I am very excited to make this quilt along available on Facebook. It is a special group for the Never Forget Quilt and is open for free membership already. Membership will be open during the Quilt Along, but close for new members as soon as all instructions have been posted.
This quilt has includes blocks to commemorate the sites of the 9/11 attacks. The border and quilt center have sixty-four stars, which represent the fifty states and fourteen territories of the United States of America. The quilt can be made with or without the star border.
The center block is called Washington’s Own (Finley, 1929) and celebrates the brave people who both survived and gave their lives at the Pentagon. The corner blocks , which look like a quarter of a sun, and the diamond border are called New York Beauty (Home Art Studios, Cincinnati Enquirer, 1933). These blocks are for victims of the World Trade Center. The cross-hatched blocks in the center of each side are Pennsylvania Cross Roads (Clara Stone, Practical Needlework, 1906). These four blocks on each side honor those passengers that fought the hijackers that crashed the plane in Stoney Creek, PA. The stars throughout the quilt are for all of our patriots on this day – those who survive, those who mourn and those still trying to cope with the event.
Instructions for each block will be posted weekly. The first week will cover an introduction to the quilt and fabric requirements. Subsequent weeks will provide detailed instructions with some photos for Washington’s Own, New York Beauty Center, Pennsylvania Crossroads, 8-Point Stars, New York Beauty Border, and Quilt Assembly. Members are encouraged to share ideas and progress. I will schedule Facebook live sessions to answer questions each week. But, you won’t have to wait for the session, you can ask a question at anytime and I will provide an answer if I can. This is copyrighted material, so please don’t share outside the group.
The entire pattern will be for sale for those who can’t wait for the weekly publications. Proceeds from the sale on 9/11 and every first Thursday of the month will be donated to Tuesday’s Children, a non-profit that helps families changed by terrorism, military conflict or mass violence.
I hope you will join me in this Quilt Along.
Happy Quilting
Laureen Smith