Mom Craved Chocolate

Sorry about the blurry photo.

I have several birthmarks....I'm showing two....won't frighten you with the others. 

 Anyway, I use to ask mom about mine. She'd laugh and say, "I was craving chocolate!" Of course, I believed her, sort of, but became curious and researched it. Turns out birthmarks, according to medlineplus.gov are abnormalities of the skin that are present when the baby is born. Others say that birthmarks are pigmentations of color under the skin (American Academy of Dermatology). It seams I have the "Café-a-lait which is French for "coffee with milk" birthmark.

I think I like mom's explanation better. Birthmarks are also said to be harmless. The Mayo Clinic website has a birthmark slideshow. Sorry I couldn't link to it......not smart enough for that today...sigh!

Anybody else have an interesting birthmark?

Mini Wednesday

The Navy is my last Armed Services block. I will be adding some neat additions to the overall theme in the weeks to come.

This block's color scheme was too fun because I got to use several landscaping fabrics from my stash.

Interesting fact #1 If  Naval personnel area assigned to submarine duty, they are asked to do so first due to claustrophobia concerns and the technical nature of service.  

Interesting fact #2 Bravo Zulu means "Well Done!"

Interesting fact #3 Bell Bottom trousers worn by naval personnel, can be used as a life preserver by knotting the legs and swinging them over the head to fill the lets with air.

I know it's hard to see but above are the letters, in reverse, I'll be placing around the ship.

Interesting fact #4 Scuttlebutt is the Navy tern for "rumor!"

 

Here are all five blocks. I'm so happy with them all. Now onward!!!

 

Mini Wednesday

Oops! It's Mini Wednesday on a Thursday.  Sorry, I got busy with Mr. Cowboy, the warm weather we're having and cattle......sigh!!!

As you can see, I've chosen the Marines to do next. I've enlarged, cut and taped what I want to use.

With all these colors to choose from it should be easy to come up with a good design.

 

I decided to tackle the second inner circle with the lettering first because it's the most work with cutting and placing all the letters.

Here's a bit of trivia: Marine recruits are finished eating the moment their drill instructor is finished. That's why they eat so fast.

The beginnings of the eagle.

Eagle body all done to lay aside.

This next part was easy.....the globe and the western hemisphere (land mass).

Trivia again - Fewer than 100 people have ever received the title of "honorary Marine," which can only be bestowed by the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Here's just a small list: Chuck Norris, Bob Hope, Bugs Bunny, Jim Nabors and Gary Sinise.

Preview of how the eagle will be placed over the globe.

Eagle in place, holding a ribbon in its beak. I've also added a bit of highlights to the land mass.

The anchor and more ribbon are now pressed down. The ribbon has the Marine Corps motto "Semper Fidelis," which means "Always Faithful!"

More trivia...A 3-volley salute performed at funerals is sometimes confused with the 21 gun salute. The 3-volley salute is the firing of three rifle rounds over the graves of fallen armed forces members and political leaders.

I used a very pale green as the outermost circle and a mottled off white as the background.

Now there's four wonderful blocks done. I have at least one more before I decide if I want to finish everything or add some surprising blocks to the quilt.

Mini Wednesday

👀👀👀👀With two blocks under my belt, I decided on the US Army emblem to focus on next.

There were several emblems/seals for the Army. I chose the one below because it had the least amount of parts.

This is the clipart image that I chose to work with. I enlarged it 135% then traced on the back with a Sharpie. Remember if you're planning to do something like this, you will be working/tracing off the images from the reverse side.

Here's a bit of trivia about the Army. The Army was the last in the Armed Forces to adopt an official song. Can you guess what it is? 

"The Army Goes Rolling Along" of course!!!

Here are all the fabrics I've pulled so far to use in this block. Most are small scraps from the previous blocks but I did dig up some larger pieces from my stash.

Another tidbit about the Army, some are noted as "Rangers." These are considered the elite light infantry soldiers.  Their motto is "Rangers lead the way!"

As I work my way thru the design, I like to make as many of the smaller pieces before adding them to the larger component.

Did you know that the Army is the oldest branch of the Armed Forces? The Army was officially formed June 1775 by the Second Continental Congress.

Now the eagle is nearly completed. All I need to do is add the items held in its claws.

I will need to make an olive branch and 13 arrows. These two symbols mean that America has a strong desire for peace but will always be ready for war. 

If you're wondering why there's a hole in my blue fabric, not to worry!! I like to keep the heaviness of the adhesive down to a minimum. By cutting away the center of each circle then pressing each into place, the allows for that outcome.

In the eagle's beak is a ribbon which has written on it "E pluribus Unum" which means "Out of Many."

Finally managed the olive branch and arrows. Next step the outer circle and then I'll mount the whole thing onto my background fabric.

It took several auditions before I was happy with this background which a pale, mottled taupe. 

Here are the three completed blocks. Only two more to go before I choose a proper setting!!

Mini Wednesday

As I mentioned last week, I am revisiting our Armed Forces as a salute to them.  This week I took on the Air Force emblem.

 

I searched Google images and came up with one I thought I could handle. I enlarged it 135% as I'll need each block to be about 14" square.

 

Next came one of the best parts.....choosing fabric. As you can see, I've chosen several but will probably add more to the mix.

 

Tackling the design piece by piece so that the design doesn't get overwhelming is very important.

The eagle is a favorite bird of prey of mine.

The Air Force was formed as a separate branch of the military September 1947.  

Looking good so far.

 

The cloud area which will appear behind the eagle.

This part was intense because of all the tiny pieces. I used black Sharpie to outline the head and claws of the eagle.

The motto of the Air Force: Aim High....Fly-Fight-Win

It always amazes me to see everything coming together. Taking photos helps to see mistakes/progress.

It's a bit hard to see but I've used the Sharpie to write in United States of America. It would have been very difficult to use fabric lettering for that part.

All done except for the quilting part. 14ish inches is the finished size at this point.

Mini Wednesday

I am revisiting our American Armed Forces.

You may remember this quilt, which won first place ribbons at our county & state fair a few years ago.

 

I realize it's a bit hard to see, but in the four corners below the flag are the blocks I did back then: Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. This time I'm adding the Coast Guard block as I will be making the rest again. Mind you, this is my interpretation of each block and I am happy to show how I go about developing each block.

I'll also add a tiny bit of history (trivia) this time.

 

The Coast Guard officially began August 4, 1790 under President George Washington.

 The Guard serves as part of the Navy Department. 

Here's a look at the finished block before it gets added to the quilt I'm planning.

This is the design I'm using. I've enlarged it 135% of the one from clip-art. After taping it all together, I've outlined all the parts in Sharpie black.....the better to see it from the light-box.

I chose to do the Auxiliary emblem which is found on the more modern seals while a lighthouse, an eagle and the scales of justice, just to name a few, have also appeared on other emblems.

 

I'm using the black Sharpie to do small lines. It's easy to stitch over this later.

The Coast Guard carries out three roles.

1. Maritime safety
2. Maritime security
3. Maritime stewardship

I've placed the paper design on the light-box and the fabric pieces on top of that for placement.

 

I love watching it all come together. I think it is important to take photos as often as possible (when I think about it). This acts as an extra eye on things.

 

The motto of the Coast Guard: Semper Paratus (Always Ready)

This emblem was adapted in December 1966.

Final measurement so far is 15 inches square. When all blocks are made then I'll come up with a decision of how I want to arrange them into a small quilt.