Help serve those that serve for us!

This is a great opportunity for us to serve and teach our kids about service.


Linda is a woman in the DC area that makes flag quilts each year for the wounded solders at Walter Reed Hospital. She along with other volunteers make about 100 quilts a year and then deliver 23-30 quilts at a time to the wounded soldiers at Walter Reed for Christmas, Memorial Day, July 4th and Veteran's Day. The quilts are backed in muslin so that those who made it can write notes to the solder.

Before I go on I have to say that when my husband spent 6 weeks at Walter Reed (taking a class) he commented many times about how many young solders he saw with their families and how seriously injured they were. These young men literally sacrificed their health and limbs for our country and their lives are forever changed. This is just a small way to tell them and their family that we appreciate their sacrifice and service.


What a great opportunity to make one of these flags as a family and teach your kids about our America, service and of course sewing. If you are a teacher you could take the flag to your class and have all the kids sign it. If you are LDS, this is a great project for the Young Women or Activity days. You could do this as a service project with your quilt group.


Once you have completed your flag(s), please email a photo to theblockexchage@yahoo.com, and I will email you Linda's address to mail the quilt to. Please attach a paper with your name and address to each quilt so she can mail you a photo of the solder that received your quilt along with any other information. I will be posting the photos of the quilts you email me on this blog.

If you do not have any sewing material and need to purchase everything (fabric, thread, batting ect) and nothing is on sale, it will cost about $22.00 to make. Joanns and Handcocks always have sales and coupons so it will probably be less then $22.




Directions for American Flag Quilt for Wounded Soldiers, finished size approx. 41" x 57"

Fabric requirements:

Red 1/2 yard Cut 7 - 2 inch strips

White 1/2 yard Cut 6 - 2 inch strips

Dark Blue Stars 1/3 yard Cut one rectangle 11" x 15 3/4"

Inner Border (Brown) 1/2 yard Cut 3 - 3 1/2" strips

Corner Posts (Gold) 1/4 yard Cut 4 - 3 1/2" squares

Outer Border (Blue) 1 yard Cut 4 - 8" strips

Binding (Gold) 1/3 yard Cut 6 - 2" strips

Backing One piece of muslin washed and cut to 44" x 60"

Batting Warm and natural cotton cut to approx. 44" x 60" or at least 2" larger on each

side of the finished quilt top.

Piecing

Sew 3 red 2" strips and 3 white 2"strips to each other, alternating colors and press. Cut this strip set to be 36 3/4" wide. Sew remaining 7 white and red strips together, beginning with red and alternating white and ending with red. Press. Sew dark blue star rectangle to this strip set and press. Cut the extra red and white strips so the blue stars and red and white stripes measures 36 3/4" wide. Sew this strip set to the top of the striped set and press. Flag should measure 19 1/2" high x 36 3/4" wide.

Measure your flag quilt and then trim 2 of your inner border strips to be 1/2" longer than the width of your flag and then cut 2 pieces each measuring 1/2" longer than the height of your flag. Sew 2 or your corner posts to each end of your shorter inner border strips and press. Sew longer inner border strips to top and bottom of flag and press. Then sew 2 shorter border strips with posts to the sides of the quilt and press.

Measure your flag with the inner border and strips and use the same process to cut and attach the wider outer border strips to the quilt.

Layer the backing, batting and top together and machine or hand quilt. Sew binding strips together and sew binding to quilt.



November 11th is Veteran day, It would be great if we could all have our quilts mailed to Linda by November 1st. If that's too fast for you then try to get it to her by December 15th so they can deliver them for Christmas.

The Civil War exchange

We finally got together to exchange our Civil war blocks and it was worth the wait. Here is a list of everyone that participated and what block they did. Starting with the back row, left to right:

Theressa (Star), Pam (Bow tie), Laurie W. (Nine patch), Sue (Drunkards flower), Melissa (Cross roads), Becky (Flying Geese), Margaret (Wagon wheel), Sheila (Pinwheel variation), Lisa (Shoo fly), Chanel (Log cabin), Jackie (Yankee puzzle), Lauree G. (Birds in the air), Jo Dy (Bear paw), Jill (Rail fence), Laurie L. (Pinwheel), Chloe (Drunkards path), Suzie (Union square).
Not pictured Jenny (Jacob's ladder) on Chanel's lap. Barbara (Bear paw variation) on Jackie's left shoulder. Suzanne (Butter churn) on Jackie's right shoulder.






A Huge thank you to Laurie G. for organizing this exchange and educating us about Civil war history.


