Featured Mats
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NBMR2016.9 | mat
The deceptive simplicity of this original design belies the complexity of the techniques. Raised, clipped and brushed loops in the antlers and border add dimension to this mat. The regularity with which the background is hooked is remarkable. The maker left school at age eleven to help with her younger siblings. She learned to hook from her aunt and mother at age fifteen and used it as a source of income to get through hard times. She was also an expert quilter who made over 500 quilts in her lifetime.
The deceptive simplicity of this original design belies the complexity of the techniques. Raised, clipped and brushed loops in the antlers and border add dimension to this mat. The regularity with which the background is hooked is remarkable. The maker left school at age eleven to help with her younger siblings. She learned to hook from her aunt and mother at age fifteen and used it as a source of income to get through hard times. She was also an expert quilter who made over 500 quilts in her lifetime.
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NBMR2016.8.5 | mat
This mat appears to be a commercial pattern commemorating the Canadian Centennial. The mother of thirteen children, her mats were made for functional use in the home. Executed in primitive style of outline and fill, the subdued colour of the background is practical but accentuated with some bright motifs.
This mat appears to be a commercial pattern commemorating the Canadian Centennial. The mother of thirteen children, her mats were made for functional use in the home. Executed in primitive style of outline and fill, the subdued colour of the background is practical but accentuated with some bright motifs.
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NBMR2017.3 | mat
Made from recycled woolen fabrics, this mat was set up on a frame outside the maker's bedroom door. Her grand‑daughter, the owner, remembers being encouraged "to pull a few loops." The maker cooked in lumber camps and mills while raising a family of six. She was also known as a local midwife and healer upon whom neighbours would rely.
Made from recycled woolen fabrics, this mat was set up on a frame outside the maker's bedroom door. Her grand‑daughter, the owner, remembers being encouraged "to pull a few loops." The maker cooked in lumber camps and mills while raising a family of six. She was also known as a local midwife and healer upon whom neighbours would rely.
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NBMR2018.11.2 | mat
For over thirty years from 1897 until her death in 1930, the maker maintained a diary of the events and news of her local community giving a unique window into this time period. She attended Mount Allison Ladies' Academy and studied painting. Though the colour on the front of the mat has been somewhat muted over time, the back shows much of the brilliance of the original dyes. It is very interesting to note the uneven fading in the border possibly due to the choice of textile or the dyeing process.
For over thirty years from 1897 until her death in 1930, the maker maintained a diary of the events and news of her local community giving a unique window into this time period. She attended Mount Allison Ladies' Academy and studied painting. Though the colour on the front of the mat has been somewhat muted over time, the back shows much of the brilliance of the original dyes. It is very interesting to note the uneven fading in the border possibly due to the choice of textile or the dyeing process.
