Thoughts Going Thru My Mind

I have been thinking a lot lately about America and our Military. There have been members of our family serving in the military since the Civil War and probably before that though I haven't any knowledge of that at this time. In my time (72 years) my 7 brothers have served in the Marines and one in the Air Force all but three have passed away. My husband served 22 years in the Navy during Vietnam and after. He also has 7 brothers most of whom served in the Navy, Army and one in the Air Force. We were very lucky that those in our families who served during the Vietnam War all came home alive. Within the last year I discovered a song written by Sailor Jerry called The Veteran's Hallelujah 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msYPbjFC50w which you can listen to if you click on this link. 

This song really grabs me and makes me think about the times I would hear things on the news and sit worrying, waiting to hear was it happening somewhere near where I knew one of my family members were wondering if they were okay or was someone in uniform going to knock on my door with news I didn't want to hear. The times I stood on the pier watching the ship pull out, then filling the days until I could once again stand on the pier watching that same ship pull back in and waiting to see my husband among all the uniforms. 

We the wives, husbands, kids, parents and other family members are the support staff that make it possible for the men and women of our military to do what they do knowing we are here keeping things running and ready for them to come home to as soon as they can. It is a job that I have been proud to do and it is the way I have served my country. So to all those currently serving and those who have served THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE it is appreciated and to all of us who are support staff I also Thank you for YOUR SUPPORT.

Anita

I Have Such Good Intentions

I always have such good intentions when I do a post to do them more often and then I get busy and forget to do them. 
I entered a quilt in our County Fair last week and won a Blue Ribbon, a Best in Division-Quilts, a Judge's Choice and a Gift Certificate to the local quilt shop. All this happened on my Birthday so it really made my day.

Other news if you are in Eastern Idaho on October 12th and 13th the Portneuf Valley Quilt Guild is having their Quilt Show. The show is called The Quilter's Harvest. I'm planning to enter a quilt or two and am giving some thought to having a booth to Show Accuquilt products. IF you attend and I do have a booth please stop and say hello.


 This is my quilt. It measures 52" x 66".

Spring Has Finally Arrived in Southern Idaho

Once again I have been among the missing. Have been busy trying to get some quilt tops put together so now I have to get them quilted. I have also started a group on Facebook for my Accuquilt customers for a place to meet and share what they have been doing or ask questions if they need help with something. I will also be starting a block of the month for the AccuCutUps group. It will help people see how the die is used and whether or not they might want to add the die to their collection. Our first die will be the Ohio Star die.


Other things going on here Frankie has grown like gang busters and now weighs 13 pounds and provides much entertainment. He has taken quite a liking to Echo. When I got up out of my chair this is what was sitting in front of me. Echo puts up with him rubbing all over him and sleeping with him in his bed. He goes around loving on everyone who will let him. Still just falls over where ever he feels like it and goes to sleep. Carl has started calling him Middle of the Road Frankie because he is always in the middle of where ever you want to walk.

Progress has been Made this week

One thing and another has kept me from getting things done this winter. Now that the weather is trying to get better here in Southern Idaho I have been able to play in the quilt room this past week. I managed to get two tops finished and ready to be quilted. Now if I can just keep that up. These aren't my best pictures the day was cloudy so the light was not good. Also the flash on the camera created a washed out spot on the Ohio Star quilt. Anyway you get the idea. Both of these were cut with the Accquilt Studio and GO dies. Once you get the cutting directions figured out and your fabrics cut correctly the Blazing Star is very easy to piece and sew together. Will post better pictures when they are quilted. I am now off to the quilt room to try out another pattern. We'll see how it goes so stay tuned. What are you working on?

 

Does Anyone Else Get Packages Damaged

Today I received a package I had ordered with a couple of new product used for cooking. This is what it and the contents looked like:

 The small hole in the bag leaked fine powder all over everything. 

Meet Frankie

 This little guy is Frankie. I found him in our backyard just laying in the grass with no sign of a Mom or siblings. So I picked him up and brought him in the house. With a Hawk in the neighborhood I couldn't leave him outside by himself. So in the 4 weeks he's been with us he has really grown and blossomed. He knows no fear and plays at full speed then all the sudden he just collapses where ever he happens to be and takes a nap.

He has been such a joy. We have laughed until we hurt at his antics and the other cats have finally stopped hissing at him and are now playing with him.

 He'd been with us about a week and he started crawling up in my knitting bag and then making his way into my recliner so he can get me to play with him. One time I found him sleeping on the knitting bag.
Tonight he went over to see Echo our dog and laid there playing with the leash. That is a first usually if Echo looks at him he will hiss and dares Echo to try something. When Echo turned his head Frankie just laid there and didn't react. They may make friends yet. I think we have another fur child.

Making an Ohio Star Block using Accuquilt Go and Die

This is a tutorial to show how I use the Ohio Star Die # 55174 to make this quilt. The Ohio Star Die cuts the 4.5"quarter square triangles used to make the star points for the block and it also cut five 4.5 " square which are the corner blocks and the center block of the square. Both the quarter square triangles and the square finish at 4". In this quilt I used 12 blocks set 3 x 4.

As you can see I have marked my die with the size of the blocks. To this measurement I added 1/2" to allow the material to cover the blades. I find that if I cut my fabrics to fit the die plus one half inch I waste less fabric than if I try to fan fold it. You may use whatever method works best for you.

I will use the colors I used in the quilt to make one block as an example. You may make your stars whatever color you want. I cut a strip of blue 5 3/4" by width of fabric. From that strip I was able to cut seven 5 3/4" squares. To make 12 blocks you will need 3.5 strips of fabric 5 3/4" by WOF to make enough squares for twelve blocks since you will need two blue square per block and 24 squares of blue fabric in total to make the blue star points for 12 quilt blocks.

Next I cut a strip of the red fabric 5 3/4" by WOF which also gave me seven 5 3/4" squares. You need one 5 3/4" square per block which means you need 12 total. Two strips of 5 3/4" by WOF strips of the red and two strips background will give you enough squares for 12 blocks.

The squares above when cut apart will give you the cut pieces shown on the right side which when sewn together will give you one complete block. I used a pre printed block in my center you can use the same color as your background or a 4 patch or a red center what ever you want to use in the center.

When I sew the quarter square together I lay them out as pictured. I flip the red triangle on the right to the blue on the top and sew the seam. Then I flip the bottom blue to the white (background) triangle and sew that seam. I usually press my seams open to reduce bulk then sew the two halves together. Do this 4 times and you have all your star points ready to lay out your block and sew the 9 squares into a block as shown on the right.

I hope you find this helpful in using your Ohio Star Die and making an Ohio Star Quilt. If you have any questions please do contact me.