{"id":15574,"date":"2012-06-30T20:43:54","date_gmt":"2012-07-01T00:43:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/?p=15574"},"modified":"2012-07-03T03:35:11","modified_gmt":"2012-07-03T07:35:11","slug":"usa-mini-quilt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.janicefergusonsews.com\/blog\/2012\/06\/30\/usa-mini-quilt\/","title":{"rendered":"USA Mini Quilt"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am always moved by Independence Day celebrations and they start early this year due to the 4th falling in the middle of the week.\u00c2\u00a0 But I’m busily working on an entredeux tutorial so this patriotic mini quilt post is being re-run.<\/p>\n

I hope you are all enjoying picnics and fireworks and celebrating this wonderful nation in which we live.\u00c2\u00a0 God bless America!<\/p>\n

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We can’t all be Washingtons, but we all can be patriots. <\/strong><\/em>Charles F.\u00c2\u00a0 Browne <\/em> <\/em><\/p>\n

Don’t you just love 4th of July?\u00c2\u00a0 Flag waving at the parade, fireworks, picnics, and\u00c2\u00a0 proud Americans, clad in red, white and blue, professing their patriotism on their backs.<\/p>\n

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The bell is rung every morning before we begin our homeschool day.\u00c2\u00a0 One of the reasons I love homeschooling my grandchildren is that it gives an extra opportunity to teach them about patriotism.\u00c2\u00a0 The bell ringing is followed by a time honored educational ritual no longer practiced in most public schools, the Pledge of Allegiance and singing of God Bless America.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 My little students currently are learning the Star Spangled Banner.\u00c2\u00a0 In fact, 7 year old Laurel was just selected to sing our national anthem with a group of other children at a special Florida Symphony performance.<\/p>\n

As Charles Browne suggests in the above quote, I may not be Washington, but I can be a patriot by instilling my grandchildren with a sense of duty and a love for our country.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Their mother, who shares homeschooling responsibilities with me,\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 has organized huge patriotic rallies in Orlando.\u00c2\u00a0 She and my son are shining examples of patriotic Americans.<\/p>\n

This mini quilt was made as a small expression of my enormous love for America.\u00c2\u00a0 Just 15-1\/4″ square, it’s precise log cabin pattern was achieved by using the foundation piecing technique.<\/p>\n

If you are unfamiliar with this method and would like to learn about it, check out this tutorial. http:\/\/quilting.about.com\/od\/foundationpiecing\/ss\/log_cabin_block.htm <\/a><\/p>\n

Traditionally, the center of log cabin block is red or yellow, representing the fire at the heart of the home.\u00c2\u00a0 At the center of this log cabin is an American symbol fussy cut from one patriotic fabric.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Today, there are so many of these fabrics available.<\/p>\n

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I enjoyed reading Terri Click’s The Thrifty Needle<\/strong><\/em> blog post about Memorial Day, when she puts out her red, white and blue table runner and decorations and leaves them up through July 4th.\u00c2\u00a0 I’d like to follow her lead and do that next year.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0It gives a longer period of time to display patriotism in the home.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/thethriftyneedle.wordpress.com\/2011\/05\/30\/happy-memorial-day\/<\/a><\/p>\n

I hope you are all planning some sort of Independence Day celebration.\u00c2\u00a0 Wave your flags, thank a veteran,\u00c2\u00a0 wear your colors, pray for our soldiers, and put on some patriotic tunes. I especially enjoyed this one\u00c2\u00a0 on YouTube.<\/p>\n