A Hometown Gem

On Saturday, March 23rd Dawn and I had the privilege of attending the opening day for Mimi Dietrich's Hometown Girl exhibit at the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore MD. This is a year long exhibit featuring the designs and works of the fabulous Mimi herself, and it is certainly not to be missed!

Mimi welcoming the full auditorium to the opening

The program was kicked off with words from Mimi, starting with the first quilt she ever touched and followed her quilting history to her discovery of Baltimore Album quilts and her love of teaching quilters. It was amazing to see the auditorium filled with quilters, family, and friends. The talk was followed by a reception with wine and cheese and then we were onto the quilts!

Even the wine bottles were celebrating our "Hometown Girl"!

The exhibit features three galleries of quilts, an interactive "Build a Quilt" Lego station, and a video of Mimi. As a quilter, this exhibit is a must see. Mimi and the Historical Society have put together an incredible exhibit.

 

It was a truly enjoyable day; full of laughter, friends, and of course the quilts. The exhibit will be open for an entire year, and we highly recommend going to see it!

Just a handful of exhibit visitors!

Dawn and I caught up with the Hometown Girl herself!

...We'll definitely be going back again!

Enjoy the Day!
~ Heather

...O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

~ Francis Scott Key, 1814

O Say Can You See!

The big Defenders Day weekend in Baltimore was last weekend, and yes our Star Spangled Banner flew!  I can't report back with lots of beautiful photos though, because alas in lieu of previous commitments I couldn't be there ~ Boo! (This photo is actually one I took at the Fort on July 4th of the Fort's flag, not the one we stitched)

However, you can check out Mimi Dietrich's blog for a great accounting of the day, complete with the march through Baltimore as the flag was delivered to Fort McHenry by horse drawn caisson, The Old Guard, and some of the stitchers!

And this past Sunday morning, the CBS Sunday Morning show with Charles Osgood did a wonderful piece on the Stitching History project and the flag flying at the Fort.  The video includes many of my stitching friends on the project, and Kristin giving a great history packed interview, and is of course interspersed with Charles Osgood's excellent narrative.  You can watch the video clip Here at their site.

I'm still awed and honored to be a part of this project.  Now I'm looking forward to tracking our recreated Star Spangled Banner as it makes it's travels around the country :)

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Flag Update ~ Last Week of Stitching!

On my trek up to Baltimore this weekend, here is how I found the flag.  We're sewing the three large sections together!

These ladies were sewing the completed Blue Canton with the stars on it to the short section of stripes.

 Each seam was getting several rows of stitches to make sure the seams are reinforced.

Cathy and I spent our time turning up and stitching on the hem that runs along the Fly end of the long stripes.  Since the Fly end of the flag is the one that really gets flapped in the wind, after turning the raw edge up about an inch, and turning it over again, we stitched close to the fold, then went back and ran a row of stitching close to the outside folded edge.  Other stitchers will go back and stitch three more rows on the hem to really reinforce it.

It's never dull when we go up to the project, along with several park rangers we were visited by our resident Mary Pickersgill and Dr. Beanes :)  Mary is our own Katie Bopp who has been a very active stitcher on the project and always willing to stop and help visitors learn a little about the history, and help them put a few stitches in the flag.  And I really don't know who the guy was who portrayed Dr. Beanes...

...But he was a very important part of the history of our Star Spangled Banner.  Dr. Beanes was a prominent resident of Upper Marlboro during the War of 1812, who was captured by the British after they had taken and burned Washington DC and they took him onboard they're ship out on the Chesapeake Bay as a prisoner of war.  If Francis Scott Key, a well known lawyer in the area wasn't tasked to go out and negotiate Dr. Beanes' release, then our national anthem wouldn't have been written when the two watched the bombardment of Fort McHenry from the ship.  ~ I think it's so interesting how seemingly small events affect the course of history :)

Anyway, the flag is coming along, and after I had left on Saturday, Mimi Dietrich sent me this photo of the Blue Canton completely attached to the short stripes by the end of the day, and the long stripes had been clipped on and the 42 foot seam was ready to be stitched!

**As of today the long seam is stitched!  You can go over to Mimi's Blog and see the progress and photos through today!  All is coming together and we're looking toward the big finish by the 22nd :)

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Elsie & Granny's Excellent Stitching Adventure

This past weekend was Heather's wedding, so our week was filled with visiting, rehearsing, dining, primping and just enjoying family.  But after all the festivities were over and while my mom was still visiting from Kentucky, the little ones and I took her up to Baltimore to visit the Maryland Historical Society and add a few stitches to the Flag Project.  While Elsie was watching this stitcher work on a star, she was asked if she wanted to pull the thread through to complete the lady's stitch (sorry I didn't catch this nice stitching volunteer's name).

Well that's all it took, and Elsie was hooked.  She watched intently as Miss Beverly sat down to show her how to stitch on one of the stripes. 

 She gave lessons to both Elsie and my Mom...

