Rebel Northern Star

This week Barbara Brackman posted a very graphic block on her blog. I wasn't sure I could make the red and white stripes she suggested fit into the scheme of my quilt. So I changed their color to tone down the contrast. But what to do about that big 5" star? Maybe I would just put it on the back. Maybe it could be the label! I used Word to print the star, made a template and traced it onto bleached pimatex cotton. After several experiments with my Pigma and Fabrico pens, I realized the best way to get the "period" effect of perfect handwriting would be to print the text directly on the fabric. I chose EQ's lawn. 

Here in NYC the temperature had climbed into the triple digits. 

I packed my sewing supplies and headed out to the beach.  Sitting under my umbrella, I happily needle turned my star, taking breaks now and then to dive into the ocean and cool off. 

Sea Star

I was glad I had starched the heck out of the fabric because it was easy to crease and even near the shore stayed crisp all day.  As I sewed, I continued to think this block would become the label. 

But now that it is done and on the design wall, I rather like how it fits in with the other blocks.  I guess I was successful.

CWQ30 - Peterson's Stars and Stripes

Penpals and Next Door Neighbors

Sitting around the table with friends and their twenty-something off-spring, we found ourselves explaining just how far away you felt when travelling abroad that long ago, back in the sixties.  We reminisced about the aerogramme as a vehicle for communication. How convenient those gummed sheets of paper that folded into their own pre-stamped envelope were in the days before cell phones and e-mail. 

The 1964 Worlds Fair was organized around the theme of "Peace through Understanding". 

Parker Pens had a pavilion, its mission was to promote peace through writing.  

Visitors to the Pavilion had the opportunity to participate in a computer survey!  It was such a new concept and I remember how excited I was to sign up.  I was matched with a boy named Henk Koster in Holland. We corresponded for years afterward and even swapped relics.  It opened up a whole new world to me. Funny, how some things never change. 



This summer has been busier than any I remember.  Fortunately I have discovered that participating in sewing groups encourages sewing!   If I didn't these groups, I know I wouldn't set aside ME time for doing what I really enjoy. Even though I soon got tired of making nine-patches for my group exchange, the year is over and I have the foundation for another project someday.  I am still in love with making a block a week for my  Civil War Quilt .  I can't wait til the morning to see what block Barbara will post and how my friends around the world will make it their own.

Blocks This Morning