Member Profile - LaVerne McCallum Deakin, Fredericton, New Brunswick

Growing up in Nova Scotia, I was always surrounded by needlework, something my Mother continues to this day. My maternal grandmother’s embroidery was so fine it could pass for work produced by today’s embroidery machines. It was under the tutelage of my paternal grandmother that I made my first quilt top, at age nine. 

Over the years, I continued to sew but didn’t get back to quilting until I joined the Fredericton Quilters’ Guild in 1982. Some years later, I started experimenting with art quilting and, after retiring in 2006, I realized . . . this is where my heart is! The urge to stroke and fondle textiles is never resisted and, like an old crow, I like bright shiny objects. My experiments with mixed media are a lot of fun and usually result in small pieces. 

"All That Glitters"

Following a pattern or design, even my own, is virtually impossible for me but, after designing a one-block quilt, I persevered and completed “Oceanscape” as a gift for my granddaughter, Rian. 

"Oceanscape"

Although I often do sketches of possible projects and sometimes even draw full-size diagrams which usually change during construction, most of my pieces just evolve as I work.

"Deco blues"