Some of the more remarkable examples of New Brunswick fibre arts can
be seen around the province and around the world. Still others remain in private collections. You don't want to miss these
exciting projects.
...the New Brunswick tartan was designed and woven by The Loomcrofters, in Gagetown and adopted in 1959. It is
registered at the Court of The Lord Lyon, King of Arms in Scotland, the first non-Scottish tartan to be included in this registry.
Represented in the design are the forest green of lumbering, the meadow green of agriculture, the blue of coastal and inland
waters, all interwoven with gold, a symbol of the province's potential wealth. The red blocks represent the loyalty and devotion
of the early Loyalist settlers and the Royal New Brunswick Regiment.
... the 27 tapestries Dr. Ivan H. Crowell wove and Mrs. Gertrude Duffie designed
to commemorate Fredericton's bicentennial which hang in the council chambers of Fredericton's city hall. The works cover the city's history from its earliest days until its 200th birthday
in 1985.
... the "Confederation Conference Quilt" quilt made from swatches of the gowns
of the ladies who attended the balls and galas of the Confederation Conferences in 1864 at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
It is part of the collection of the Kings County Museum in Hampton.
... an 1830's sampler stitched by nine-year-old Elizabeth Jane Turner of Hopewell
that hangs in the New Brunswick Museum. It is one of many wonderful fibre art works in the collections at the Saint John-based
institution, which is home to one of the largest collections of domestic needlework in Canada. A reproduction kit of this work is available.
...The earliest Canadian signed and dated hooked rug in a public collection is one done by Abigail Smith of New Maryland,
N.B., (near Fredericton) in 1860. The wool on burlap project measures 29 inches by 51 inches. It is part of the
New Brunswick Museum collection.
On the national scene...
The
world's largest needlepoint tapestry is in Toronto. The three-storey high tapestry, measuring 30 feet by 20 feet, spells out the word "Welcome" in 102 languages.
It is on display in the former airplane hangar at Downsview Park. Six hundred volunteers from five countries worked on the
project over six years.
Canada's national quilt was created in the late 1990s by 180 listeners of the CBC Radio One program This Morning. It measures three by 4.5 metres,
and hangs on permanent display in the lobby of the Canadian Broadcasting Centre in Toronto.
Listeners sent in squares of what they felt represented Canada or their province.
There are two New Brunswick entries in this national project, one of which represents the provincial flower, the violet.
The squares were assembled by Angela Krotowski or Aurora, Ont. between 1997 and 1999.
Invitation:
The Quilt of Belonging is a material reflection of the many cultures that arrived through the historic port to contribute to Canada's growth. Measuring
120 ft (36m) by 10 ft, Esther Bryan's quilt encompasses 263 textile blocks using materials as diverse as beaded caribou hides
and gold-embroidered silk to African mud cloth to the gossamer wings of butterflies. It embraces all of Canada's First Peoples
and every world nation. Tracy Paul of the Woodstock First Nation created the
Maliseet block, using ribbon work and beading in her fiddlehead design.
