Sometimes the things we create with our hands carry more than stitches and fabric. They hold our hopes, our disappointments, and the quiet lessons we don’t recognize until years later. This is the story of my mother’s quilt.

My mother was a devoted fan of Laura Lindsay, the First Lady of daytime television in Alberta. From the mid-fifties through the sixties, Laura’s program was a daily presence in many homes, ours included. She brought recipes, household tips, and encouragement to women who spent long hours balancing families, farms, and quiet dreams of their own. She was also the mother of Canadian jazz pianist, composer, and senator Tommy Banks, whose music and career would later make him one of Alberta’s most celebrated cultural figures.

In 1967, Canada’s cent...

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