Cd Isle...CDs by BC island recording artists

Since I released "One Stitch at a Time" in 2000, quilters from all over the world have been telling me their stories. Some of them made me laugh and some cry. I knew I had to write more songs to share these tales. This music is now available on a CD called "A Quilter's Embrace". It features 14 new songs with the same mix of history, current events and fun that everyone loved about "One Stitch at a Time".

While recording this CD in Toronto, I got the chance to work with some of the top session musicians in Canada, and they did a wonderful job on the new songs. I also got the chance to finally work with an old friend, and top-notch producer, Paul Mills, in the producer's chair. I had lots of help from many, many quilters, who told me fascinating quilting stories. It is thanks to their generosity that this CD has come to be. Here are the songs on the CD:

Quilter's Husband's Lament to hear a sample of this song, click here and scroll down the page until you find the title
I found this poem on the Internet, and have set it to music. It was originally adapted by Shelly Burge from a poem called "A Husband's Viewpoint" and published in her Home Extension Club newsletter in the late 1970s. If you know the author of the original poem (which ends with the husband getting directly into heaven, since "you've done your time in Hell"), please get in touch with me.

A Quilter's Embrace to hear a sample of this song, click here and scroll down the page until you find the title
After hearing about so many charity quilts done by every single guild we've visited over the years, I had to write this song. Each verse is about someone who has received an anonymous charity quilt, and the chorus is the supposed quilt label on each of those quilts. It's been bringing a tear to the eye of audiences so far!

One Stitch at a Time is the title of a CD of all-quilting songs by Canadian singer, songwriter and quilter, Cathy Miller. In 1991 Cathy was asked to write music for a play about quilters in Ottawa, Canada. In researching this topic (she was not a quilter at the time), she found an amazing wealth of stories about history, families and human achievement. She also took a quilting class as part of the research, and was hooked. She wrote most of the songs while she and her husband were living in Darwin, Australia at the beginning of 2000. The CD was released in September 2000. Since then Cathy and her husband John Bunge have spent their time travelling around the world, singing for quilters.

In 2000 when Cathy was living in Darwin Australia (writing the songs for "One Stitch at a Time"), the Hotel Darwin was demolished. The hotel was a symbol of the "old Darwin", and had been the site of many a gathering and after-work celebration for the 59 years of its existence. It had been known as the "Raffles" (Singapore) of Australia, in that it epitomized "civilization" for pioneers in the tropics.

The owners of the hotel had allowed the hotel to decline over the years, and it was granted a demolition order as a result of "concrete cancer". The National Trust of Australia challenged the ruling, but, since it had never been granted heritage status, there was no reason to delay the order. It was torn down, and the outpouring of grief afterwards inspired the writing of this song. The song celebrates the Hotel Darwin in particular, but also all our heritage structures that stand in danger from the requirements of "progress".

"Grand Old Duchess" was awarded a Special Merit award in an Australia-wide songwriting competition by the Australian Heritage Commission. It was released as a CD single in June of 2000. Proceeds from the sales benefit the National Trust in Darwin NT, Australia.

Cathy Miller's third recording (1991) was produced after Cathy moved from Ottawa to Calgary. Produced by (then) CBC producer Les Siemieniuk, it features songs about people: the homeless, the disenfranchised, the abused. The title track is a beautiful "beginning love" song, and has been sung at more than one wedding (including Cathy's). Other songs include: "Living in the Martinique" (written after reading Johnathan Kozol's "Rebecca and Her Children") , "I Had A House" (also written about the Kozol book), "Desert Dancing" (flies and sand and sun, and the importance of rain), "Empty in the Sunrise" (Boy meets girl. Girl falls in love. Boy gets on Greyhound bus and goes far away), "No Point of View" (an attempt to describe how it feels to be trapped in an abusive marriage), "Indian Summer" (dedicated to the Lonefighters of southern Alberta).

Produced by Les Siemieniuk
Cathy Miller - acoustic guitar and vocals
Ron Casat - piano and keyboards
Dave Hamilton - electric and acoustic guitars
Jack Hiles - drums and percussion
John Hyde - electric and acoustic bass
Karl Roth - electric and acoustic violin

All songs by Cathy Miller except "Smith Boys" - Mary Simpson

Cathy's second recording was released in 1988, and has Cathy's songs "done up" with a great jazz band, including tenor saxophone. The players are all Ottawa veterans, and include Brian Tansley on sax, Ron Drake on piano, Paul Bourdeau on guitar, Bruce Wittet on drums and Phil Bova on bass. Guests on the session were Terry Tufts on slide guitar, and Mary Simpson on harmony vocals. The songs include: "Since I Fell For You" (Buddy Johnson), "Someone Else Is Stepping In" (Denise LaSalle), "If It Weren't For Those Tears", "Last Day of Pompeii" (Michael Smith), "There's No Guarantee", "How Much Are The Blues", "Heart Calls", "Love Letters in the Snow", and "Living on the Edge". It was produced in Ottawa by Ian Tamblyn.

Produced - Ian Tamblyn
Cathy Miller - lead vocals and acoustic guitar
Paul Bourdreau - acoustic and electric guitars
Phil Bova - bass
Ron Drake - piano
Brian Tansley - soprano and tenor saxophones
Bruce Wittet - drums
Terry Tufts - slide guitar and harmony vocals
Mary Simpson - harmony vocals
Ian Tamblyn - piano and synthesizer on "Living on the Edge"

Horn arrangement on "Someone Else is Stepping In" - Brian Tansley

All songs by Cathy Miller except "Last Day of Pompeii" - Michael Smith,
"Since I Fell for You" - Buddy Johnson,
"Someone Else is Stepping In" - Denise LaSalle

"This album (my first), was inspired by many camping trips to Taylor Lake in the Gatineau Hills outside of Ottawa. Several of the songs were written there. Produced by Ian Tamblyn, and featuring musicians such as Ian Robb (concertina), Roy Forbes (guitar), Lynn Miles (background vocals). A very acoustic/folk album with many pastoral overtones." Cathy Miller

Produced - Ian Tamblyn
Cathy Miller - vocals, acoustic guitar, wind chimes
Paul Bourdreau - acoustic and electric guitars
Phil Bova - acoustic and electric bass
Ian Tamblyn - piano, DX7
Mary Simpson, Louise Kwan, Lynn Miles - background vocals
Roy Forbes - guitar on "I Used to be a Singer"
Ian Robb - concertina on "Duncan's Cove"
Peter Chapin - piano on "Not a Love Story"
Bruce Wittet - drums on "Blue Skies"
Ed Dick - wind chimes

All songs by Cathy Miller except "Not a Love Story".
Music - Ginette Bellavance, lyrics - Tina Horne
From the NFB Studio D film Not a Love Story