Project Quilting--8 is great!

I've been following along with project quilting for 2 or 3 years now, but I always had other things going on and was never really able to jump in.  This time, however, the theme, was just up my alley and I felt like I could squeeze in a little something.

ALOYF--Back in the Saddle

I've been quite a bit absent the last couple of months.  Mostly because I started a new job and now work 40+ hours each week.  Quite a change from subbing =)

ALOYF December Finish

I'm pleased with my finish this month.  It's a little out of season, I know, but its another finish to help clear off my workspace.  The individual hexies were paper-pieced back during the summer, but then piled up awaiting further attention.

ALOYF May Finish!

Before I really get down to business, I want to say Happy Memorial Day.  I truly believe that this day is a day to honor all those who fought for the freedoms we enjoy today.  My paternal grandfather, Alma Fife Heath, fought in WWI as a medic and my maternal grandpa, John Elvin Bennett, was on the Enterprise in WWII.  Currently my brother-in-law, Jared Himmighoefer, is in the Army and has already served two tours overseas.  I am so proud of these men and all the other men and women I know who have served so selflessly.

Monogrammed Water Bottle Holders

Every year my oldest goes to Girl's Camp for one week with the Young Women's program at our church.  Our stake has a mail program where we can send gifts and notes up to the girls.  This is very popular and I try to do a little something every day.  She also takes her best friend from school with her, so I have double the trouble to be creative for.

A little catching up ...

Today I finally sat down and finished filing through all the days of the Red, White and Blue blog hop.  During the second week, I was away on my hike and the following week I was in SF with Sam, so I never got to see the rest of those fabulous posts.  I pinned links to all of the posts here.  So much amazing talent!  Here are my favorites (other than my own, of course):

( http://quiltnqueen.blogspot.com/2012/07/red-white-and-blueand-give-away.html )

( http://judithhandmadetreasures.blogspot.com/2012/07/red-white-and-blue-blog-hop.html )

( http://quilttaffy.blogspot.com/2012/07/red-white-and-blue.html?showComment=1341557758504 )

( http://quiltingbydawn.blogspot.com/2012/07/celebrate-red-white-and-blue.html )

( http://quiltdoodledesigns.blogspot.com/2012/07/lets-celebrate-red-white-and-blue.html?showComment=1341335259645 )

I'm also linking up at the last minute to the second week of the Tetris Quilt-along on Happy Quilting.  I'm keeping up so far and that makes me smile :)

Today actually marked day 12 since Sam had her occipital injection.  Unfortunately there was no benefit from that treatment, so we're working on the next step with her doctors.  We'll keep everyone posted on that.

Hooray for the Red, White & Blue!

Welcome, welcome, welcome!  For those of you who are visiting for the first time, my name is Heather and I am the Reformed Heath'n.  This is my first ever blog hop experience.  I've loved skipping around in other hops and seeing all the amazing projects that everyone was working on.  I thought that was way beyond my experience level, though.  BUT, when I saw spaces open for this blog hop, I knew this was the right one for me to get acquainted with this experience!  I hope you enjoy my project as much as I enjoy all of yours!

Thanks so much to Jane @ Jane's Fabrics & Quilts for organizing this two-week-long event and also to Madame Samm for cheering us all on.  I'm especially excited to be coming to you on Independence Day!  For the full line-up, click on the button on my sidebar.  Here are the rest of the lovely ladies who are also posting for you today:

Jane's Fabric & Quilts

A Reformed Heath'n (you're already here!)

krislovesfabric

Katie's Salt Marsh Path

The Recipe Bunny

Quilter in the Closet

I've always loved this holiday--and anything related to celebrating our pride in the stars and stripes.  One of my fondest memories growing up is visiting the Smithsonian Museum of National History.  I was in second or third grade and recovering from the chicken pox.  I was no longer contagious, but not yet ready to go back to school.  My dad worked at home and offered to do anything with me that I wanted to do for a day.  I think he was a bit surprised that I requested a museum trip :)  In those days, the original Star Spangled Banner was hanging in the entryway behind a protective screen.  They would lift the screen and play the national anthem at certain times.  That day, we planned our trip so we would walk in just before the music started and I could be front and center by the railing.  I remember being in awe of the flag that was so old, that had survived so much and was the inspiration for our national anthem.

http://americanhistory.si.edu/starspangledbanner/national-treasure.aspx

This memory is why I wanted to do a traditional star block.  After much searching and playing with designs, I found this one that I absolutely love:

(http://www.connectingthreads.com/tutorials/Stars-Intro_to_the_Star_Block__D10.html)

I looked through my 501 Rotary-Cut Quilt Blocks by Judy Hopkins and found the one I was looking for on page 227.  It's name is The Sickle, and with a couple of modifications, it is one-fourth of this quilt block.

I used the dimensions from the book and here is what I cut for each larger 12" block:
Main Color:  4 squares of 3-7/8" cut in half on the diagonal to make 8 triangles
                    8 squares of 2"
Second Color:  8 squares of 2"
White:  4 squares of 3-7/8" cut in half on the diagonal to make 8 triangles
           16 squares of 2"

1.  Chain stitch all the HSTs together--half white, half color.  **Note:  The next time I do this, I will not cut the HST's apart until they are stitched.  For this alternate method, see my other tutorial HERE (under Day 3).

2.  Chain stitch all the 2-1/2" squares together the same way--half white, half color.

3.  Press all the seams.  Because I want this to lay flat as a table runner, I chose to press them all open.
4.  Combine the rectangles to make four squares.   Then combine two of the 4-square blocks and two of the HSTs to make the reformed Sickle block.  (I like how these smaller squares kind of look like butterflies.  Opens up a whole new can of, well, ... )  Press the new seams.

5.  Lay out all your squares to create the desired pattern.  Each large finished block is made up of four smaller blocks.  There are tons of possibilities, but this is mine.

Stopping here is the one red, white and blue block, as promised.  Keep going to see the table topper ...

For the table topper, I made four blocks.  One-half yard is all you need of both the red and blue, and one yard of the white.  For the thin border, I cut 4 strips that are 2-1/2" x WOF (approx. 1/3 yard) and for the outer border, I used 5 strips that are 4" x WOF (approx. 2/3 yard.)  I'm planning on using about 2 yards of fabric for the backing and 2 packages of regular old white bias tape for the binding.

I sure hope you all enjoyed the project and come back often to see what's going on around here.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful Independence Day!!

**Thanks for your patience everyone.  I had it scheduled to post at 12:01 AM today, but apparently I did something wrong.  Thanks for coming back!**