Gayle Knight, a member of the Swedish Weaving Group, has created a lovely Canada 150 Swedish woven afghan.
She has included on the True North side of the afghan the Canada 150 logo and coloured maple leaves to represent the different seasons. The border is finished in blue to represent the waters that surround our land. The inscription “1867 Canada 2017” at the bottom refers to the 150 years of Canada. Included along the edge are examples of wildlife found in Canada, such as, ducks, geese, deer, elk, bears, owls and rabbits. She also added a Fleur-de- lis to represent Quebec and the French culture and a crown to represent the Queen. No representation of Canada can exist without making reference to “EH!”.
In addition to including items about Canada, Gayle worked in memories of her life. The Alberta and Ontario Coats of Arms represent Gayle growing up in Alberta and her husband in Ontario. They stand hand in hand on the edge of the afghan. The train represents how Gayle came to Ontario to meet her husband. He worked in General Motors so she included the car.
The afghan back shows The Hudson Bay Company. Included are provincial coats of arms, Canada 150 logo and a RCMP officer holding a Canadian flag.
Gayle has done excellent work in creating a piece of art that will save the memories of Canada’s 150th birthday along with her journey from Alberta to Ontario.
When I went to Conant to interview Gayle and see her afghan I thought I was going to see a memory quilt. As such, I took along a Memory Quilt that my wife had made for our family. I was quite surprised to see what Gayle had created. The Swedish Weavers present were quite taken with the work of my wife. Maybe I will do a story on that quilt in future.
OSCC 55+ Newsletter 