After seeing each winners’ work at Quilt Canada 2025, we asked how they take a quilt from good to great. In this case, Millie Cumming, of Fergus, Ontario, won the Sustainability Award for her tribute to the people of Ukraine.

Each quilt we create arises from a birthing process compiled from our personal experiences and our inner thoughts and desires. Of course, we also stitch in the inherited love of quilting (and other artistic endeavours) from teachers and mentors we have had the good fortune to encounter in our quilting journeys. My quilts reminiscence about all that has gone before, while exploring new thoughts or insights.

Over 18 years, I have created four sunflower quilts. Each has different motivations, but all start with a love of sunflowers.

2007 Sunflowers for Linda

I made this for my dear sister-in-law as she dealt with breast cancer. Her death left a devastated husband and two young daughters.

To cope, I turned to the homely feel of rail fence design. I was lucky at that time to find some sunflower fabric and the design from a copyright-free pattern from the Dover books. (Even in my early years of quilting, I knew that it was important to acknowledge sources). 

2021 Evening in Oro-Medonte

In 2011, I took a photograph at the farm of a dear aunt and uncle. They are no longer alive, but still remain close in my heart. By 2021, I had made two small phototransfer quilts based on this image, one each for two family members. I have not ruled out the option for a much larger quilt version.

2022 Tomorrow

This 12” x12” SAQA benefit auction donation quilt went home with a good friend. I had planned to create a new, bigger sunflower quilt, then the war in Ukraine broke out. Like others, I wanted to create this piece to acknowledge all those in Ukraine.

Of course, Tomorrow refers to a well-known song from the musical Annie (lyrics by Martin Charnin). Particularly, it drew on the line “So you gotta hang on till tomorrow.”

The found background fabric simply begged to be in this quilt. Only the yellow petals used traditional quilting fabrics. I like to create with a variety of fabrics including hand-painted and recycled fabrics.

Feeling Blue

Finally, in 2025, Feeling Blue primarily used upcycled fabrics. Three years earlier, when I made a sunflower quilt in support of Ukraine, it expressed hope and joy. Now, I struggle to find those emotions as the wounds of war take over.

Looking closer at the elements of Feeling Blue, it incorporates some personal mementos. For example, I bought two batik greeting cards 20 years ago (images by Karen Johannssen 2003). They sat in my sunflower binder, waiting for the right quilt to come along. I also used a thrift-store blouse purchased in 2017, not for wearing but for the right quilt.

Our dear Aunty Betson, 84, in New Zealand had painted this image while in a nursing home in 1999. She would have smiled if she knew a copy of her painting would end up in a special quilt.

The design process

Below, you’ll see two possibilities for my quilt on the design wall. It made it VERY clear which direction to take.

I wanted to convey the damage and the hurt that the people of Ukraine experience. Suddenly, it came to me that the irregular gashes in upcycled denim jeans would convey that feeling. Small pieces of sunflower fabrics – left over from my first sunflower quilt or picked up at the free table at the guild – peeked through the “jailhouse” windows.

When I saw this version, the large sunflowers shone far too brightly and cheerfully to convey the theme of the quilt. Fortunately, my stash of thrifted synthetic scarves had one with ragged edges and all. Once I had hand-stitched this over top of the large sunflowers, I knew then I had finished it.

To get these effects, I machine-pieced, hand-and-machine-appliquéd, hand-quilted and machine-quilted. My techniques included fusing, hand embroidery, then small amount of painting with Inktense and Shiva oil sticks.

What have I learned on my quilt journey?

If I had one tip for everyone, I would say use a design wall. You may tack some batting up on a wall or hang a flannel sheet over a door. Better still, create a fixed design wall. This matters regardless of skill level or how traditional or abstract or modern the quilts being created.

You will choose individual blocks, quilt layouts or fabric combinations more wisely when you see them up on the wall. Standing back to look (or looking through a viewfinder or via your phone ) will lead to better decisions.

• Fabric often inspires me to start a quilt – but that fabric is not necessarily quilting cotton. Upcycled fabrics, not necessarily cotton, and other fabric may sit on my shelves for years. Suddenly, it jumps out in front of me and says, “Pick me.”
• The prettiest fabrics are not always be the right ones. Sometimes the rather ugly fabrics turn out to be just the ticket. Also, the more variety of fabrics, the better.
• Not all quilts will get finished (at least by me).
• The finished product may vary VERY much from what I envisioned at the beginning.
• My long history of taking photographs give much inspiration for my quilts. It helps me remain observant with the world around me.

Teachers and mentors along my quilt journey

Luckily, I had an excellent teacher to begin my quilting journey. Canadian Quilter’s autumn 2002 edition introduced me to Quilt Canada’s Teacher of the Year, Dolores Bell.

Some superb teachers – too many to list – helped me step ‘out of the box’ early on. For instance, Maggie Grey from the United Kingdom knew everyone’s name by the first coffee break. She taught us a number of surface design techniques within a short time. Even if we never used those again, she exposed us to the wide world of fibre exploration.

I have remained as a member of one or more quilt guilds throughout my quilt journey. Many guild members have served as mentors, friends and/or teachers. Naturally, we all win with a variety of types of quilters and quilting in a guild.

In addition, I joined the Fibre Art Network (FAN) in 1997, until I moved to Ontario in 2008. FAN members needed to be Manitoba or further west. Since then, I have been a member of SAQA (Studio Art Quilt Associates), again with many mentors and co-creators to push my boundaries. As a result, many teachers have expanded my horizons, even when their type of quilting is not my type.