January and February BOMs 1 - 2

I have to play a little catch-up with my blogging, so I'll just list the BOM blocks I stitched last month with the coordinating BOMs for this month.

First, we have the blocks for Flying Needles Quilt Guild. At our general meeting, if you turn in a block, you get a ticket and the winner of the draw gets to take all the blocks home! (Fun stuff!) I make my blocks in triplicate: One to turn in, one to keep for a complete theme quilt at the end of the year, and one to turn in to Ginger for the guild's Quilts of Valor efforts (since these are in Americana colors, why not!?)

Sharon is running the BOM function this year, and she had the greatest idea for a theme. 2011 is the 235th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, so she's chosen 12 star patterns that relate to the theme. In January, we sewed Rising Star blocks, which signified Thomas Paine's best-seller Common Sense. This appeared in January 1776, after the fighting had started. The pamphlet was widely distributed and loaned, and often read aloud in taverns. It contributed significantly to spreading the ideas of republicanism and liberalism, bolstering enthusiasm for separation from Britain, and encouraging recruitment for the Continental Army.

Incidentally, New Hampshire was a rising star, itself - as it adopted a state constitution in January 1776 – 6 months before the Declaration of Independence!


February's block is pretty self-explanatory: Washington's Star



BOM #2 - Linda's Swap Adventure

Linda organized this swap group through the blogger world, and I'm having a blast with it. The first block was made for my January partner, Mary in Canada. The other two blocks were sewn today for my February partner, Sylvia in Australia:











Speaking of which - Here are the blocks I've received from Mary and Sylvia!