I am always moved by Independence Day celebrations and they start early this year due to the 4th falling in the middle of the week. But I’m busily working on an entredeux tutorial so this patriotic mini quilt post is being re-run.
I hope you are all enjoying picnics and fireworks and celebrating this wonderful nation in which we live. God bless America!
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We can’t all be Washingtons, but we all can be patriots. Charles F. Browne
Don’t you just love 4th of July? Flag waving at the parade, fireworks, picnics, and proud Americans, clad in red, white and blue, professing their patriotism on their backs.
The bell is rung every morning before we begin our homeschool day. One of the reasons I love homeschooling my grandchildren is that it gives an extra opportunity to teach them about patriotism. The bell ringing is followed by a time honored educational ritual no longer practiced in most public schools, the Pledge of Allegiance and singing of God Bless America.  My little students currently are learning the Star Spangled Banner. In fact, 7 year old Laurel was just selected to sing our national anthem with a group of other children at a special Florida Symphony performance.
As Charles Browne suggests in the above quote, I may not be Washington, but I can be a patriot by instilling my grandchildren with a sense of duty and a love for our country.  Their mother, who shares homeschooling responsibilities with me,  has organized huge patriotic rallies in Orlando. She and my son are shining examples of patriotic Americans.
This mini quilt was made as a small expression of my enormous love for America. Just 15-1/4″ square, it’s precise log cabin pattern was achieved by using the foundation piecing technique.
If you are unfamiliar with this method and would like to learn about it, check out this tutorial. http://quilting.about.com/od/foundationpiecing/ss/log_cabin_block.htm
Traditionally, the center of log cabin block is red or yellow, representing the fire at the heart of the home. At the center of this log cabin is an American symbol fussy cut from one patriotic fabric.  Today, there are so many of these fabrics available.
I enjoyed reading Terri Click’s The Thrifty Needle blog post about Memorial Day, when she puts out her red, white and blue table runner and decorations and leaves them up through July 4th. I’d like to follow her lead and do that next year.  It gives a longer period of time to display patriotism in the home.
http://thethriftyneedle.wordpress.com/2011/05/30/happy-memorial-day/
I hope you are all planning some sort of Independence Day celebration. Wave your flags, thank a veteran, wear your colors, pray for our soldiers, and put on some patriotic tunes. I especially enjoyed this one on YouTube.
P.S. Notice the wiggly little guy on the left of the singer. Except for the dark hair and husky build, he could be our own perpetual motion Robert.
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