November Meeting Date - Friday, November 9th

November had a way of really sneaking up on us, didn't it?!  There’s only one more week until our next Quilts of Valor meeting.  Please plan to join us next Friday from 10 – 2:00 at the Crafty Threads Quilt Shop (see the sidebar for the address). 

Our expected activities at this meeting:

Å        Sew rows of quilt tops from assembled kits

Å        2 quilt top kits are ready to lay out

Å        Sew borders on tops expected to be returned

Å        Cut some 4” borders

Å        Cut some light blocks for B Block kits

Å        Monitor the status of the kits, possibly cut more

Å        Assemble a few pillowcases

Å        Cut and prepare more backings

&       BRING A SACK LUNCH OR A SNACK!!

We hope to have everyone join us next week!  There’s something for everyone to do, even if you say you can’t sew a stitch … you can even choose to just be a cheerleader (didn’t you always want to do that?!).

Please come and get in on the fun … it’s very rewarding to know you’ve contributed to bringing comfort to veterans or active duty personnel touched by war.

Happy 125th Anniversary!

This beloved icon of American ideals and freedoms is 125 years old today.  She has been undergoing a much-needed $30 million interior renovation that will make her safer and accessible to even more people.  One of the decks at the top of the pedestal will now be wheelchair accessible in such a way that they can view her interior.  The stairs to her crown have been replaced so that her crown will again be open to the public.  Among other things, she has received improved fire alarms, exit routes and air-conditioning system.

This Grand Old Lady, who stands majestically on Liberty Island in New York Harbor,  was a gift from the people of France to the United States.  A plaque declares that this gift was to honor “ the Alliance of the two Nations in achieving the Independence of the United States of America and attests their abiding friendship.”

The sculpture of a woman in softly flowing robes represents Libertas (the Roman goddess of freedom) and she holds a torch aloft and clutches a tablet representing laws.  The tablet is inscribed with the date of the Declaration of Independence, July 4^th, 1776.  At her feet is a broken chain.

She was designed by Frederic Bartholdi and was dedicated on Oct 28^th in 1886.  She was constructed in France then brought to the US in crates for assembly on site.  Did you know that her arm bearing the torch and her head and crown were on display by themselves for several years?

Centennial Exposition

in Paris

They were finished before the rest of the structure and were displayed at expositions for publicity of the project.  The torch was at the Centennial Exposition in 1876 and in New York’s Madison Square Park from 1876 to 1882.  And her head was exhibited at the Paris World’s Fair in 1878.

When funding ran low and threatened the construction, Joseph Pulitzer, famous publisher of the World newspaper,  organized a fund drive and garnered over 120,000 donations – many for $1 or less.  This statute truly represents the People’s effort and a joint project of France and the United States.



Unveiling of the Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World (1886)
 by Edward Moran. Oil on canvas.
 The J. Clarence Davies Collection, Museum of the City of New York.



 Happy Anniversary, Statue of Liberty!

A Salute to the US Navy and Naval Reserve

The US Navy has a 237 year heritage of defending freedom and protecting US interests around the globe.  In the United States, Navy Day was originally celebrated on October 27^th.

It was in the 1920s that the Navy League suggested that this date be selected to pay tribute to President Theodore Roosevelt, an avid supporter of the US Navy, as Oct 27^th was his birth date.  Later research found that the actual birth date of the Continental naval forces was October 13, 1775, when George Washington was authorized by a Congressional Resolution to command armed schooners to intercept British supply ships.

USS Constitution

In 1972, the Navy was authorized to recognize Oct 13^th as the official birth date of the US Navy.

The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression and maintaining freedom of the seas.

We salute these brave men and women today.  To read more about naval history, visit the Naval History and Heritage Command website at http://www.history.navy.mil/.

An Historic Date

Today is the anniversary of an historic event in the history of the United States. 

photo credit: poodlesrock/corbis History.com

It was on Oct 17^th in 1777 that Revolutionary troops led by General Horatio Gates surrounded the army of British General John Burgoyne and caused his defeat and surrender at the Battle of Saratoga.

That short statement above doesn’t even begin to describe the hard fought battles, the hardships of winter, the demoralized and less-trained rebel forces vs. the powerful British army.  Yet the dedicated soon-to-be Americans persevered and won this battle that would be a turning point in the War for Independence.   The Revolutionary troops were reenergized and France was convinced to support their cause.

