I mentioned the other day that I had been thinking a little bit about what it is to be Canadian.  Even though we don’t show it as much or as often as our neighbours to the south, we Canadians are very proud of our country.  We may, if hard pressed, even admit that we think it is the best country going.  (Or, if you live in Toronto, you will say Toronto is the best place in the world to live, without much thought given to the rest of Canada.  That’s just what Torontians are like.)

I’ve found myself on a bit of a patriotic kick lately, probably set off by the fact that a friend is getting involved in Federal politics.  He is hoping to be elected as a Federal Member of Parliament (MP) during the next Federal election.  (Americans: think something like a congressman; People from Elsewhere: do a conversion based on what you know of American politics)  I think this person is a pretty great guy who would do a great job as an MP.  It seems to me like this is his life’s work, and I’m maybe a bit jealous and a bit encouraged that he has set to it so enthusiastically.

He is leaving Toronto shortly and moving back to his hometown in Nova Scotia where he will base his political career.  By way of a good bye gift, and maybe for a bit of good luck, I’ve been working on Victoria Sampler’s Nova Scotia Heart for him.  (It still needs to be pressed and framed.)

And, to continue the patriotic theme, I’m planning on starting Victoria Sampler’s O’Canada very soon.  (The older, hand-drawn version of the chart was RAK’ed to me by the very generous SoftwareGoddess.  Thank you so much!)  I’ve even got the Threadworx overdyed thread that it needs (originally Needle Necessities Mulled Wine, but you know what  happened there…).  And I’m hoping to do Lynn Nicoletti’s Canadian flag design so that I can baste it onto a shirt for Baby Man for Canada Day.  (Oh, I’m so ambitious!)

If you are interested on reading a funny take on what it is to be Canadian, check out How to Be a Canadian by Will and Ian Ferguson.

Now, what does it mean to be a Canadian stitcher?  Well, it is a lot like being an American stitcher, expect we pay between 10% and 15% more for charts, on top of the exchange rate.  It can also be really annoying when a designer releases a monthly series and makes the July piece very, very American.  I wish more designers would offer Canadian options, like Lizzie Kate does for Land That I Love.  And I will also admit that I wasn’t too impressed with Victoria Sampler, a Canadian designer, including an American flag in the Christmas Village design.

As for your questions, Pauline, yep you are right about the design!  I’m using GAST Simply Shaker in Liberty for the light colour and WDW Twilight for the darker colour.  I am into the third skein of the WDW, even through the chart suggests that only two skeins are needed.

Being a Canadian Stitcher is a post from Reflections in the Pond