SAPA Scholarship Quilt 2014

Stars Banner

82 x 96

This quilt is from the ‘Patriotic Quilts’ Fall 2013 magazine of Fons and Porter.  ‘Stars and Stripes’ was designed by Mark Lipinski for the quilting project Quilts of Valor. 

Quilts of Valor Foundation:  The mission of the Quilts of Valor Foundation is to cover service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor. It is a non-profit Foundation. They got started in November 2003 with the goal of making quilts that would both heal and comfort our war wounded. These quilts are called Quilts of Valor (QOVs). Wounds that qualify are those that are both seen and unseen. Chaplain Kallerson suggested using the phrase "touched by war" as a way of identifying recipients.  Please check out their website and consider giving a donation.     http://www.qovf.org/

This quilt is made of 100% cotton materials and 100% cotton batting.  I used the original patten by Mark Lipinski as the base and added to the border to make it a larger size.  The quilting design in the center is random stars.  Outline quilting was used in the borders.   The quarter circle blocks were pieced by hand.  All other piecing and sewing was done by machine. 

Veterans Caucus 2014 World War II

World War II

1941 - 1945

‘World War II involved the vast majority of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, with more than 100 million people serving in military units from over 30 different countries. In a state of "total war", the major participants placed their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities at the service of the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust, the strategic bombing of enemy industrial and/or population centers, and the only use of nuclear weapons in warfare, it resulted in 50 million to over 85 million fatalities. These deaths make World War II the deadliest conflict in human history.’  Wikipedia web site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wwii

World War II affected virtually every person in the United States.  Many of ‘our young men’ went to join foreign militaries to fight at the start of the war in 1940.  The United States entered the war:  ‘Yesterday, December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. The United States was at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its Emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.’ Franklin Delano Roosevelt - Address to Congress after the attack on Pearl Harbor (8 December 1941).  On the morning of December 9^th there were long lines of men to ‘join up’.  Peace as they knew it had ended. 

Once we as a nation joined the war, the entire might and focus of the country was on Victory.  The men literally walked out of the fields, factories, stress and offices into the foreign battlefields.  Fathers, Grandfathers, Sons, Brothers, Uncles, Cousins and the guy next door were on their way over there.  Everyone had one of their men in the service. 

The women moved from the kitchen to the assembly line.  ‘Rosie the Riveter’ became a national icon.  Women stepped in to fill the empty shoes in all positions of business, manufacturing, transportation, and every other endeavor. 

Some of our greatest achievements and darkest moments as a nation came during this time we were at war. War bonds were bought to help pay for the costs.  Metals were gathered and melted to help make the armaments.  Staples, like flour, sugar, meat, and gasoline, were rationed to make sure there was enough for everyone.  Victory Gardens were planted, grown, and helped make the meals of most homes.  Great careers in athletics, entertainment, politics and finance were put on hold without a second thought.  From the child in school to the President of the country the focus was on our men overseas.  Large segments of the population were distrusted because of their ethnic background. 

"The Greatest Generation" originated from Tom Brokaw's 1998 book of the same name and is a term coined by Brokaw to describe the generation who grew up in the United States during the deprivation of the Great Depression, and then went on to fight in World War II, as well as those whose productivity within the war's home front made a decisive material contribution to the war effort.  In the book, Brokaw wrote, "it is, I believe, the greatest generation any society has ever produced." He argued that these men and women fought not for fame and recognition, but because it was the "right thing to do."  

This quit could have been my family quilt. It would have been made by my Grandmother (Laura Mathews Buxton) in her living room on her treadle sewing machine (which I have today). She would have been praying for her three 'boys' as she sewed. She would have been listening to the radio every evening for any news of the war.  This quilt would be made from 'feed sack' material. Flour, sugar, chicken feed, and seeds came to the house in printed material bags. She might have needed to trade a dozen eggs or tomatoes from her garden (that the neighbors knew were the best in town), for more of the red, white, and blue stripped material for the top.  It would have had 100% cotton batting bought at the general store on Main Street, and would have been quilted with a Baptist Fan pattern that was her favorite. It would have started with the outline of her to coffee cup and extended outward to the length from her elbow to the sewing line. The backing would be unbleached muslin because “nobody looks at the back of a quilt except to see how well you stitched it”. She made all her quilts “long enough to cover you from head to toe and just wide enough to go over a skinny person”. She would have saved it to put on her bed only for special occasions. The rest of the time it would have been put away.  Some 70 years later, it would still be on display for special occasions only by her granddaughter.  Then it would be put away for future generations to enjoy. 

This quilt is made of 100% cotton material.  The batting is 100% cotton ‘Warm and Natural’.   The backing is of 100% cotton unbleached muslin.  The pattern is from Eleanor Burns, Quilt in a Day, Victory Quilts.  It is the Liberty Star pattern.    The quilt measures 80 x 80.  

