2022: “Let’s Talk about Wartime Quilts” – Interview with Karen Brown on ‘Just Get It Done Quilts’
January 26, 2022: “Canada’s Forgotten Quilts” – Interview with Jo Andrews for podcast ‘Haptic and Hue’
November 10, 2020: Interview with CBC Radio’s Ontario Morning with Julianne Hazelwood about Phyllis VanHorne and her participation in the making of WWII quilts
Conference and Museum Presentations
November 13, 2024: Textile Society of America online Symposium
November 3, 2023: British Quilt Study Group, Leeds, England
April 11, 2023: Museum of Lennox and Addington, Napanee, Ontario
September 13-14, 2022: Conference – Crafting Identities: Handicraft Programmes in Times of War, Genocide and their Aftermaths, c.1890-1950 – University of Huddersfield, Queensgate Campus – in person
February 26-27, 2022: American Quilt Study Group – Winter Virtual Study Centre
March 30, 2021: Grey Roots Museum, Owen Sound, Ontario – Virtual Spring Lecture Series
March 17, 2021: Conference – Textiles from Home: Local Crafts, Global Conversations – University of Wisconsin-Madison
Previous Guild and Public Presentations
October 7, 2025 – Pins and Needles Quilt Guild – Alberta – ‘Quilting as to War’ – Virtual
September 28, 2025 – British Quilt Study Group ‘The Loft’ – ‘Quilting as to War’ – Virtual
April 16, 2025: Trent Valley Quilters Guild – Brighton, Ontario – ‘Quilting as to War’
February 19, 2025: Half-Squared Quilt Club – Airdrie, Alberta – ‘Quilting as to War’ – Virtual
February 17, 2025: Chilliwack Quilters Guild – Chilliwack, BC – ‘Quilting as to War’ – Virtual
January 15, 2025: Richmond Area Quilters Guild – Richmond, Ontario – ‘Who Made the ‘Cat Quilt’? – Virtual
December 7, 2024: Arizona Quilt Study Group – Virtual
November 18, 2024: Out of the Box Fiber Artists – Ottawa, Ontario – Virtual
November 2, 2024: Whistler Valley Quilters Guild – Whistler, BC – Virtual
October 29, 2024: Textile Guild of Richmond – Richmond, BC – Virtual
October 24, 2024: Kingston Antiques Society – Kingston, Ontario – Trunk Show
October 21, 2024: Port Perry Patchers – Port Perry, Ontario – Trunk Show
April 15, 2024: Public Presentation at Wesley United Church, St. Andrews, New Brunswick
March 14, 2024: Marco Polo Quilters Guild – Saint John, New Brunswick
February 28, 2024: Arnprior & District Quilters Guild – Virtual
February 21, 2024: Paris Quilting Bees, Paris, Ontario – Virtual
February 14, 2024: Yorkshire Rose Quilters Guild, Toronto, Ontario – Virtual
February 2, 2024: Rue Pigalle, Wellington/Toronto, Ontario – Virtual
January 23, 2024: Cranbrook Quilters Guild, Cranbrook, BC – Virtual
January 8, 2024: Kemptville Quilter’s Guild, Kemptville, Ontario – Virtual
October 27, 2023: Wolfe Island Quilt Documentation – Day 3 (yes, this Island has a lot of quiltmakers!)
September 22, 2023: Wolfe Island Quilt Documentation – Day 2
August 26, 2023: Wolfe Island Quilt Documentation – Day 1
June 2 – 4, 2023: Quilts Kingston Show and Sale – Kingston, Ontario – in person Display
March 27, 2023: Gwillimbury Quilt Guild, Sharon, Ontario – Virtual
February 27, 2023: Dufferin Piecemakers Quilting Guild, Orangeville, Ontario – Virtual
February 21, 2023: New Millennium Quilt Guild, Walkerton, Ontario – Virtual
February 20, 2023: Bluewater Quilters’ Guild, Owen Sound, Ontario – Virtual
January 26, 2023: Thousand Islands Quilters Guild, Brockville, Ontario – Virtual
January 23, 2023: Rouge Valley Quilters Guild, Pickering, Ontario – Virtual
January 5, 2023: Mississauga Quilters Guild, Mississauga, Ontario – Virtual
November 14, 2022: Twilight Quilt Guild, Norfolk County, Ontario – Virtual
November 10, 2022: Pine Tree Quilters’ Guild, Muskoka, Ontario – Virtual
November 5, 2022: Ridge Meadows Quilters Guild, Maple Ridge, BC – Virtual
October 19, 2022: Victoria Quilters’ Guild, Victoria, BC – Virtual
April 18, 2022: Thunder Bay Quilters Guild, Thunder Bay, Ontario – Virtual
April 21, 2022: Nanaimo Quilters Guild, Nanaimo, BC – Virtual
March 11, 2022: Mahone Bay Quilters, Mahone Bay, N.S. – Virtual
March 8, 2022: Four Corners Quilters Guild, Mount Forest, Ontario – Virtual
February 17, 2022: Kingston Heirloom Quilters, Kingston, Ontario – Virtual
January 19, 2022: Highland Quilt Guild, Antigonish, Nova Scotia – Virtual
December 8, 2021: Mountain Cabin Quilters, Canmore, Alberta – Virtual
December 2, 2021: Upper Canada Quilt Guild, Morrisburg, Ontario – Virtual
November 11, 2021: “The Winona Circle Quilt comes home” – repatriation of a Canadian quilt from England back to the community where it was made – Gananoque, Ontario – in-person presentation
November 5, 2021: Bow River Quilt Guild, Calgary, Alberta – Virtual
November 1, 2021: Sarnia Quilters Guild, Sarnia, Ontario – Virtual
July 6, 2021: Fiber Artists at St. John’s Anglican Church, Elora, Ontario – Virtual
May 11, 2021: Royal City Quilters, Guelph, Ontario – Virtual
January 7, 2021: Kingston Heirloom Quilters, Kingston, Ontario – Art Across International Borders: When Quilters in Ontario, Canada produced quilts for LA Artists in the 1970’s – Virtual
December 7, 2020: ‘Coffee Conversations’, sponsored by RSOOS, Ottawa, Ontario – Virtual
November 11, 2020: Hamilton Quilters Guild, Hamilton, Ontario- Virtual
October 19, 2020: ‘QuiltCo’ , Ottawa, Ontario – Virtual
October 7, 2020: ‘Wednesday Quilters’, Ottawa, Ontario – Virtual
February 25, 2020: Lanark County Quilters Guild, Perth, Ontario – in-person presentation