Songs from the heart about the passion, creativity, romance, disappointment, warmth, family comfort, fun and traditions of quilting.

16 MP3 Songs in this album (51:07) !
Related styles: FOLK: Modern Folk, COUNTRY: Country Folk

People who are interested in Christine Lavin Joan Baez Connie Kaldor should consider this download.


Details:
"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".

Here's a rundown of the songs:

In a Quilter's World:
A lovely song written by Torontonian Rick Speyer. "The sewing room is a sacred place" sums it all up for me. It's bound to become a favourite.

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! My friend James Gordon wrote this song for CBC radio's now-defunct show "Basic Black".

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.....

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.

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..

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.

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.