Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Viola Canady (1922 - 2009) - Sewing in Heaven

Mrs. Viola Canady, the co-founder of the Daughters of Dorcas and Sons Quilting Guild of Washington, DC has passed away. Her services are tomorrow (March 26) at Cedar Hill Funeral Home at 10:30am. The viewing is at 10am.

Mrs. Canady was a wonderful quilt teacher. One of her specialties was quilting stain glass images. She worked for the Department of the Army as a tailor/fitter for 19 years before retiring. She even sewed the decorations on General MacArthur's uniform. You can read a 2002 Alliance For American Quilts interview with Mrs. Canady by clicking here. You can also read a profile about her in Roland Freeman's book, A Communion of the Spirits. Here's a link to a 1996 New York Times article/interview with Mrs. Canady.

You can post a note to Mrs. Canady's online memorial book. Mrs. Canady is survived by her children Vernon Canady and Beverly Canady Swilley and by three grandsons: Eric, Troy and Brandon. Blessings to Mrs. Canady.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Viola was one of my oldest and dearest friends. She was so kind and always generous with her time, having taught many how to quilt. There are just no words to adequately express how much I will miss Viola. She loved to make quilts featuring Black angels…now she is one.

Carolyn Mazloomi

Jocelyn Breeland said...

Viola Canady was truly a treasure. I have the good fortune to have known her (although not well) and to have learned from her. Her craftsmanship was second to none. If you wanted to learn to do it right, go ask Viola. The shared culture of quilting will continue to be passed down for many generations because of her. But she was more than a quilter and instructor, Viola was a generous, welcoming human being who brought joy to those around her. I will miss her greatly.

Jocelyn Breeland