March 8, 2010 – Freedom Star Block #10 – Alaska’s Star Block
Filed under: Block of the Week, Free Patterns, Uncategorized, quilting
Alaska’s Famous Iditarod Race is under way. For the next 10 – 17 days, 71 teams of dog sledders will race from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska a distance of more than 1000 miles. This is one of the world’s last great road races. The Iditarod trail was originally used as a mail and supply route to the most rural mining towns in Alaska. In the late 1800’s, over 300,000 people risked life and limb traveling to the rugged Yukon Territory, many in search of gold! The only way to get there was by dog sled. Today the race is run to commemorate the tough, rugged settlers in this the coldest State of the Union. If you want to track the race you can go to the official Iditarod Race Site.
Alaska was purchased from the Russian Empire on March 30, 1867, for $7.2 million , that is about 2 cents/acre. The land was originally a government owned territory and officially became the 49th state of the U.S. on January 3, 1959.
Alaska's Star Block
Today’s block is a variation of the Alaska block published in the magazine Hearth and Home (1885-1930) . As Sited by Block Base (TM)
Click here for complete directions or click on Quilt Patterns/Free Block Patterns – 2010 Block of the Week “Freedom Stars”.
Happy Quilting,
Betty
March 5, 2010 – Mammogram Day
This morning I went in for my yearly mammogram. It was a simple, quick procedure, fully paid for by my insurance company. It took me just one hour, from when I left my house to when I left the medical building. My sister was first diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 42 , she opted for a full mastectomy. She is a survivor, now 56 years old. Ever since her diagnosis, I have been diligent about getting my yearly mammogram.
In the past three years I have had three close friends diagnosed with breast cancer, they all underwent various different surgeries, chemo, and hair loss, but so far, all have survived. All three women were under the age 50. I hope that this means that women are not getting cancer at an early age, but that they are being vigilant about getting their yearly mammograms, and that we are catching the cancer earlier, when there is still time to fight it and win the battle.
I generally reward myself on Mammogram Day by taking myself out to lunch. Today’s appointment was early in the day, so I stopped off at the local food store, and treated myself to some of my favorite comfort foods! That works for me.
We all need to learn to take as much care of ourselves as we do the rest of our families. So if you haven’t done so yet this year, make your appointment today.
Happy Quilting,
Betty Dietz
March 3 , 2010 – No More Painting
re-modeled Bay House kitchen 2
Re modeled bay house kitchen
I have just spent the last 48 hours painting the walls and trim in the kitchen of Pieceful Cottage -our vacation home….and I realized that taking off the painter’s tape is a little like finishing the binding on a quilt – it’s the Woo Hoo! moment. When the work is almost completed and you get to see the results. I thought I’d share a few pictures with you. It’s not my dream kitchen, but it’s way better than the old one with pink formica counters and dark oak cabinets. The flooring is next to be done, so try to image the floors as Oak, not the pink carpet and 1980’s laminate floor….well at least the wallpaper with the tiny pink tulips is all gone!
Happy Quilting
Betty
March 1, 2010 – Playing with the Freedom Star Blocks
Large Ohio Star with Fifty Four Forty or Fight Star Block
I wanted to see what would happen if I played with just two of the Freedom Star blocks…I created a this quilt with the Ohio Star blocks and today’s Fifty Four Forty or Fight! Star Block
You can make many quilts just playing around with the Freedom Star Blocks already posted on my blog.
Happy Quilting!
Betty
March 1, 2010 – Freedom Star Block #9 – Fifty-Four-Forty or Fight! Star Block
Border Wars! The USA vs Canada. Generally, we think of America and Canada as friendly neighbors. We share a common border and there is free trade and travel between both countries. The story was very different at the Olympics this week…. when the American and Canadian Hockey teams were in an all-out battle for Gold. BOTH the men’s and women’s teams! It was a shining example of how too very close neighbors can” play to win” on the neutral battle field of the sports arena. This time, Canada overcame our great athletes to take the gold medals. And we will just have to have to settle for the silver which isn’t all that bad. Both games were great and I’d rather see the Canadians win than the Russians (only because they always seem to win it). Not to worry, we’ll get them the next time.
