Feelin' Groovy

Slow down, you move too fast.
You got to make the morning last.
Just kicking down the cobble stones.
Looking for fun and feelin' groovy.
–Paul Simon, 59^th Street Bridge Song

Once upon a time, I fell in love with Pat Bravo's Indie fabric line. I was so in love that I bought a half-yard of every print. And I decided to share the love. I gave away a fat quarter bundle. I made some Stitchy Kits, one to keep and one to give away. And then I made a Folded Fabric Star tote bag to tote my Stitchy Kit and stitching projects around in. Lori Holt, designer of the Stitchy Kit left me a comment on the post about that. I love it when famous people comment on my little blog. Ryan Tilby, bass player from Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband left me a comment once. It was awesome. Then he came back and commented again. But that's not the point of this story.

Just over a week ago, lightning struck again. Pat Bravo left me a sweet comment and invited me to enter her Groovy Instagram Contest. I was so flattered. I signed right up for Instagram and spent the next day fiddling around with it and entering my tote bag and Sitchy Kit ensemble in Pat's contest. There were 85 entries. She announced two winners on July 8^th and on Monday she announced two more winners.

A half-yard bundle of Pat's newest line, Carnaby St in the Cool Peace colorway is on its way to me. The happy thing about a half-yard cut of fabric is that there is enough to share. And fabric this good is meant to be shared. Just sayin' .

Thank you, Pat, for a really fun contest. And thank you for making the world a little more beautiful.

Seven Days Without Sewing Makes One Weak

Doldrums: \ˈdōl-drəmz\
Noun
1. a spell of listlessness or despondency
2. a part of the ocean near the equator abounding in calms, squalls, and light shifting winds
3. a state or period of inactivity, stagnation, or slump

Once upon a time, about 2½ weeks ago, I kind of fell into a funk. About six weeks ago, I made a major adjustment to my schedule so that I could be around more for the Not-So-Little Bugs during summer. Overall, it has been a really positive change. I like being the first one in at work. I get a lot more done while it's quiet. And I also get to go home before everybody else; before lunch even. I think, too, that going to bed earlier {it's usually still a little bit light out} and getting more sleep has had a positive effect on how many migraines I get and how long they last {i.e., I'm having fewer and they don't hang on for days}.

I'm trying to keep this as non-whiney as possible, but what this little back-story is leading up to is that somewhere in there, I kind of lost my "me" time. And maybe a little bit of me, too. I know that making sacrifices for your kids is part of being a parent. But I kind of felt like there was a whole lot of resistance in the ranks to where I wanted to go {which, in the literal sense, was anywhere but sitting around at home staring at the screens all day}, getting up early to go to work, going to bed early so I could get up early to go to work, and trying to out-stubborn {in a happy, positive, encouraging kind of way} the reticent {or alternately defiant} Not-So-Little Bugs all combined to make me feel like I was kind of failing a little bit at life. Subsequently, not even sewing sounded fun. So for a few days, I didn't.

Going without sewing for a few days is no big deal. Sometimes you just need a little break. Going a whole week without sewing was kind of a red flag for me. I decided that I'd better get back to the machine and I started to write this post. Well, sort of. I had a clever post title {I ♥ puns}. A few more days went by and still no sewing. At around the 11^th no-sew day, it became a bit of a game and I decided to see if I could go a full two weeks without sewing. I think that was the turning point and by day 13, I was itching to do something creative. It was the 4^th of July and it is kind of my tradition to work on my Patriotic Sampler for a few days every year around this time. {I know. It would make more sense to start working on it in April so it would be finished and ready to display on the 4^th.}

I've been working on this sampler for about twelve years now. I started it when I was pregnant with LadyBug. She's eleven. It is my second oldest Ph.D, and I don't know why I don't just finish it already . I'm so close. Anyway, I decided I'd work on some of the itty, bitty paper pieced stars that go at the corners of the blocks in the sashing. It was then that I found out that my post title was more true than I knew. After the first star {which took an hour because I fussed and fiddled and unpicked a lot to try and get the stripes to line up} I was ready to quit. My sewing muscles {the mental ones that help you push through a boring/difficult/unpleasant part of a project} were seriously out of shape. I persisted, even though I didn't really want to. The non-stripey ones only took thirty minutes each. Seven down. Only twenty more to go.

Cute, no? They finish at 1". Who designed this quilt anyway?
Oh. Right. It was me.

After I'd had my fill of that, I put together one of two remaining blocks for the quilt top. It has been cut out and ready to go for, oh, I don't know. Four years now? This one is called Land of Liberty as was designed by Marcia Hohn at The Quilter's Cache. I kind of love it. Pinwheels and flying geese in the same block? It doesn't get better than that.