Thank you to Becky for letting us meet at her house and drape all her furniture with quilts!


Here are the quilts that have been completed!

Are you a fabric collector?

Laurie's Civil trivia facts

8/26/07
On April 10, 1865, General Robert E. Lee issued his final order-one of farewell-to the soldiers of the Army of Northern Virginia. It read:
"After four years of arduous service marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources. I need not tell the brave survivors of so many hard faught battles, who have remained steadfast to the last, that I have consented to this result from no distrust of them. But feeling that valor and devotion could accomplish nothing that could compensate for the loss that must have attended the continuance of the contest, I determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared them to their countrymen.
By the terms of the agreement, officers and men can return to their homes and remain until exchanged. You will take with you the satisfaction that proceeds from the consciousness of duty faithfully performed, and I earnestly pray that a merciful God will extend to you His blessing and protection.
With an unceasing admiration of your constancy and devotion to your Country, and a grateful remembrance of your kind and generous consideration for myself, I bid you all an affectionate farewell.
Signed R.E. Lee, Genl.

8/13/07
Clara Barton was working as a clerk in Washington D.C. in 1861 when a Union regiment arrived in town, Dirty and bloodied from a war attack. Clara rounded up baskets of towels, handkerchiefs, bandages, food , clothes and other supplies for the men. It was the start of a new career as a one woman soldiers aid society.
She loaded up a wagon and delivered goods to the field hospitals.
She carried food and water to men still lying in the battlefields. She became known as "an angel in the battlefield".
Clara Barton was the founder of The American Red Cross in 1881.

8/3/07
Julia Ward Howewent to a parade to honor the soldiers. Agroup of soldiers sang a popular war song called "John Brown's Body". Julia stood up and marched and sang with them. Someone asked her why she didn't write some good words to that stirring tune. She said she had often thought of it but no words came to mind. Very early the next morning as she lay in bed " the long lines of the desired poem began to twine themselves" in her mind. " I must get up and write these verses before I forget them" She found a pen and paper and began writing, "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord..." The poem was published in The Atlantic Monthly. Soldiers found inspiration in the lyrics and sang them to the melody of "John Brown's Body" , making the great
"Battle Hymn of the Republic" the war's best rememberd song.

7/17/07
Very little is written about children participating in the Civil War. I found a picture and a story of a William Wood and his son Richard. At age 11, Richard was too young to carry a rifle but he went to war with his dad. He tended the wounded and the dying and also helped to bury the dead. When the father ,William was 11 years old he served as a translator for King Dinnam, a Zulu chief. Apparently he thought it was a normal thing to do... take a young son into war.

6/26/07
Five years before she wrote Little Women, Louisa May Alcott worked in a Civil War hospital under very, very unsanitary conditions. She became known as " the nurse with the bottle" because she tried to douse the strong odors of the hospital with lavender water.

6/4/07
The weather is warming up so its a perfect time to be indoors sewing on the quilt blocks! Last week I visited the Lincoln Shrine in Redlands (behind A.K. Smiley library) . I really enjoyed it. They said they usually have their Civil War quilt up but another display has taken its place until October. Rats!! Try to go. Its fun and interesting to read and see all the info on Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. It's free.

Here are some basic facts on Abe Lincoln and the CIvil War
Lincoln was Pres. of the U.S. from 1860 to 1865
The Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865
In 1863 Lincoln issued The Emancipation Proclamation which declared that all slaves would be free.
That same year he gave his famous Gettysburg Address in a cemetary in Gettysburg, PA. to honor the soldiers that had lost their lives in the war.
Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865 - just five days after the Civil War ended.

5/21/07
Here's a paragraph from the book, Hidden In Plain View .
" The African American quilt is all to often dismissed as something old, tattered, discolored and in pieces. We often fail to look deeper- fail to realize that which is old and torn is spiritually textured; that which is stained is marked by grace; and that which is fragmented comes together to create something new, whole and beautiful. The quilt can be a metaphor for perserverance and continuity. The many scraps of fabric needed to make a quilt ... usually have special meaning because they are taken from garments of deceased relatives or given as tokens of friendship. The quilt then becomes a visible and tangible link to the past and a connection to the future."

5/7/07
Harriet Truman was a runaway slave who found the courage to help lead 300 slaves to freedom through the under ground railroad. The underground railroad was not underground and it was not a railroad. It was simply a secret way of escape for the slaves. The railroad operated before and during the civil war.