Back in the early 1800’s there was a real border dispute between the US and the then British Colony (now know as Canada). The land area in question was the Oregon Territory. President Polk and the Democratic Leaders in the US believed that we should control the parcel of land that now includes the city of Vancouver and the Western Canadian Province of British Columbia. The parcel in dispute ran from West of the Continental divide to the Pacific Coast and from the 42 nd parallel to 54′40′ North. The common political slogan of the day was “Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!” referring to the northern most border line. The US had just annexed Texas and relations with Mexico were strained, to avoid conflict on both borders, a comprise was made and the territory was divided along the 49th parallel with Britain getting the Strait of Juan de Fuca including Vancouver. I am glad that we have a strong relationship with our Northern neighbors and hope someday to visit the beautiful city of Vancouver, B.C.
Fifty-Four-Forty or Fight! Star Block
It’s fun to learn about the origins of some traditional quilt blocks. The Fifty-Four- Forty or Fight! Star Block must have been designed in the early 1800’s when the border dispute was Front Page news. So today’s block is taken right out of the pages of history. It’s a fairly simple block with a little paper-piecing and easy 4-patch blocks.
Fifty -Four-Forty or Fight! Star Block – Click here for complete directions or click on Quilt Patterns/Free Block Patterns – 2010 Block of the Week “Freedom Stars.
Happy Quilting,
Betty
February 23, 2010 – Going to the Quilt Show!
Tomorrow morning I will be heading off to the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival. I will be traveling with quilt friends, of course! There will be four of us piled into my car. We plan on making a day of it, stopping off in Fredericksburg to check out a quilt shop and have lunch, before making our way to the hotel.
This year I have signed up for one class on Thursday and I will be tending our raffle quilt on Friday. The rest of the time, I will be shopping and taking photos of all the great quilts in this year’s show. As I walk through the show, I find it hard not to take a photo of each and every quilt. It seems as though each one is prettier than the last. I have been taking photos of quilts for over 20 years, and I have quite a collection. It is easier now we have gone digital. At least the photos are organized on my computer and in a format that is much easier for viewing. When reviewing the photos…even just two or three days after the show, I am always surprised at how many quilts I have already forgotten. But that is probably just a result of my aging and memory loss!
We are looking forward to a great girls weekend away, much shopping and fabric purchasing. I will have my computer with me and I will try to get a post up each evening, if I can get an internet connection.
Happy Quilting!
Betty Dietz
February 22, 2010 – Freedom Star Block #8 – Gold, Silver and Bronze! Star Block
I am still glued to the TV watching the Olympics. Can the Hockey team repeat the Miracle on Ice like they did 30 years ago? And the Short Track speed skating. WOW! Wouldn’t it be a thrill to go down the Ski Jump or the Bobsled track? I would like to celebrate all of these talented athletes…not just the Gold Medal winners. So today I am posting the directions for a traditional block, the Silver and Gold quilt block. By simply recoloring it to become the Gold, Silver and Bronze! Star Block we can celebrate all of the olympic winners.
Gold, Silver and Bronze! Star Block
Click here for complete directions or click on Quilt Patterns/Free Block Patterns – 2010 Block of the Week “Freedom Stars”
And I have a version called the Gold, Red and Blue! Star Block for those of us making the Freedom Stars.
Happy Quilting
Betty Dietz
Gold, Red and Blue! Star Block
February 18, 2010 – Quilters Never “Win” – they just quilt for fun!
We have a lot of sports idioms to describe a close race….a matter of inches, winning by a nose, too close to call, photo finish, down to the wire. In sports it always comes down to who crosses the line first, or performs the best on that particular day. And many times the difference between first and second is just a hundredth of a second or a fraction of a point. In this Olympics we have seen a skier win the bronze medal, missing gold by nine hundredths of a second and silver by just two hundredths of a second. But he competed and did his best on that particular day. If the race was held again tomorrow, the outcome may be reversed. Or he may fall and never finish the race. We’ll never know and it does not matter. The point is he put in hours of practice and honed his body to be fit and able to compete with the best athletes in the world. Isn’t that accomplishment enough.
So is quilting a sport? We work hard to cut out our pieces precisely, and to piece or applique them together into beautifully designed quilts. Much care goes into the fabric selection, into stitching precise 1/4″ seams, into carefully pressing the blocks and stitching the whole top together. Then we carefully quilt the top, batting and backing together, choosing a quilt design that complements the pattern. We spend more hours attaching and stitching down a binding and adding a label to identify ourselves as the quilter. If one were to compare it to a sport, quilting would be most like running a marathon, we pace ourselves and put in two or three hours a day to be sure that the quilt is finished by the deadline…be it our daughter’s graduation, or son’s wedding, or our best friends 60th birthday. In the end we are satisfied with our accomplishment.