This traditional quilt block is based on that historic battle – it has a lot of pieces and is known by the Burgoyne Surrounded name.  A well-known quilt designer that often shares her patterns is Lyn Brown at Lyn Brown’s Quilting Blog, and in Sept 2012 she provided an excellent tutorial for making this block and the resulting quilt.

The resulting quilt would make an excellent Quilts of Valor.  Maybe you would want to consider making one?  Check out Lyn’s site at:  http://www.lynbrown.com/burgoyne-surrounded/

The ideals of those Revolutionary War soldiers remain the same for the Armed Forces personnel in the United States today – they continue to fight for our liberties and freedoms.  We make our Quilts of Valor to show our support and demonstrate in a tangible way that we care.  We of the CT-Quilters want our wounded personnel at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital to know that we are thinking of them and be comforted.

This is another version of an antique Burgoyne Surrounded quilt - it was made in the early 1900s and is now displayed at the International Quilt Study Center in Nebraska:

Happy QOV Quilting today!

Recap of 10/12/12 Meeting

Ever been to a Binding Blitz?!  We have a fabulous meeting last Friday and I’ll show you the results of the binding blitz in a minute.

We are so pleased that we are continuing to add members to our group.  Linda found out about Quilts of Valor through a Fons & Porter show and looked up our Under Our Wings shop (Crafty Threads) through the Quilts of Valor main site.  She and her friend Donna joined us as new members only to discover that they had instant friends here since they had also recently joined their local quilt guild … small world, isn’t it?  Welcome, Friends!

These were the wonderful quilts and tops brought and/or donated in this month

Debbie found a great unfinished top in her stash and added borders to bring it up to QOV-size to donate:

Patricia brought in her Persimmon Quilts QOV Mystery #20 top to donate:

AND Patricia also brought in her Persimmon Quilts QOV Mystery #24 top to donate:

The Persimmon Quilts Mysteries are generously posted by Le Ann Weaver.  Click on the link to visit her website – thank you so much, Le Ann for offering up these designs for our use.

If you look at older posts on this blog, you will see other Persimmon designs (check here for yet another one, #4, from Pat and here for a #24 from Kathy) – they make wonderful Quilts of Valor – always the perfect size.

                         

Kathy’s donated top was adapted from a pattern by Tony Jacobson in the March/April 2012 issue of Fons and Porter’s magazine.  We wanted to use the pinwheels that are leftover from our snowball blocks, so we adapted the sizes of the stars to accommodate them – no fabric is ever wasted with our group!

Joanne & Dawn returned 4^th of July tops - they had finished sewing together the rows at home and Jadene finished sewing on labels and bindings for two tops:

Debbie donated some excellent fabric again this month and a lady named Chris dropped by and donated an entire bolt of red/white/blue fabric.

Pat (left) accepting the fabric from Chris (right)

Be assured that all fabric donations are put to good use and we profusely thank our generous fabric donors – you make our Quilts of Valor possible!

Our Country Quilt is now a finished top.  We had the panel donated and Janet and Patricia came up with the perfect design to showcase it:

Patricia (left) with Janet (right)

During the meeting, we also

·          Made up 4 pillowcase presentation kits

·          Sorted fabrics into categories for their most efficient use

·          Pieced several backings

·          Cut blocks and made up the Kits that can be signed out to take home

·          Sewed bindings

Did you see that last entry?  Did I just say “sewed bindings”?  Yep, that was the Binding Blitz!  Since we use the scrappy 4^th of July quilt by Bonnie Hunter (thank you again, Bonnie, for this excellent design that works well when multiple people are sewing blocks) as our “go to” quilt pattern, we have leftover fabric – and combined with some of the smaller donated pieces, we have plenty to make scrappy 2½ inch bindings.  Our members sewed and ironed miles and miles of bindings this month!

This box has multiple layers of the folded bindings – enough for over 25 quilts and some are still at the ironing stage, so you can see that the ladies were VERY productive!

extras to be ironed

 And last, but in no way least, we had a tasty lunch provided by Pat – soup, salad, crusty bread and crudités with dip … NOW aren’t you sorry you couldn’t be at this meeting?!!  Thank you so much, Pat.

