Oh Canada!

It's a party that's been 150 years in the making and today's the day! Happy 150th Canada!

Mother Nature isn't totally cooperating though - it's been wet and soggy for what seems forever and last night's thunderstorms are threatening to mess with tonight's fireworks, but we'll see. In typical Canadian fashion though folks don't seem to be letting a little rain get in the way. Huge crowds have gathered in Ottawa and are welcoming, among others, royal guests Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. Nothing like a royal visit to create a little excitement.







In the months leading up to this day there have been all kinds of special ways to celebrate popping up, quilty and otherwise. One of my favourites is a partnership between Absolut Vodka and Canadian artist Libs Elliot to make a new bottle design and a quilt using code to generate the design - check out the video. I don't think I've ever made a Cosmopolitan, but this seems like a perfectly good reason to try.

I've shared a few Canada 150 quilts and fabrics with you over the past months and I'm certain that you have seen lots of them popping up on Pinterest, so I won't repeat myself. I am going to dig into my little hexies though and see if I can't make a red and white diamond to include in Minnie for posterity.

I'll also leave you with a lighthearted short animated film that I grew up watching called the Log Driver's Waltz though - it's a genuine bit of Canadiana.

I live in a small city on the shores of the beautiful and historic Ottawa River, a hotbed for log drives over a century ago as this country was being settled. Not only is it a fun little ditty, it begins with a short clip of log drivers in action, demonstrating their incredible skill at getting the logs down river to the mills (and staying alive!). It's also a nod to the Ottawa RedBlacks football team who have adopted the red and black plaid of the lumberjack as their unofficial team uniforms. Happy Birthday everyone!....M