There are many quilt shows, local and national. Some quilt shows are just exhibitions, some are major competitions. But how does one “win” a quilt show. What is it that makes one quilt better than another? Certainly quilts can be judged on quality of workmanship…but for really experienced quilters, who can say that quilt A is “Better” than quilt B? Should they be judged on fabric selection, or how well the points match, or the quilt design, or the amount of time it took to finish the quilt? All of these criteria are subjective and in a way meaningless. Like comparing a Rembrandt to a Picasso. The beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Quilts should be made to be loved, to be cuddled under on a cold night, to adorn one’s walls as artwork and to give one pleasure. This year I have entered my first quilt into a judged show…but I don’t care if it “wins”…I made this quilt as a gift to my daughter, for her to enjoy and use as she may. I sent it off to the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, hoping others would see it and enjoy it. Quilting is not meant to be a sport, with winners and losers, quilting is a craft, which one learns and practices and passes on to the next generation. Quilts are meant to be shared not judged. Our local quilt guild Quilters Unlimited puts on a non-judged quilt show every year…the only requirement is that the quilter is a member of our guild. This year’s show will be held June 4 – 6, 2010 At the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly Virginia.
Come visit and enjoy!
Betty Dietz
February 16, 2010 – Olympic Mania
It’s true. Olympic Mania has struck! At least in our house, where I get so caught up in watching the Olympics that I find it hard to get much else done. While I have really enjoyed watching the skiing and luge competitions, I am especially attracted to all of the ice skating coverage. When I was in college I took Beginning Ice Skating as an elective. I loved it and advanced to Ice Skating II. And then, while my husband was attending Graduate School, I got really serious about skating and took private lessons. This was quite a silly sport for me to take up, as we lived in Houston, Texas at the time.
Back then, the ice skating association still required school figures, these were precise figure eights drawn by your blade in really hard, fresh ice. You had to transcribe the same circle three times, and your circles were supposed to be within a dimes space of each other. Mine NEVER were. I remember having to get to the rink by 6:00PM to get my figures practiced, and be ready for my lesson. This was after I worked a full 8 hour day and fought some heavy duty rush hour traffic to get to the ice rink. I did manage to learn a few of the basic jumps, but I was never able to succeed in landing an Axel. In the end, I feel like I did OK for a 21 year old beginner!
The best thing about my own experience, is that learning to skate, is much like riding a bike. You really do not forget. While the body is older and out of shape, and I probably can not complete a toe loop or lutz, I can still manage to do some decent cross-overs and maybe a waltz jump or spin.
My three years of skating lessons, has left me with a great appreciation for what the olympic skaters manage to do on the ice. I really enjoyed watching the pairs competition last night. I know how hard it is to skate alone, yet these couples make it look so easy , even while they are skating in unison with another person. Those one handed lifts truly scare me…I know you would never get me to even think about trying one. They must be very athletic to hold those positions, while moving on the ice. And of course, even though I love it when the USA wins, I always find myself rooting for whatever athletes perform the best, no matter what country they hail from. I like to cheer them all on!!
So tonight I think we get to see the men’s short program…and later in the week the ladies. You know where to find me!
Happy Quilting!
Betty DIetz
February 15, 2010 – Freedom Star Block #7 – Martha Washington’s Star
Filed under: Block of the Week, Free Patterns, quilting
Martha Washington's Star
Sorry I am late with today’s posting….I was at Pieceful Cottage this morning, tearing off the last of the kitchen wallpaper, while waiting for the window repairman. We are in the middle of a kitchen re-do, with newly painted cabinets and walls, and a new kitchen counter top coming on March 1.
In Honor of President’s Day, I am offering this week’s block…..
Martha Washington’s Star Block – Click here for complete directions or click on Quilt Patterns/Free Block Patterns – 2010 Block of the Week “Freedom Stars”
This block was published in Farmer’s Wife in 1926.
Because we all know that behind every great man was a great woman!
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I wondered if Martha Washington was a seamstress and I found this great article:
Martha Washington’s Needlework by Patricia L. Cummings/photos by James Cummings
Happy Quilting
Betty Dietz