Heroes, Sewing & BBQ
- fabman556
- Sep 15, 2017
- 4 min read
We Will Never Forget
Sixteen years have passed since the 9/11 attacks, and for those of us who watched the drama unfold on our TV screens, the memories are still vivid. And we hold our collective breath each year on September 11, wondering...could it happen again?
Nearly ten years later, as the holiday fabric buyer for JOANN, I had already wrapped up my patriotic fabric collection for 2011 when I realized that the tenth anniversary of the attacks would be marked that year. I quickly worked with our in-house designers to develop a commemorative fabric for our customers to use in creating all the wonderful fabric crafts they do so well. I made myself a shirt from the fabric and wear it every year on Patriot Day. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriot_Day
Mission BBQ
On vacation in the Tidewater area of Virginia the week of Labor Day this year, Mrs. DTFM and I had a moving lunchtime experience at a Mission BBQ location in Hampton, Virginia. Mission BBQ opened for business on September 11, 2011 and is built around respect for military personnel and first responders. That focus is reflected in everything they do, and in the decor of their restaurants.
Every day at noon, the Star Spangled Banner is played while customers stand and sing along. We were fortunate on this visit to be present at noon, along with a large number of military men and women in fatigues, all facing the huge flag hanging from the ceiling in the center of the room, hands over hearts and singing the national anthem. Truly an amazing experience! Here's the Mission BBQ story:
By the way, their BBQ is pretty good, too, and we recommend it! For my NE Ohio friends, there are Mission BBQ locations in Parma and Canton. Find them here:
Quilts of Valor
Last year when I joined the staff at Springs Creative, I became aware that there was a group of team members who participated in a program called "Quilts of Valor," making quilts to present to military veterans. I'm told that these quilts are the highest honor that can be presented by a civilian to a military veteran. Read about Quilts of Valor here:
At Springs Creative, our "Open Hearts" QOV group usually makes semi-annual quilt presentations each year to multiple local veterans with a moving ceremony held in our Cotton Factory offices here in Rock Hill, SC. Most of the quilts are made using our Springs Creative fabrics, generally coming from patriotic fabric assortments with red, white and blue themes.
I sewed one quilt top last year, but it was difficult to contribute any others due to the move and getting settled into our home here in South Carolina. This year, I committed to sewing at least two quilt tops. The first one is based on a "Candy Cane Squares" Christmas quilt from a JOANN project booklet published in the early 1990s. I've used this quilt pattern before and it's a simple, if time-consuming, strip quilt.
This quilt is made from varying widths of fabric strips stitched together across the full width of the fabric, cut into squares, and then cut into triangles, which are then re-arranged in the appropriate sequence and sewn back together. I used some of Springs Creative's Mary Fons World Piece "Americana" quilt fabrics.
There are two color groups comprising this quilt: red and blue. I stitched together one set of strips to do a test block configuration to make sure it looked right.
Next up was cutting all the strips in the required widths: some at 3.5", some at 1.5" and some at 2.5".
Tip: To speed up cutting, use a ruler and rotary cutter. The grid on the mat on the cutting table helps keep everything square.
These strips were stitched together in the correct order by color group, the three "reds," then the three "blues."
After a quick press, the sewn strips were cut into 12.5" squares, and then into four triangles.
Tip: Make sure to use a consistent 1/4" seam allowance throughout the quilt as you sew. Take a look through your machine's available presser feet to find one that has a 1/4" marking on it, or apply a piece of painter's tape to the bed of your machine to mark the right seam width. This will maintain a consistent quilt block size and will keep the quilt top smooth and flat for machine quilting later.
I laid out the triangles on a bed as they were cut, then stitched them together into blocks, then into strips.
Next step was to stitch the strips together to form the quilt top. Additional strips were added as borders at the top, bottom and sides.
To create the backing, I used two lengths of a co-ordinating fabric. One length was split on the fold and these two pieces to each side of the other length. This is visually more pleasing than having a seam in the center of the backing.
A layer of batting will be placed between the quilt top and backing and then pinned extensively to prevent shifting when I quilt it on my regular sewing machine, probably set up in the middle of the living room where I have plenty of space. Rather than use some fancy quilting pattern, I'll just stitch around the large squares and the small squares.
The second quilt will be made in black and white fabrics with stars and stripes from Patrick Lose fabric collections. Stay tuned for more details and images as these quilts come together for this year's presentation around Veterans' Day!
If you're interested in participating in a Quilts of Valor program, check here for opportunities in your area: http://www.qovf.org/whos-in-my-area/
Until next time, thank a veteran and keep those sewing machines humming!
DTFM
danthefabricman@yahoo.com
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