"A Quilter's World" is the third quilting CD by Canadian quilter/songwriter Cathy Miller. It features 16 new songs that run the gamut from a quilting lullaby to rock and roll ("Stitching in the Ditch"), from Australian waggas (co-written by Jenny Bowker) to cats in the sewing room. It even steps out into non-quilting territory with the hilarious "Sweaters for Penguins" about sweaters/jumpers made to save Little Penguins from oil spills by knitters around the world. A duet with her husband, John Bunge, about the tradeoffs quilters and their husbands negotiate. And one for the longarmers: "You Can Quilt That Out". If you loved "One Stitch at a Time" and "A Quilter's Embrace", you'll love this one too! More songs to make you shed a sentimental tear or howl with laughter, from the "Singing Quilter".
The CD was recorded at my favourite studio, The Millstream, in Toronto, Ontario, under the producership of Paul Mills. It features the work of some truly wonderful musicians who put their stamp on the songs forever.
To order these from me (in Canada)
You can also order online from a secure website or download CDs or individual
tracks.
12
Step Plan for Quilters
Quilting
can become an addiction, and we sometimes need some advice to
negotiate our way through it. Here are the important rules for
quilting: give in to the addiction, have fun, do the best you
can, try new things, and the most important: you can't have too
much stuff. Very bluesy. Very funny.
I
Need Another Wagga
Waggas
are Australian utilitarian quilts made for warmth and durability.
When a woman is out on a property by herself, with a growing
family, an extra wagga is always useful. This song was co-written
with renowned Australian quilter, Jenny Bowker.
The
Patchwork Quilt
A
tender song from 1912, telling about Gran'ma's patchwork quilt.
It concludes with the line "Oh I hope I'll have a lovely
patchwork quilt like Gran'mama's to show to little children when
I'm old". They don't write 'em like that anymore!
Sweaters
For Penguins
Okay,
it's not a quilting song! But it's hilarious and lots of quilters
love to knit. Think "English music hall meets little
penguins in Australia", and the thousands of little
sweaters/jumpers donated from all over the world to keep the
little darlings from preening and ingesting oil from a spill off
the coast. You'll be singing along with this one in no time! For
more information about the sweaters or the penguins, contact www.penguins.org.au. My friend James Gordon wrote this song for CBC radio's
now-defunct show "Basic Black". HEAR A SAMPLE of this song in
RealAudio or
MP3.
Stitching in the Ditch
Ah,
the joys of quilting in the ditch - or not. It had to be a rock
'n' roll song, with a rousing chorus of "What a ditz"
when the quilter misses the ditch and wanders off line.....
HEAR A SAMPLE of this song in
RealAudio
or
MP3.
When
the Boys Were Thirsty
This
is the saddest story about quilts I've heard. Barbara Broyles
made a white work quilt in her home in Tennessee. It was during
the Civil War, and people were supporting their boys with food
and drink and quilts to keep them warm. She loaned her quilt to
the Confederate soldiers who were camped nearby. Her grandson
reported later "The soldiers were unkind enough to return
her quilts". The white work quilt had been used by a soldier
who had died of Typhus. The bacteria was passed on to Barbara and
her husband when the quilt was returned. They died within four
days of each other. This story is from "Southern
Quilts - Surviving Relics of the Civil War" by Bets Ramsey
and Merikay Waldvogel (Rutledge Hill Press, 1998).
Quilt
of Names
A
quilt that came home. In WWII the Canadian Red Cross sent
incredible amounts of aid to England in support of the war
effort. Thousands of socks, mittens, bandages and quilts were
made. This story tells of the journey of one of these quilts
across Europe and Africa, and its return "home" to
Hilton Beach, Ontario (on St. Joseph Island, near Sault Ste.
Marie) upon the death of its owner in 2000. The quilt is now on
display at the St. Joseph Island Museum.
Cats
You
are sewing? They are there. Sandwiching? Right on top. Sorting
fabric? Burrowing their way in. Cats are always where you are.
This is a swing song from the cat's perspective! Meow!
You
Can Quilt That Out
This
one brought the house down at the International Machine Quilters
conference in Springfield, IL. A litany of lines heard by
professional machine quilting "longarmers" from their
clients. Be nice to your longarmer! They do incredible work - and
they have your quilt. HEAR A SAMPLE of this song in
RealAudio or
MP3.
Peshtigo
Fire
In
1871, on the same day as the Chicago fire, there was a far more
devastating fire further north - in Wisconsin. It is still known
as the worst fire in American history. There were many heroic
acts that saved lives that day, but this one tells of a quilt
that was used by the Harbour Railroad engineer as he transported
many townsfolk to safety. I found this story in "Wisconsin
Quilts: Stories in the Stitches" by Ellen Kort. For
more information about the fire, see The Peshtigo Fire. The Wisconsin Quilt History Project, Inc. has more information about
Stories in the Stitches
Star
and Plume
Are
you amazed by how many quilt block names there are? This song,
using 46 quilt block names, tells a happy-ending story about
Sunbonnet Sue. I've finished making the quilt now, and you can see it by
scrolling to the bottom of
Cathy's Quilts.
Lullaby
"This
quilt will keep you safe and warm, wrapped up in your mother's
love"
Give
and Take
The
quilter and her husband sort out a way to get past their
differences and start working together - with a pinch of Give and
Take! A duet with my husband, John Bunge.
Seeing Nellie Home
John
sings this old gem, originally written in 1856. HEAR A SAMPLE of this song in
RealAudio or
MP3.
Make
Me A Quilt
The
final song on the album is not a plea for everyone to give me a
quilt! It is a song about friends, and how love and memories can
be sewn into fabric.