Gotta stop taking pics when people are eating!

Sorry, didn’t want to make you feel badly about missing lunch - but mark your calendars now for next month – Friday, November 9^th is the date.

Be sure to join us next time for the fun or pick up one of our “take home” kits at the Crafty Threads Quilt Shop to sew up and return it at your convenience to the Shop.  We missed some of our regular members and hope to have everyone join us next month - we want to help cover ALL of our combat Veterans!

Meeting Reminder!

We will be meeting Friday, Oct 12^th,

from 10:00 – 2:00

at Crafty Threads Quilt Shop!

Click on this link to learn more! 

A Reminder Message from Pat:

This Friday at Crafty Threads - be there or be square. No, not a quilting square ... You know!

We love our volunteers - they are working hard for our returning wounded. We can use your help either in labor or donations.

Pat Neville - CT Quilter

Reminder – VA Fall Fundraiser!

As you know, the CT Quilters send their Quilts of Valor to the Poly-Trauma Unit of the James A Haley Veterans Hospital.  Since the individuals in this unit are often severely wounded, it is entirely possible that they will be spending the holidays in the hospital this year.  How can you help?

You can support the fabulous Fall Festival held annually at Haley that helps raise funds for the Volunteer staff to purchase gifts for those veterans who are in the hospital and nursing home during the holidays.

When:             This Thursday, Oct 11^th

Time:               8:00 am – 2:00 pm

Where:            James A. Haley VA Hospital

                        Main Bldg – 2^nd Floor Auditorium

                        (near the Volunteer Svcs office)

In addition to the Book Sale (think Christmas gifts!), Garage Sale (looking for that special item at a good price?) and Bake Sale (yum, yum!), you can purchase raffle tickets for donated prizes – just $1 each or 6 for $5.  The multitude of great raffle prizes includes restaurant gift cards (including Applebees and Outback), gift baskets, a Kindle Fire, a flag pendant and a 2-night stay at the Embassy Suites – USF, plus lots and lots of $25 and $50 gift cards.

Don’t forget that this is one way YOU can help our combat veterans.  The public is welcome, so take a neighbor with you and have fun for a good cause!

And just one more peek at this outstanding quilt donated by Diane Richardson and Pat Neville of the CT Quilters to the fundraiser.  This quilt (with a recorded value of $400!) will be awarded in a special raffle quilt from tickets sold on Thursday.  Here is the quilt that could be yours:

PS  It comes with its own pillowcase presentation package.

If you have any questions about attendance or the Fall Festival, please contact Diana Layman – Voluntary Service Specialist at 813-972-2000 x6579.

October Meeting Date – Friday, Oct 12th

The CT Quilters have one mission - We have joined in with the Quilts of Valor Foundation’s efforts to cover all veterans touched by war with a comforting quilt, and we remember that there would be no free United States without those veteran’s honor and sacrifice.

Everyone is invited to join us in working on our various projects - sewing skills are not required.  We have been delighted to welcome new members each month, and we’re waiting for you to join us!

So, what’s on the agenda for the CT Quilters this month?

We have a lot of activities waiting for us that will lead to many more Quilts of Valor:

"    Cut and sew outer borders,

"    Sew bindings – lots of bindings

"    Sew and miter inner border fabric

"    Cut backings from large pieces

"    We still have packages of the right number of blocks all ready to lay out and assemble into our normal design (called the Fourth of July, by Bonnie Hunter),

"    Sew rows together from the previously laid out 4^th of July tops

"    Finish up the Country Colors quilt – rotate out volunteers – and start another from aother country colors panel

"    Keep the pre-packaged kit basket full of block parts for home assembly by volunteers; may include cutting pieces or assembling more kits

"    The list goes on:

            like ironing, binding, labeling – eventually they will all be needed …

Friday, Oct 12^th is the day.  We will be meeting from 10:00 – 2:00 at the Crafty Threads Quilt Shop (click on the link here or on the sidebar for address, phone and directions).   Hope to see you there!

Nebraska 4-H and QOV

Have you ever wondered what the youth of America are coming to?  Well, let me tell you a little bit about the Quilts of Valor project that was undertaken by over 200 4-H Club members and their leaders across the state of Nebraska.