 ...teaching them how many threads to count over and the size the stitches should be.

 ...Then it was Elsie's turn to take her first stitch :)

 Next Granny got to take a few stitches. 

My mom's not new to stitching ~ she's pieced and quilted many a quilt by hand so she was a natural.  It was special for Elsie to get to stitch on the flag with her Great Granny :)

Then Elsie got some pointers from Miss Mary Ann on how to hold her left hand underneath to feel the tip of the needle coming through the material and make sure her stitches were going all the way through all the layers.

And there were even pointers on how to thread a needle when her needle slipped off the thread once.
 

Then she peaked underneath to see how good her stitching looked on the back side.

...And a new stitcher is born :)

We're on the last week of the Stitching History Flag Project.  I go up again this weekend and will post some more photos on the progress soon!  

Enjoy the day!

~ Dawn

Seeing Stars!

After being away for a week, I went up to Baltimore to work on the Flag Project again today, and this is what I found ~ Stars!

Here's where the short stripes are in the process (these are the ones that go next to the blue field of stars).

 And the long stripes are coming along too!

But the focus this week was on getting the stars started on the blue canton.  Mimi Dietrich is the lady in charge of the stars.  During the week she worked with a group of stitchers to lay out all the stars, position them in their "spangled" configuration and get them basted in place.  Here she is showing some volunteers (Kathy & Polly) how we are to stitch them for consistancy.

I got to work on stitching a star today too :)  Each of the 15 cotton stars is 24" across from point to point and will be basically stitched down twice.  Here the stars are being appliqued on what will be the back side of the flag. 
 

We're using 1/4" long stitches to catch a good bit of the blue wool since it is a pretty loose weave.  Then the flag will be turned over, and the blue fabric will be cut away leaving a seam allowance that will then be reverse appliqued down.  That will become the front of the flag, and you will be able to see the stars from both sides. 

As I left today, much progress was getting made :)

Don't forget to tune in to American Patchworking and Quilting Radio tomorrow online to hear more about the Flag Project and Kristen Schenning and little ol' me talking with Pat Sloan!  You can listen live at 4:00 p.m. EST This Link, or download the podcast later.

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Some Radio Chit Chatting!

So I have some exciting news to share ~ I'm going to be chit chatting with Pat Sloan on her American Patchwork & Quilting Radio talk show on Monday afternoon!  You can go Here to listen to the show  live at 4:00 p.m. EST on Monday, August 5th ~ Don't worry, I'm sure I'll remind you a time or two before then, but you can also go back and listen to the podcast if you can't catch it on Monday :)

After chit chatting about quilty and designing stuff, I'll be staying on with Pat for a second segment to talk about the Stitching History Project along with Kristin Schenning, the Director of Education at the Maryland Historical Society.  The Star Spangled Banner Recreation Project is Kristin's brainchild, and she has done a fantastic job of coordinating it along with her right hand person, Sydney Jenkins.

...And speaking of the Flag Project, here is a progress photo that I took while I was there last Sunday (I got to go upstairs to the auditorium's projection room and take some photos for a little different prospective).  You can see stitchers busy working on a section of long stripes on the left, and the short stripes on the right, and someone was stitching on the last row of the blue field at the top of the photo.  This week, as we speak, the stars are being layed out and basted down to the blue field and the applique will commence.  I'll be going back again on Sunday and will take some more photos :)

And I'm excited to share that the Kickstarter campaign goal was met!  There are going to be other ways to support the project in the near future, so stay tuned :)

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Progress...

Progress is being made!  The short section of the red and white stripes is now up to six stripes (out of eight).

And the Blue Canton was getting the seventh strip (also out of eight) basted on when I was leaving this afternoon.  

...We're getting there ~ when these sections are completed the top half of the flag will be constructed and ready for stars!  And, check it out, the Kickstarter campaign is halfway there too :)

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn

Working on the Flag

Here's a little glimpse of some photos I shot during my time working on the Stitching History Project at the Maryland Historical Society last week (I was there this past Wednesday, so things have progressed since my photos).  These are the wool bunting fabrics that we are using.

 And here are some of the red and white stripes cut and layed out ready to be stitched together. 

The white and red stripes are folded together and clipped, then basted together.

Then the basted seams folded over are sewn together in a double row. 

And work continues on the blue canton field that will hold the fifteen stars.  It's also being sewn together in strips. 

We even had some young ladies come and help out last week.  They were working on cutting out small stars that will be put in kits that will be available for purchase to make your own 4 x 6 foot replica of the Star Spangled Banner.  (I'll let you know when kit orders are available.)

It was really nice to have the young ladies come and help out.  One was even named Caroline, just like Mary Pickersgill's daughter of approximately the same age :)

As people continue to stitch, the flag is growing ~ I go up into the city again tomorrow, and can't wait to see the progress, and will snap some more photos!

Don't forget to visit the project's Kickstarter campaign.  We're half way to our goal, but we have to meet it by the end of the month! 

Enjoy the day!
~ Dawn