e-Quips

The gray skies
and chill air
cannot disguise 
the warmth and light 
of either our hostess 
or the specialness
of this sacred space
filled with 
beauty, awe
and wonder 
Where the only sounds 
Are rockers on floor boards
Hidden cattle lowing 
at each other across
the valley

It the third Saturday in March.

NATIONAL QUILTING DAY

Snuggle up every National Quilting Day on the third Saturday in March. Around the country, special quilting shows, classes, open museums and much more celebrate the day. It also appreciates and recognizes quilt makers, along with all of their long labor, love, and skill that goes into the making of each quilt.

#NationalQuiltingDay

A quilt is a layer of batting or stuffing between two layers of pieced-together fabric. Early American quilts were the result of patched together pieces of worn-out blankets and clothing. Since they had to weave their own fabrics, there was little time for creative piecing together colorful, artful patterns. These items were purely functional.

Many quilts are part of a culture and can include historical references, such as Hawaiian quilts, Baltimore Ladies Quilts, and family quilts that shoes a path on the Underground Railroad.

By the mid 18th century Americans were making elaborate quilts designed to be handed down from mother to daughter, often pieced together from salvaged pieces of clothing and other bedding.

HOW TO OBSERVE NATIONAL QUILTING DAY

• Celebrate the warmth and the stories behind the quilts you collect. Whether you make them or they’ve been given to you, mark the day.
• Attend a quilt fair. You might learn techniques or discover new quilting styles. 
• Take a quilting class. The next family heirloom might be in the making!
• Share the story of a family quilt. Don’t let it become lost to the ages. Take a picture of it and the person who made it. 
• Discover the significance of7 Historical Quilt Patterns.

7 HISTORICAL QUILT PATTERNS

7 Historical Quilt Patterns – When most people think of a quilt, they conjure up images of a large hand-made blanket with decorative square patterns called “blocks”. For years, quilters have made these blankets, not only to provide warmth and comfort but to preserve memories. To make their quilts, women use a variety of colors and patterns. They have also had to use whatever scraps of material they could find. During the Great Depression, women used flour sacks to make quilts. What some may not know is that throughout the years, some quilt patterns had special meanings.

1. Nine Patch

Throughout the 19th century, women who quilted probably learned the skill as a young girl. These young quilters most likely started out using a quilt pattern called Nine Patch. This pattern consisted of 9 equal squares. Nine Patch quilts usually had four squares in each corner and a smaller square in the middle. All of these squares had the same pattern. Another version of the nine-patch quilt contained a large square in the middle and four smaller squares in each corner.

2. Eight Pointed Star

Experienced quilters sometimes made their quilts using an eight-pointed
star pattern. To them, a star was a religious symbol that represented
their faith in God. They sometimes called this star pattern the “Star of
Bethlehem”. This is the star in the Bible that led the shepherds to
baby Jesus. Many homesteaders made the journey West with the guidance of
stars. In the mid to late 1800s, Native American tribes also used the
eight-pointed star pattern for their quilts. They referred to it as the
“Morning Star.”

3. Log Cabin

The Log Cabin quilt pattern goes back to the 1860s during the Civil War. The Log Cabin is one of the most widely recognized quilt patterns. Some believe the pattern has a connection to Abraham Lincoln. The center of this pattern is red, which depicts the hearth. Narrow strips of fabric were then sewed around the center square. Log Cabin patterns also utilized light and dark colors to represent the movement of the sun in the sky from east to west.

4. Bear Paw

The Bear Paw quilt pattern is exactly what it sounds like. It looks like a giant bear paw. Using this pattern, four bear paws pointed in a different direction. Some quilt enthusiasts believe this pattern was used to help slaves find food and water during their escape in the mid-1800s. The Bear Paw pattern may have helped slaves know they were on the right track.

5. Flying Geese

This is another quilt pattern that may have helped slaves in the mid-1800s escape to safety. This pattern was part of the Underground Railroad Quilt Code, which was a secret communication system. The Flying Geese pattern helped slaves know which direction to follow. When looking at a quilt with this pattern, it’s easy to see how the flying geese look like arrows pointing in a certain direction.

6. Cathedral Windows

This quilt pattern became was inspired by the cathedral stain glass windows that popped up in North America around the 1930s. The pattern is used on each quilt block and uses a folded patchwork technique. The result is a beautiful quilt that contains three-dimensional window designs.

7. Snowball

Created by Amish quilters, the snowball pattern creates an optical illusion of circles from a distance. The pattern actually consists of octagons. Beginner quilters often use this pattern to create fun, colorful quilts no matter what the season.

Dancing to “Danger Zone”.

Go Irish Fighter Pilots!

I have chosen to write a limerick for the occasion.

There once was a girl from farm
Who gave frequent squeals of alarm
She says I'm not foolin'
When there is billing an coolin'
I don't want to come to harm.

Too bad more girls don’t follow her advice….

Buddy with some monkey business in mind. Maybe Holly?

Both can lock you in or out
of things you still enboy
Do you force it or shuck it?
How badly do you want to it?
Some thing may be worth
the effort of escape.

Constructed of clay
Perhaps of procelain
Limoges porcelain from a kaolin
Cream, white, yellow, oolong, green
Refreshng, no mater how consumed.

I have so many things 
that I feel I must do 
But which to do first 
I have ask you

Do you begin at the
thing which is start of the list 
or the thing of import 
that should not be missed.

We all have to much 
that should be done
Perhaps I will wait
something is done.

Dawn lightens the bay 
Catching ripples as they rise
Moon in Mexico

The Lend-Lease Act, signed on March 11, 1941, was a pivotal U.S. policy allowing the president to transfer war materials, food, and services to any nation deemed vital to American defense, primarily to aid the Allies against Nazi Germany without officially entering World War II. The program provided over $50 billion in aid, sustaining Britain, the Soviet Union, and others

What follows is probably the most simplified description you will ever read of how the United States tried to stay out of World War II.