American Legion Quilt 2014

I made and gave this quilt to the American Legion.  

This quit could have been my family quilt. It would have been made by my Grandmother (Laura Mathews Buxton) in her living room on her treadle sewing machine (which I have today). She would have been praying for her three 'boys' as she sewed. She would have been listening to the radio every evening for any news of the war.  This quilt would be made from 'feed sack' material. Flour, sugar, chicken feed, and seeds came to the house in printed material bags. She might have needed to trade a dozen eggs or tomatoes from her garden (that the neighbors knew were the best in town), for more of the red, white, and blue stripped material for the top.  It would have had 100% cotton batting bought at the general store on Main Street, and would have been quilted with a Baptist Fan pattern that was her favorite. It would have started with the outline of her to coffee cup and extended outward to the length from her elbow to the sewing line. The backing would be unbleached muslin because “nobody looks at the back of a quilt except to see how well you stitched it”. She made all her quilts “long enough to cover you from head to toe and just wide enough to go over a skinny person”. She would have saved it to put on her bed only for special occasions. The rest of the time it would have been put away.  Some 70 years later, it would still be on display for special occasions only now by her granddaughter.  Then it would be put away for future generations to enjoy.  

This quilt is made of 100% cotton material.  The stripe material is from the American Valor Fabrics, Quilts of Valor Foundation, by Kensington Studio for Quilting Treasures. The solid color materials are Kona Cottons.  The batting is 100% cotton ‘Warm and Natural’.   The backing is of 100% cotton unbleached muslin.  The pattern is from Eleanor Burns, Quilt in a Day, Victory Quilts.  It is the Liberty Star pattern.    The quilt measures approximately 90 x 90.  

Girls week on Oahu 2014.

Hanauma Bay 

 Old tree on the campus of the University of Hawaii. 

 Sunset on Wakiki

 Arizona Memorial 

 Aquarium on Wakiki

North Shore Shark Adventure

Veterans Caucus Scholarship Quilt 2013

World War I  

The Great War.  The World War.  The War to End All Wars.  First World War.  World War I.    No matter what you call it, this was the first conflict that involved ‘all the nations of the world’.  It starts on June 28, 1914 when Serbian fanatic, Gavrilo Princip, assassinated Archduke Franz-Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo. One month later, on July 28, 1914, the domino effect of alliances starts with Austria declaring war against Serbia.  A war between Austria and Serbia meant a war between Austria and Russia - Serbia's traditional ally.  War between Austria and Russia meant Germany, bound by the Triple Alliance treaty to Austria, was at war with Russia. Russia at war with Germany, meant France and Britain, bound by alliances with Russia known as the Triple Entente, were also at war with Germany. Germany declares war on neutral Belgium in early August 1914, moves through the country and thus avoids fortifications in the south of France.  Italy remained neutral until May 1915, when it entered the war on the side of the Allies.  By the end of the war, the ‘Allied Powers’ would include France, the British Empire, Russia, Italy, the United States, Romania, The Empire of Japan, Serbia, Belgium, Greece and many others.  The ‘Central Powers’ were Germany, Austrian-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria. 

 

Red Cross Quilts

 .  In the December 1917 issue of ‘Modern Priscilla Magazine’ a pattern designed by Clara Washburn Angell was supplied for the Red Cross quilt.  The article included pattern, instructions, yardage, costs, and cutting instructions for making the quilt.  Instructions also included the warning that “No Red Cross emblem or name can be used in announcements or advertisements of such affairs unless the entire proceeds are to be devoted to the Red Cross.  The entire proceeds, not net or half.”  Directions: “The center cross is made of five 6 inch squares with large white six inch squares around it. The crosses were made from a 4 ½ inch square with a 1 ½ inch square cut out of each corner. These crosses were appliquéd on 6 inch white blocks. Add as many rows of crosses as you need.”

Blue Star Banner

The Blue Star Service Banner was designed and patented in 1917 by World War I Army Capt. Robert L Queisser of the 5th Ohio Infantry.  Capt. Queisser’s two sons served on the front line.  His banner quickly became the unofficial symbol for parents with a child in active military service.  A member of the Ohio congress read the following into the Congressional Record on September 1917 “… The Mayor of the Cleveland, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Governor of Ohio have adopted this service flag. The world should know of those who give so much for liberty.  The dearest thing in all the world to a father and mother – their children.” 

Blue Star Service Banners are generally, 8.5 by 14 inch white field with a blue star or stars sewn onto a red banner.  A banner may include up to five stars- one for each family member on active duty.  If the soldier dies or is killed while serving, a gold star is superimposed onto the blue one, leaving a bit of the blue star showing as a border.  

 

 

In honor of both the Red Cross Quilts and the Blue Star Banners, I added names of those who had served in WWI.

 

 

 Quilting was stars with the circle.