2026 Member Guild Challenge What Canada Means To Me

The winner of the Viewers’ Choice for this guild challenge:

Patricia Pihlaja

Stitches from the Heart Guild in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.

Welcome to Canada, Eh!

This challenge came at the perfect time for Patricia. Her son-in-law had recently become a Canadian citizen so she created this special gift for him. She represented Canada by many symbols, each holding meaning for different people. She loved bringing these symbols together to form the outline of the maple leaf — the proud symbol featured on our nation’s flag.
One of the greatest challenges was carefully cutting out and stitching down each individual symbol. When she asked her son-in-law what Canada meant to him, he said the oath of citizenship. She embroidered it separately, then stitched it in place to frame the maple leaf. This added a meaningful finishing touch to the piece.