Northern woman shares her love of quilting across the north

For Carla Alexiuk, the buzz of her sewing machine is a familiar sound.

“I started quilting in around the early 1990s,” Alexiuk said. “The kids were off at school, my older sister started quilting and thought that maybe I should, too.”

In 1996, Quilting By the River was born and for the last 26 years, Alexiuk has been sharing her love and knowledge of quilting throughout northern Ontario.

“Because of the squares and triangles, most of the time, a lot of new quilters and some of the older quilters find traditional quilting to be a bit of a challenge," she said.

"So they tend to veer away from it… so that’s where I come in to play."

As a professional quilting instructor, Alexiuk offers workshops, patterns and lessons. She has travelled to Sudbury, Timmins and Cochrane to share the hobby with others.

“Carla is a certified Studio 180 teacher, which is a series of rulers and quilter methodology that I have adopted with her teaching me,” said Susan Huot a local quilter.

“(It) has allowed me to become a much more accurate piecer and quilter.”

Closer to home, she offers quilting retreats. Located on the French River, she offers a space to work, her expertise and a truly northern view.

“I brought my mom -- it’s her Mother’s Day gift,” said Beth Lacasse who was in the beginning stages of a new quilt on Monday.

“We thought we’d get away and go on a quilt retreat and I brought my aunt with me and this is my second time here and I just love it up here. It’s so pretty and nice and calm and peaceful.”

Although the hobby is more common among older people, those involved said it’s a skill for any age.

Not just for older people

“I think a lot of people still think quilting is very traditional patterns and stuff and if you can quilt you can do anything with fabric,” said Lacasse.

“So fibre arts is a whole huge area that people are getting into and it’s quite addictive. So if you are an artist of any kind it’s basically painting with fabric instead of traditional medium.”

“It’s not an old lady's hobby,” added Alexiuk.

“It is very artistic and it does take a certain amount of creativity and it’s a very good outlet for stress.”

She said when it comes to quilting, creativity comes where you feel most at home, which for those in northern Ontario is usually surrounded by nature and the outdoors.

“I would say until most recently, my colour palate has always followed nature,” said Huot.

“I do a lot of autumn colours, a lot of spring colours, a lot of greens and browns and earth tones. I’ve started working outside the box a little bit colour wise, but that’s always been my greatest love … the earth tones and the colours of nature.”

On top of creating art that helps keep you warm in northern winters, those involved said quilting allows them to be a part of a community.

“(It’s) done best shared with people of like mind,” said Huot. “I first met Carla actually at a retreat at Killarney Mountain Lodge and our friendship and relationship as quilters developed from there.”

“I think quilting is about community, has been and always will be,” said Alexiuk.

“As we now start to come out of the pandemic, quilters are ready to be back in with groups where we can share what we know, get inspired by what everybody else is doing and it is very much about being together.”