One Stitch at a Time is the title of the first CD of all-quilting songs by Canadian singer, songwriter and quilter, Cathy Miller, released in September 2000. In 1991 Cathy was asked to write music for a play about quilters. In researching the topic (she was not a quilter at the time), she found an amazing wealth of stories about history, families and human achievement. She also took a quilting class as part of the research, and was hooked. In addition, she received help from quilt historians and avid quilt-makers in North America and Australia. The album covers a wide range of quilt-lore. Most of the songs were written in early 2000, while she and her husband John Bunge were living in Darwin, Australia. Since then, Cathy and John have spent their time travelling around the world, singing for quilters.
To order these from me (in Canada)
You can also order online from a secure website or download CDs or individual
tracks.
To listen to
any of these songs, click on the above "Buy the CD".
The CD Baby website has clips you can listen to before you buy.
The songs included on the CD are:
100 Ways to
Hide Your Stash
Quilters can be very creative in hiding
their fabric collection! Some of the ideas in this
song came from a talk that Julie Wallace gave to
Darwin Patchworkers and Quilters meeting in 1999.
The Extra
Chair
A song about quilting bees and
immortality through quilting.
Follow the
Stars to Freedom
A spiritual about the use of quilts by
the Underground Railroad that served as maps to
Canada. This song is based on the book "Hidden
in Plain View" by Jacqueline L. Tobin and
Raymond G. Dobard, which is an interesting exploration of
how quilts may have been used by slaves in
their quest for freedom. The veracity of this thesis is not accepted by quilt historians, and I recommend reading
other Underground Railroad research for alternate
perspectives
It Ain't
Finished Yet
UFOs (UnFinished Objects) tend to
accumulate in quilters' sewing rooms. There is some
frustration involved in these lurking projects!
Just Look Up
A story about an Airing of the Quilts
in Hobart, Tasmania. The occasion was the annual
Scquilters' (Southern Cross Quilters) Retreat,
organized by Cathy Craig. It stopped traffic!
Names
A wonderful song by Cathy Fink about
the world's largest quilt - the AIDS quilt.
One Stitch
at a Time
In 1999 the Kosovo quilt drive gave
4000 quilts to Kosovar refugees, and a new sense of
community to Australian quilters. And Mary-anne
Rooney won a bet with her husband that she would get
more than 30!
Patchwork of
Life
Flying over the Canadian prairies, the
land is always reminiscent of quilt blocks.
Rajah Quilt
The only known surviving convict ship
quilt, made by female transportees to Australia in
1841. Thanks to Elizabeth Fry, each female prisoner
leaving England was provided with a bundle of sewing
supplies to help in her rehabilitation, and taught
how to quilt! This quilt, made on board the ship
Rajah on the way to Van Diemen's Land, was discovered
in 1987 in a Scottish attic. Of recent interest: in
1996 the Ottawa Valley Quilters Guild created a
replica of the Rajah quilt in Canada and donated it
to the Elizabeth Fry Society (EFS) in honour of their
45th anniversary. It can be viewed in the EFS offices
in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Margaret Rolfe's
book "Australian Quilt Heritage",
1998, provided the inspiration for this song.
Scrap Bag
Polka
Fun with fabric! And there's an accordion, too!
Time Flies
Three quilts were made during WWII at
Changi Prison in Singapore by civilian internees to
get messages to their husbands and sons. See the November
2000 issue of Quilters Newsletter
Magazine for an article about these quilts,
including photographs. Interesting background to this
story can also be found in "Diary of a
Girl in Changi" written by Sheila
Allen (now Bruhn), with the descriptions of
life in Changi Prison. The new edition of the book,
ends with a chapter on the quilts, with photographs.
This book can be ordered from the Australian War
Memorial shop in Canberra, ACT, Australia. Another
book, "Dear Philip" by
Freddy Bloom, is a diary in the form of
letters to her husband during her incarceration.
Freddy does not mention the quilts in the book, but
her story is amazing, and she contributed two blocks
to the quilts. The song is written from her
perspective.
Toss the Cat
One of the more unusual bridal quilt
traditions. A copy of a photograph
provided by my friend Jennifer Richards,
illustrated this event in a book of folk music. One
of the girls doing the tossing was Jean
Ritchie, a notable name in American Folk
Music. The cat landed nearest her, and within the
year she had married the photographer, George Pickow.
They have been married for over 50 years!!
All but one of these songs were written by Cathy, and are of interest to both quilters and the quilt-challenged.
The cover of the CD features two of Cathy's own quilts. The one on the left: "Bali Stars"; is made in a central medallion style primarily from fabric bought in Bali, all machine pieced and quilted. This quilt won "Best of Show" at Fred's Pass Rural Show in Northern Territory, Australia, 1999. On the right is "Anna's Quilt", made for Cathy's niece and featuring traditional piecing, paper piecing, curved piecing, hand appliqué, all machine quilted. This quilt is featured in International Quilting Times magazine Spring 2001, along with a review of the CD and interview of Cathy.
Cathy is an accomplished professional singer/songwriter, and has five previously released (non-quilt-related) recordings. The Canadian CD launch tour in September/October 2000 was a great success, as was her appearance at Jinny Beyer's annual seminar at Hilton Head in February 2001. Live performances of the songs by Cathy and John for guilds or quilt events, are laced with entertaining stories about quilts that intersect with larger historical events, the actual making of quilts, and even quilty urban myths. Cathy continues to solicit stories about quilts and quilt-making, as research for more songs on this topic. Plans are in process for continuing tours to North American and other destinations. See the Tour Itinerary for further details.