Crafty Canadians

Spreading warmth and love down through the generations

Aunt Anna was born on June 1, 1940 in Rockglen, Sask., to Wilfrid and Helena Lamontagne, who lived in nearby Lisieux. Her first home was “The Hill Farm.” In 1959 Aunt Anna, her two sisters and their parents moved to The Pas, Man., area to farm along the Saskatchewan River.

While living in The Pas, Aunt Anna married Douglas Anderson in 1960. Sadly, he passed away in 1967 due to a mining accident, leaving her with four children.

She then had to find work and started as a bookkeeper for a widower named Donald Carnegie who had eight children. She eventually married him and they became a blended family of 12 kids.

With the passing of Uncle Don in 1995, Aunt Anna increased her sewing and took on mending for family and others. Along with this extra sewing came the making of quilts. A good friend and mentor,

Anita Fulmore, provided guidance to start the quilting tradition that has carried on down through four generations of family.

In the winter months, Aunt Anna would move some large tables around and set up her sewing machines in the living room. She got a lot of the material for her quilts from a thrift store, as well as from other people passing along material from departed loved ones.

When her daughter Helen and family had a house fire in 2002, Aunt Anna made quilts for each of them, so they’d have something of their own while waiting for the family home to be rebuilt.

She then went on to make a quilt for each of her own kids and her grandchildren. She also took special requests from nieces and nephews, and made quilts for a local women’s shelter. Eventually, she began making quilts for her great-grandchildren and future great-grandchildren!

With each quilt her skill and confidence grew. I had some blue jeans, shirts and curtains saved to make a special quilt for my own children, so I asked Aunt Anna if she’d consider making it. She readily agreed and offered to use some thread that was saved from when her mother and my grandmother passed away. She felt the thread would give the quilt more meaning.

When her remaining brother Rene’s 75th birthday approached, she chose to make a quilt depicting the first family farm where he had been born.

After being diagnosed with macular degeneration, the task became more difficult but she compensated with a brighter light, a magnifying lamp and determination.

Aunt Anna passed away peacefully in 2016, but her quilts and the loving memories we have of her will keep us and future generations warm for years to come.