Veterans Day – Quilts of Honor

Good morning!  It’s Cindy reporting in from Ohio AND it’s Veterans Day!

Last Thursday, my quilt guild hosted a luncheon to honor 63 Veterans in our local area.  For the past year, my guild worked diligently to make 21 Quilts of Honor and we presented them to 21 grateful Veterans at this lovely luncheon ceremony.

It was very humbling to have FOUR World War II Veterans join us and this quilt sums up what many of us were thinking.  Home of FreeThe quilt below was presented to a Vietnam Veteran who was a Prisoner of War (POW) for over two years.  He is a recipient of two purple hearts, a bronze star, a silver star and many other military honors he is reluctant to mention.  CharlieThis wall hanging was even more beautiful in person. Eagle One of our guild members even did a bit of hand quilting for a special, personal touch.  Quilted StarI really like these stars on point…this design may be a July 4th quilt in the making!    Stars on PointIt was fun to see how each guild member put their creative stamp on each quilt.  Patriotic phrasesThe quilting below resembles wood grain because the recipient used to do woodworking as a hobby…what a nice, personal touch!Single Star

It is a privilege to honor our Veterans today.

Veterans DAy 2019

Photo Courtesy of va.gov

Patriotic Vote…A FREE Pattern!

Hi!  It’s Cindy hosting our blog today from the great State of Ohio!

Sandy and I are excited to offer another FREE pattern from our “Patriotic Quilt Series”.

It’s a cute mini wall hanging reminding everyone to be sure and vote during this (and future) election seasons.

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This mini is pieced using 1.5 inch squares and half square triangles.  We added a few rectangles to outline the letters and then a few additional white strips to surround our red, white, blue and gold masterpiece.  We used a black border to create a “picture frame” around the quilt.

If you have a small space in your hallway like I do, you’ll appreciate the size;  it’s just 24 inches tall and 9 1/4 inches wide.  What a great way to remind you and all your friends and family to vote on Election Day!

You can download the pattern by clicking on the link below:

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We’ll also be posting the pattern to FaveQuilts, one of our all time favorites quilting websites!

Enjoy your Labor Day weekend…maybe you’ll steal some time to sew a “Patriotic Vote” for yourself!

 

 

Honor to Honor

Last Sunday, my quilt guild presented a quilt of honor to a World War II veteran.  What a perfect tribute, timed just after our July 4th celebration in the U.S.!

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Quilt of Honor for World War II Veteran

This veteran joined the U.S. Navy just after his 17th birthday in 1944 and served on a battleship in the Pacific Ocean.  After being discharged from the Navy, he finished high school by taking night classes after working a full shift in a manufacturing plant.

While enrolled in college, he enlisted in the Army ROTC (because it paid $25 per month).  While in college, he was then deployed to France during the Korean War.  After the Korean War, he returned to college to complete his degree.

Many friends and family members were on hand to celebrate with us as we presented this quilt to a wonderful man.  What an honor to honor this World War II veteran!

Sunny Summer Days

My quilting buds and I decided to take a break from quilting and enjoy a sunny summer day in the park.

As you can see, Sadie is considering what food might be near that picnic table off to the right and Norma is guarding her stick.  Me…I am just relaxing in the shade, thinking about what food flavor of ice cream is in the freezer!

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Sadie, Cindy and Norma

 We were taking a quilting break because my neighbors, who just happen to be teen-age girls, or TAGs (acronym for teen-age girls) came over to make a table runner for their annual July 4th celebration.  What fun we had!  Fabrics were sorted and debated while listening to the latest top 40 hits.

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Cutting was a breeze with the rotary cutter (after discussing safety rules, of course!)  Let’s just say flip flops and rotary cutters were making me a nervous wreck!

The design wall was a hit…lots of mixing, matching and singing to those top 40 hits!  They were in love with the blueberry fabric.

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Looking good….sewing took a bit of time.

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We had to test the “almost finished” project to make sure it was just the right size!

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Good news!  We finished the table runner in the nick of time!  The TAGs and I are working on another project that I hope to show you soon!

Now, where was I before I got distracted by quilting?

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