4/23/07
Here's an interesting bit about the uniforms the soldiers wore.
The Union States (North) wore dark blue uniforms. The Confederate
States wore grey. Some of the dark blue Union clothes faded to grey and
the confederate grey faded to light brown. Needless to say there was
some confusion on the battlefield. No wonder there were 600,000**
deaths
in this war!

Can you find the 18 secrets?

http://home.columbus.rr.com/bradshaw/UNDERRR/quilt/underground_railroad_quilt.htm

Civil War exchange announced

Laurie G. has announced the next exchange. Here are the details:

The theme for this exchange is Civil War (1850-1880).
The blocks will be 12 in finished.
There will be a $10 charge to participate in this exchange. The cost will include 1 yard of fabric and several block patterns you can choose from. Some of this fabric that you will receive needs to be incorporated in your blocks. Everyone will choose a different block pattern, so the finnished quilt will be a sampler of Civil War blocks.

This exchange will be limited to the first 20-25 people that submit their money to Laurie. You are welcome to email Laurie at theblockexchange@yahoo.com if you are interested.

Once she knows who is intrested, she will set a date to get together and pass out the fabric and patterns. She is anticipating that the completion and exchange will be in August, so you will have plenty of time.


Here are some web sites that offer a selection of Civil War fabric:
www.reproductionfabrics.com
www.keepsakequilting.com
www.fabric.com

These sites lists several of the blocks used (some have photos) and tells the meaning of each block:
http://www.edwardshistorycenter.org/tales/undergroundrr/
http://home1.fvcc.edu/~cgreig/final/blocks.html
http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/150221270ydsfXN
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quilts_of_the_Underground_Railroad

Here are some examples of Civil War era sampler quilts:

The Heart Exchange

Tonight we finally got together to exchange our black, white and red hearts. They all turned out so cute and will look great together in a quilt.

Everyone in the exchange:
Sharon, Jill, Suzanne, Jackie, Melissa, Laurie, Margaret (back row)
Lisa, Becky, Sue, Karen, Sheila (Middle)
Chanel, Kaycee, Kira (front)
Allison(not in photo)

Sharon was kind enough to have the exchange at her not new but definitely improved home complete with a well stocked sewing room (Do you think she makes a few baby blankets?). Thanks Sharon!



Thank you Suzanne for organizing this exchange and printing out cute labels for everyone!





Jackie's quilt


Chanel's quilt


Sue's quilt


Kira's quilt


Margaret's quilt


Lisa's quilt


Melissa's quilt


Laurie's quilt
Suzanne's quilt (The brilliant organizer of this exchange!)

The Black, White and Red Exchange 2007

Per Suzannes request... last night we started the black, white and red exchange. Everyone is using a paper pieced pattern of a heart. The fabrics must only contain black, white and red. There are 16 people contributing to the exchange and several are beginners.

The Daisy Exchange 2006

Here is everyone that participated in the exchange and which block they did:

Kira T.- blue and yellow petals, yellow center with beads
Cass H.- orange petals, red center
Laurie G.-multi-colored petals with black stitching, turquoise center
Karyn C.- purple polka dot petals, turquoise center
Pat L.-pink swirl petals, pink center
Sue C.- pink paisley petals, pink center
Suzanne S.- yellow petals, green center
Lisa C.- pink petals, yellow center
Nicole C.- yellow petals, red center
Jackie R.- green floral petals, pink center
Lyn M.- gold petals, blue center
Sheila V.- blue, purple and pink petals, yellow center
Chloe D.-yellow petals w/bees, blue center
Kaycee P.- orange, pink and green petals, yellow center
Becky H.- red and blue petals, yellow center
Jackie H.- pink petals with yellow swirls, orange check center
Sharon T.- peach floral petals, green center
Melissa K.- purple floral petals, green center
Chanel P.- green polka dot petals, turquoise check center
Sue B.- striped petals, fuzzy center



Per Sue's request...the next exchange was a daisy block. We had 20 people participate and 20 very cool blocks.
This time we all used the same pattern but decided that everyone needed to use bright summer colors, no pastels. We also brought little 3 in squares of the fabric in our flower so people would have the option of working them into their borders if they would like to.

At the exchange party Suzanne suggested that the next exchange be a paper pieced pattern and that the colors be black, white and red.

Kira's quilt



Jackie's quilt


Laurie's 1st quilt


Laurie's 2nd quilt


Becky's quilt


Becky's 2nd quilt


Lisa's quilt


Kaycee's quilt


Suzanne's quilt


Melissa's quilt


Jo-dy's quilt (she made her quilt outside of the exchange)


Sue's quilt