Photo from the QOVF Blogspot below

This fabulous group of young people donated 80 quilts to the Quilts of Valor Foundation at the Nebraska State Fair on Sep 1^st, after having displayed them at local and county fairs.  And this was twice again as many as they had made when they originally took up the challenge in 2011!

We say kudos to those service-oriented kids for such an outstanding effort.  Your work will bring comfort to many of our combat veterans and is greatly appreciated.  We’re so proud of you!

Read the whole story on the QOVF blog at:

http://qovf.blogspot.com/2012/09/nebraska-4h-and-qov.html

Photo from the QOVF Blogspot above

Constitution Day - September 17th

        We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. …

Recognize the language excerpted above?  It is from the Constitution of the United States of America – a document that serves as the foundation of our democratic form of government.  Constitution Day is observed on September 17^th each year because that is the day that the US Constitutional Convention first signed the document in 1787.  The day commemorates the signing of this historic document but many also celebrate this day by recognizing all who, by coming of age or by naturalization, have become US citizens.

Take a moment to reflect on our checks and balances in government, our freedoms and our individual human rights.  Then stop and thank all of the military service personnel who have fought and sometimes made the ultimate sacrifice so that we may continue as a free nation.  We at the CT Quilters make our Quilts of Valor for that very reason - to say "thank you".

“Democracy is based upon the conviction that there are

 extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people.”

— Harry Emerson Fosdick

Recap of 9/14/12 Meeting from Pat

First of all, thank you to all who came to our meeting at The Crafty Threads Quilt Shop.  It was a lot of fun and we numbered 16 this time.  We announced that the Volunteer Services from the James A. Haley VA Hospital will be holding its Fall Fundraiser on Thursday, Oct 11^th, so plan to attend that very worthwhile event.  See this blog post for more information.

We welcomed two very special guests today.  They were Sharon's mother, Barbara, and her mother's best friend, Gloria.  Gloria is a veteran of the Korean War, having served as a surgical nurse.  We also heard that Sharon's uncle is MIA from the same conflict.  They were very willing to help with Quilts of Valor and we put them to work assembling our quilt block kits that can be checked out to be sewn at home at your convenience.

On the right, Barbara (in front) and Gloria
waiting for the cutters to supply more blocks!
[with Dawn sewing borders on the left]

We accomplished a lot today:

ü        Two quilt tops to quilt

ü        Many pillowcase presentation packages made

           

ü        Block kits put together

           

ü        Four quilt backings done

ü        One country quilt ready

           

ü        One top taken home for homework

           

 Also, a big “thank you” to Debbie for the generous donations of fabric and the beautiful quilt, fully quilted!

           

We sorted thru all the donated fabrics and Kathy has them in order for next month – keep those donations coming – we are putting them all to good use!

Speaking of next month we will:

§          Complete two other layouts of blocks (hopefully even getting the borders done)

§          Continue cutting fabric for kits

§          Sew miles of bindings

§          Country quilt number 2 (yes, there is one!)

§          We may even be sewing some pinwheel blocks from the triangles that Kathy has been working with.

     

Thank you all for your volunteer hours, they are much appreciated.  I know that Barb, as the “Under Our Wings” regional location for QOV, had smiles in her eyes seeing all of us and the work we accomplish.  Our next meeting is Friday, Oct 12^th.  Mark those calendars now!

QOV Meeting Day TODAY – Come on Over!

A Note from Our Leader, Pat:

Wow its time to meet again this Friday [see this link for more info about this meeting], we welcomed four new members last month. 

We look forward to any of you who wish to drop by and see what we are doing. We have fun, fun and more fun. We are making great friends and enjoying working on this worthwhile cause.

I was at the VA today and they have given so much and need so much from us. These quilts say we care and thank you. Look for information [click for link to this blog post] about the VA's Fall Festival to be held on October 11th, to provide funds for Holiday gifts for those veterans at the Hospital and the Nursing Home.   Many have families and many do not.  Some families are far away or unable to travel.

Look forward to meeting any of you this Friday. Remember we need donations of Red, White and Blue Fabric and twin size cotton battings. We also can use 4 yard pieces of patriotic Fabric for Quilt backings.

Pat - CT Quilter