For the final block, I had three contenders, only two of which I can remember at the moment, so I won't even bother to tell you about the losers. I showed them to Mr. Bug and he said, hands down, this should be the final block. It is called Spiderweb Star, and it is pretty awesome. {Note: if you make this block, reverse the cutting directions for template piece C/CR.}

I also fiddled around at the old doodle pad {Microsoft Picture Manager & Microsoft Paint} and changed my sashing from tan {the same tan used for most of the block backgrounds. Yeah, not sure what I was thinking there.} to white, moved the blocks around a bit and added the flying geese border. It's kinda wild and crazy. I think it will be a little more mellow with a scrappy collection of reds and blues in the flying geese section. I'm debating about whether or not to add a border between the sashing and the geese and another on the outside of the geese. What do you think?

Block Credits:
Row 1 - left to right
The Old Red and Blue by Marcia Hohn at The Quilter's Cache
Zig-Zag Flag inspired by Karen at The Recipe Bunny
Our Eagle pattern from a BOM my mom did at her LQS

Row 2 - left & right
Glory Flag pattern from a BOM my mom did at her LQS
Crossroads traditional block

Center Section - left to right, top to bottom
Uncle Sam pattern from a BOM my mom did at her LQS
Patriot's Star {modified} at eQuiltPatterns.com
Banner Flag by Elizabeth
US Ribbon at Compuquilt
Pledge of Allegiance Embroidery by Elizabeth

Row 3 - left & right
July Fourth traditional block
54-40 or Fight {modified} or Star Shield traditional block

Row 4 - left to right
Land of Liberty by Marcia Hohn at The Quilter's Cache
Courthouse Steps traditional block
Spiderweb Star at McCall's Quilting

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. –Declaration of Independence

Two hundred and thirty-eight years ago, 56 men from 13 independent Colonies met together to declare independence from the Great British Empire. This would either be an act of high treason or the start of a brilliant new Nation. It was a strange and bold idea for a nation to have a self-ruled government, of the people, for the people and by the people.

The Colonies had been at war with Britain for a year, after the first shots were fired at Lexington and Concord, until the Second Continental Congress met on July 2, 1776 to look over a draft of the declaration. On July 4, 1776 the text was ratified. At this point there was no turning back. The Declaration of Independence was in black and white for the King and world to see, and for the Colonies to win a nation. It was not until 1783, after the Articles of Peace were signed and the British withdrew all troops, that the United States had won independence. The struggle for independence was not quick and it was not easy. It was 8 years of hard struggle until the war was over.



The fireworks displays during July 4^th are spectacular in their beauty of color and sound. They should be a reminder to all of us that they were the frightening sights and sound of cannon, rocket and musket fire during the Revolutionary War, and all wars that followed to keep this Nation alive. What we find amazing and beautiful, the Colonist feared, as they brought death and destruction on the land. The freedom we enjoy was not free; it was paid for in blood and life, on both sides of the battle.

It was not until 1787 that the U.S. Constitution was signed but was not adopted until 1788 when, the last state, New Hampshire ratified it, five years after the end of war. The United States was a long time coming into being. The deliberations of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 were held in strict secrecy. Consequently, anxious citizens gathered outside Independence Hall when the proceedings ended, in order to learn what had been produced behind closed doors.

In the notes of Dr. James McHenry, one of Maryland’s delegates to the Convention: A Mrs. Powel of Philadelphia asked Benjamin Franklin, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” With no hesitation whatsoever, Franklin responded, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

“Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.” –Benjamin Franklin, his motto

“Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and nature.”
–Benjamin Franklin

In closing, Red Skelton will give us his tribute to the United States of America.



I hope and pray we can keep the Republic.

Special thanks to my Dad for guest posting today!

A Stitch In Time: June Finishes Giveaway Winner

For every finish-line tape a runner breaks — complete with the cheers of the crowd and the clicking of hundreds of cameras — there are the hours of hard and often lonely work that rarely gets talked about. –Grete Waitz

Thank you to everyone who linked up in June! It was so much fun to click through and read about your projects and see your pictures. Your enthusiasm is catching and I can hear my projects calling out to be finished. Right now, though, I'm pretty excited to announce our June winner, drawn by Grasshopper, who picked #8.

Congratulations to

Allison

at Dreaming in Patchwork

Allison will receive a Honeycomb of Happy-Go-Lucky by Bonnie & Camille for Moda! Make sure you click on over and see Allison's adorable Lady Bug Picnic tote bag for patterns {I'm totally singing the Lady Bug Picnic song from Sesame Street in my head}. She also made a pretty rice sock {with hilarious commentary}. And if you haven't already, check out a few of the other finishes this month. There were so many great projects finished in June!

