Korean War Veteran's Memorial

Today marks the anniversary of the Armistice ending the Korean Conflict and the establishment of the Korean Demilitarized Zone northeast of the 38^th Parallel.  During that war, several decisions were made that would set the course of world history.

Prior to the conflict, America was disarming from WWII, ignoring the communist threat.  After the North Korean invasion, President Truman set the doctrine that no country would fall to communism.  It marked the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union and established our industrial base for the next 50 years.

This is a picture of the Korean War Veterans’ Memorial in Washington, DC:

An inscription on the Pool of Remembrance reads:
"OUR NATION HONORS HER SONS AND DAUGHTERS WHO ANSWERED THE CALL TO DEFEND A COUNTRY THEY NEVER KNEW AND A PEOPLE THEY NEVER MET"

We at the CT-Quilters Group make Quilts of Valor to honor those brave men and women of our Armed Forces who continue to sacrifice in combat zones around the world.  All of our quilts are stitched with love, prayers and healing thoughts as we try to express our heartfelt thank you.  You are welcome to join us (see the sidebar for more information).

Red, White and Blue Blog Hop

Did you hear about the exciting Red, White and Blue Blog Hop that has been going on since the beginning of July?  This on-line hop was initiated by Jane over at

 Jane’s Fabrics and Quilts.

Each of the participating bloggers spotlights a block of their choice and many offer tutorials on the construction of the blocks.  All are in red, white and blue, of course!  One of the participants was KatieQ from Katie’s Salt Marsh Path and she presented a beautiful stylized flag block and an absolutely gorgeous Dresden plate block.

Another one of the participants was Sinta Renee’s Pink Pincushion blog and it featured a look back at her first experience being published in a book of quilts in remembrance of Sep 11, 2001.  The cover sampler would make a great Quilts of Valor quilt.  She also shows a picture of another quilt made quite simply with red/white and blue snowball blocks that would be a great comfort to a wounded warrior.

So if you’ve ever thought of making a Quilts of Valor sampler quilt, “hop” on over and check out the many blogs participating in the Red, White and Blue Blog Hop.  Here is a link to the Master Schedule of participants with the dates of their appearances in the Hop:

http://janesfabrics.blogspot.com/2012/05/redwhiteblue-blog-hop-schedule.html

Meeting Recap

A lot was accomplished at the July 6^th meeting of the CT Quilters Group.  At times it looked like an old-fashioned sewing bee with all of the hand quilting!  One of the finishing touches to our Quilts of Valor is the hand sewing of the bindings - then the labels are put on and the quilts are good-to-go to comfort our wounded military service personnel.   Many hands made light work of this task:

Sewing Binding to Quilt

Hand Sewing Binding Down

More Hand Sewing Bindings

And we were all very excited when one of the CT Quilters brought in a quilt top to donate that she had made from a 2008 Mystery Quilt (#4) pattern offered by Persimmon Quilts.  What a fabulous top!  Sending you a special “thank you” from all of us:

We also laid out blocks for 3 more quilt tops ready to assemble into rows.  And, more progress was made on the design and production of the quilt in patriotic country colors - it's growing:

One of the quilts that was being bound had been quilted by a member of the CT Quilters on her home machine (not a longarm/frame).  What a wonderful finish: 

Quilting Detail!

More blocks and kits were put together:

And we snarfed up angel food cake with strawberries and sugar cookies (oops, maybe I wasn’t supposed to report on that part…).  Well, a good time was had by all.  And if you couldn’t be there, we missed you.

Pat will be delivering quilts again to the James A Haley VA Hospital later this month.  More on that in a later post …

These will be included in the next delivery -
A CT Quilter volunteered to take them home
and finish up the hand sewing.  CT Quilters are the BEST!
Don't they look grand?!

Hope you can be with us at the next meeting (mark your calendars now for Fri, Aug 10^th).

Meeting Reminder - July 6th

We look forward to working on our QOV projects during this week where we have celebrated our independence. QOV is our way of saying thank you to our Military for continuing to help safeguard our freedom.

Come help us or drop off donations. All are welcomed.

Pat - CT Quilter
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We will be meeting Friday, Jul 6^th,

from 10:00 – 2:00

at Crafty Threads Quilt Shop!

Click on this link to see more!

Happy Independence Day!

Today we celebrate that on July 4^th, 1776, the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, setting the 13 original colonies on their path to freedom as a sovereign nation.  All over the USA, this Federal holiday will be marked with parades, fireworks, picnics and cookouts.

As we proudly wave our flags today, we remember that the convictions that were in the minds and hearts of the American people then, and so eloquently expressed by Thomas Jefferson, remain strong today.

We applaud and support the service men and women that have given their utmost to ensure that the freedoms we hold so dear remain ours to cherish.

Reminder:  The CT Quilters will hold their July meeting this Friday, July 6^th.  See this post for more information about what we will be doing.  Please join us!