The Canadian Sampler - Meet the Designers - Michèle-Renée Charbonneau

We're in the second month of The Canadian Sampler and we have enjoyed seeing your lovely Keep'n Warm blocks & Pacific Stars blocks.

February's blocks are Canada by Code by Michèle-Renée Charbonneau from Quiltmatters & Thousand Islands Star by Nellie Holmes & Christine Baker from Upper Canada Quiltworks Publishing.

Canada by Code
by Michèle-Renée Charbonneau from Quiltmatters

Canada by Code by Michèle-Renée Charbonneau from Quiltmatters 

M-R's a hard core quilter, with a passion for modern and art quilting and a deep respect for our traditional quilting roots. A first generation quilter, she's been quilting for over 18 years and blogging at Quilt Matters for the last five years. She also speaks to guilds about modern quilting and shares her passion for this art through teaching.   She lives in Ottawa with her husband and three wild things (ages 12, 9, and 7). She's actively involved in her local quilt guilds, including being a founding member of the Ottawa Modern Quilt Guild.

Follow M-R on her blog Quilt Matters, Instagram, Twitter, & Facebook .

Michèle-Renée Charbonneau from Quiltmatters 

Inspiration for Canada by Code

I wanted my block to have a modern look to it, but still pay tribute to our history. This simple-looking block uses Morse code to spell out our country’s name. Fitting too, since Canada’s primary long-distance communications method during the time of Confederation was the telegraph. And while we don't use Morse code anymore, this 'code' block design is also a nod to our tech industry and lifestyle -- we're a pretty 'connected' society. Did you know that 82% of Canadians have high speed Internet connections? We are so connected in fact that the Canadian government has recently declared that high speed broadband internet should be considered a "basic communications necessity" like landline telephone lines. That's a pretty bold statement that's going to have major impacts on our telecommunications infrastructure in rural areas of the country.  

 I like to think that this block celebrates our history and gives us a taste of our future.

You can join the fun! Sign up for The Canadian Sampler today and make this gorgeous quilt to Celebrate Canada's 150th Anniversary!

Please Note: We will be closing registrations for this round of The Canadian Sampler at the end of February. All registrations March 1 and onward will be enrolled for Round 2 of The Canadian Sampler starting July 2017.