The July Finishes Linky Party is open, so you can link up as you go throughout the month. Remember to include the July Finishes button {code found in the July post} somewhere in any post you link up. Code for a button for your sidebar can also be found at the bottom of the July post. The he July giveaway is a charm pack of Road 15 by Sweetwater!

Today's post brought to you by:

We Went to a Quilt Show. Because I Said So.

Searching is half the fun; life is much more manageable when thought of as a scavenger hunt as opposed to a surprise party.
–Jimmy Buffett

{The Quilt Mobile, as seen at The Original Sewing and Quilting Expo}

Last week I mentioned that we were going to a quilt show. Unfortunately, it wasn't the show with The Quilt Mobile. I mean how cool is that? My dad is going to be asking for one for Christmas.

I planned a little Scavenger Hunt to keep the Not-So-Little Bugs interested while I looked at the quilts. The show was rather smaller than I remembered it was in past years, so I had my fill of looking at quilts before Grasshopper had finished his scavenger hunt. How's that for irony ? A little bribery motivation in the form of an apple pie from McDonald's was all it took.

In the end, I came up with a list of twenty different quilts to find while we were there. I wanted the Not-So-Little Bugs to relate the quilts to themselves, but I threw in a few technical items as well. I came up with most of the list, but a few are from suggestions left in the comments on my post about it last week.

Find a quilt that reminds you of Summer.
Find a quilt that reminds you of Spring.
Find a quilt that reminds you of Winter.
Find a quilt that reminds you of Fall.
Find a quilt made for a specific holiday.
Find a quilt with your favorite color in it.
Find a quilt that only has two colors in it.
Find a rainbow quilt.
Find a quilt that you would like to have on your bed.
Find your favorite quilt.
Find a quilt with a blue ribbon on it.
Find a wholecloth quilt.
Find a hand quilted quilt.
Find a quilt with pinwheels in it.
Find a quilt with stars in it.
Find an appliqué quilt.
Find a quilt with feathers quilted in it.
Find a quilt with a grey background.
Find a pictorial or art quilt.
Find a scrap quilt.

When we got home, there were a few more suggestions in the comments.

Find a quilt with a cat/dog/animal on it.
Find a quilt that has a movie/tv/book theme.
Find a quilt that most resembles Mr. Bug's personality.
Find the ugliest quilt.

If I do this again, I will probably take some of the technical things off the list, shorten it a bit and add in a few of these items. Probably not the ugliest quilt, because that's just not nice. And with my luck, the person who made the quilt one of us deemed "the ugliest" would be standing right behind us while we photographed and recorded it on the Scavenger Hunt list.

It was really fun to come home and look through the photos and see the quilt show through LadyBug's and Grasshopper's eyes. Some of their choices were pretty obvious, or even a little off the mark. But some of them really surprised me and I loved seeing the quilt show from their perspectives.

We'll start with one of the more obvious choices. Both Grasshopper and LadyBug picked the same hand quilted quilt and I thought it was the best of the half-a-dozen or so there. It is called Simply Card Tricks.

The detail was amazing. If you click on the larger picture above, you can see some of it, but here's a close-up of the quilting in the card trick blocks.

One of the surprising picks was the quilt that Grasshopper wants on his bed. It was part of a collection of spotlight quilts done by Sharon Wright. There is a picture of The Savior in the center of the quilt. You can see it best when the picture is smaller, but make sure to click on it so you can see the beautiful detail in the Celtic knots.

Grasshopper chose this Super Mario Brothers quilt, as seen at the Cut to Pieces QAL and featured at Fandom in Stitches, which has 3888 – 1" squares, as his favorite. The quilt is 3x4, but Grasshopper's photography class doesn't start until school gets back in .

LadyBug chose this quilt, which was the first one inside the door, as the quilt that reminded her of summer! It is such an adorable quilt. I would have picked it for the appliqué quilt, but doesn't this just sing Summer to you?

LadyBug picked this pretty quilt, called Stepping Into Spring, as her appliqué quilt. I love the pretty colors.

Here's a close-up of the appliqué, which also has some embroidery.

This quilt, also by Sharon Wright, reminded Grasshopper of Summer.

I found it interesting that this quilt reminded Grasshopper of Winter.

It was probably my favorite quilt {but that's really hard to say for certain}, and what drew me to it were the colors, the Dresdens and the quilting.

But once Grasshopper said it reminded him of winter, it reminded me of it too.

I hope the Not-So-Little Bugs don't hold it against me too much that I dragged them to a quilt show, because I'm probably going to do it again later this month .