1920s and 1930s

Throughout the “Roaring Twenties,” the United States was still in debt over World War I. As a result, Neutrality Acts were passed by Congress in 1935, 1936, and 1937. In a nutshell, those acts made it unlawful for Americans to sell or transport arms or materiel to nations at war.

“Cash and Carry”

Then came World War II. Watching the aggression of Germany, Italy, and Japan, in 1939, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed amending the Neutrality Acts and following a “cash and carry” policy in which other countries could purchase arms from the United States but the US would not supply military personnel.

When I finally got to study World War II, I was shocked to learn how slow the U.S. was to jump into the fray and come to the aide of Great Britain.

Photo by British Library on Unsplash

During the Battle of Britain, in September of 1940, Britain sent a delegation of researchers to the United States to share secret radar technology. Britain’s energy and money had to focus on the war but, since the United States wasn’t fighting, it could give attention to research and development.

“Arsenal of Democracy” and Isolationism

Three months later, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill sent Roosevelt a 15-page letter asking for the U.S. to help them. In one of his famous “fireside chats,” Roosevelt responded by announcing that the U.S. would be the “Arsenal of Democracy” and would sell arms to Britain and Canada.

Isolationists in the U.S. maintained that the war was a European problem and that the U.S. should stay out of it. Gradually, more Americans agreed that their country should do more to back Britain but keep our military out of the conflict.

This is a stark example of hindsight being better than foresight. No doubt, if the United States had known what lay ahead over the next five years, it would have acted earlier and more forcefully. Being protected by the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Americans were lulled into a false sense of security.

That false sense of security came back to bite us on December 7, 1941, (and again on September, 11, 2001) but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Lend-Lease Act of 1941

“An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States” was introduced and eventually enacted on March 11, 1941 in the “Lend-Lease Act.” That Act permitted the U.S. to supply the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, France, the Republic of China, and other Allied nations with food, oil, and materiel, free of charge, for the duration of the war.

In March of 1941, the U.S. was still trying to stay out of the war militarily, but the Lend-Lease Act made it clear that the United States recognized that it was in its best interest to aide Britain because defending Britain was, in effect, defending the U.S.

Of course, we know now that nine months later, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, thrusting the United States into the war in the Pacific. It would be January 26, 1942, before the first American troops would arrive in Great Britain.

The Lend-Lease Act of 1941 was strengthened by the Lend-Lease Act of February 23, 1942.

Lend-Lease officially ended on September 20, 1945. In that five-year period, $51 billion in supplies were shipped from the United States. That would be equivalent to approximately $700 billion in today’s dollars.

From Janet’s Writing Blog

The tangled mass
of wind chimes
appear on the ground
Not right over left
left over right
up the hole
and pull
but a still a mess
One bit looped 
around another
and took a bit
of effort
to restore
each tone to its
fullest bit
Sounds still resounding.

The neighbor's watch dogs
Possibly bored with no mission afoot 
Barked aimlessly with
The bark echoes rebounding
Off Blackwell Hollow 

Who were the Tech Fans ( Virginia Polytech)
And who were the Virginia (UVA)?
Nobody wore team colors.
Just the blue jeans that could represent anyone.
Just belongings enjoying 
The pregame meal
At the local barbeque joint.

The Commonwealth Clash, sponsored by Smithfield, is the official, points-based all-sports rivalry between the University of Virginia (UVA) and Virginia Tech, dating back to 1895. UVA color’s at orange and blue, Virginia Tech’s are Chicago maroon and Burnt Orange.

I missed two, but you might do better. Here is the quiz: click here

#HugAGIDay

Gather around your servicemen and women to give them a hug. It’s simply a way to show your support. With either a pat on the back or a hearty handshake, be sure to give both past and present G.I.s your appreciation. While G.I.s refer to Army personnel, the day encompasses all those who have served in the military. So, hug those Jarheads, Wingnuts, Squids, and Coasties, too!

Today the term G.I. is fairly commonly known to refer to those serving in the Armed Forces of the United States of America. How that came to be is a little less military protocol and more the American story.

It seems at the turn of the 20th century, G.I. was a notation used in supply records for galvanized iron. It was later used during World War I for German artillery shells made from galvanized iron.

Sometime during the war, soldiers started interpreting the initials as “Government Issue” or “General Issue”. By the time World War II came around it was starting to gain meaning as the generic enlisted man.

About that time G.I. Joe was born. His creator, comic strip artist, and former Army Sergeant David Breger, issued his first G.I. Joe cartoon series in Yank magazine on June 17, 1942.

The term G.I. became more permanently etched in the American language when in 1944 President Franklin Roosevelt signed the bill that became known as the G.I. Bill; Servicemen’s Readjustment Act.

NATIONAL HUG A G.I. DAY HISTORY

In 1996, Adrienne Sioux Koopersmith created Hug A G.I. Day. She selected the only day on the calendar that was also a military command to salute and celebrate the men and women who risk their lives for our country and freedoms. We have included the link to the original page for you. 

G.I. FAQ

Q. What is the G.I. Bill?
A. The original G.I. Bill is no longer in effect. However, today’s G.I. Bill provides benefits to services members and veterans to attend college, university, trade school, or other training services.

Q. What branch of the military was David Breger’s G.I. Joe?
A. G.I. Joe Trooper was in the U.S. Army and was a featured cartoon in the Army publication Yank. However, when Mattel began creating G.I. Joe action figures, they produced one for each branch of the military.

If you can’t hug your GI in person, perhaps you can send them a nice card.