Court of Awards

Tonight marked the first all-service unit Court of Awards I am aware of in the past decade and it was fantastic.  Seeing the excited Daisy Scouts on the way in made us wonder if our girls could possibly have been so small.  All of the troops from Daisy on up to us Seniors did a fantastic job presenting . . . no fear of microphones in this service unit.  The girls in Troop 62019 earned a whimsical Sewing patch, the Global Action award, and most importantly, the GIRLtopia Senior Visionary Leadership award.  Here are just a few photos from the evening.

Explaining GIRLtopia

GIRLtopia Quilt Public Debut

Entire Service Unit

 

Here are photos of our awards:

Global Action Patch

Senior Visionary Leadership Pin

Sewing Fun Patch

The following paragraphs summarize the project and a description of each block’s meaning.

~ GIRLtopia Journey ~

Girl Scout Troop 62019

 August 2012-June 2013

This quilt was designed and sewn by the seven Senior Girl Scout members of Troop 62019: Sydney, Lindsay N, Adrienne, Katherine, Megan, Annelise, and Lindsay W.  The multi-step project, which took 10 months to complete, was part of the troop’s Senior GIRLtopia Journey.  The Girl Scouts of America define this Journey as, “a chance to imagine a perfect world for girls…by creating their vision as an art project… (and) making their vision a reality.”

The members of our troop worked together to create a Journey project which focused on the following:  identifying and addressing significant issues which affect the quality of life for girls and women around the world; educating others about these issues; promoting a greater awareness of the core themes identified; and demonstrating each troop member’s unique vision of a better world for girls and women.

The themes for the 16 quilt squares were identified through a survey which was aimed at exploring the issues and realities which have affected women in the past and present world.  Additionally, troop members were encouraged to envision how these issues may change for women in the future.   Each troop member chose two themes which meant the most to them and then designed quilt blocks to represent their subject.  The troop members worked together along with troop co-leaders, Diane and Alice, parent volunteer Cherie, and in consultation with local artist and nationally recognized quilter, Sandra Smith.

Our hope is that this quilt project will serve to educate and inspire others to envision and promote a bright future for all girls and women.  For more information, please read the other posts in our blog at, https://gs62019.wordpress.com.

 

Independence and Individuality
by Katherine

Independence and Individuality Block

14 million girls under the age of 18 marry each year:

• 1,166,666 a month
• 269,230 a week
• 38,461 a day
• 27 every minute
• One every two seconds

Source: http://www.plan-uk.org/early-and-forced-marriage/#sthash.o5kDK2d7.dpuf

My quilt block shows the silhouette of a woman with a sunset behind her.  This image represents a woman’s independence and individuality.  A woman can be anything she wants to be.  A woman can be on top of the world if she sets her mind to it.  In the United States, a woman is no longer expected to marry; she can support herself and live on her own.  Every woman is unique and strong and all women worldwide should have the right to independence.  Sadly, in some countries, young children are forced into marriage.

Education
by Lindsay N

Education Block

• Two thirds of the 774 million adult illiterates worldwide are women.
• 72 million children of primary school age are not attending school, out of which over 39 million (or 54%) are girls.

Source:  The World’s Women 2010: Trends and Statistics  produced by the United Nations

I chose to represent education with a traditional schoolhouse.  In early America, children of all ages were taught in a single room.  The majority of students were boys as only the wealthier girls could attend school.  Boys typically went to school until age 12, after which they either learned a trade or helped on the family farm.  A girl practiced cooking and sewing at home in preparation for marriage.  Nowadays, American males and females have equal educational rights.

Unity and Togetherness
by Adrienne

Unity and Togetherness Block

The United Nations has four main goals:

• to keep peace throughout the world;
• to develop friendly relations among nations;
• to help nations work together to improve the lives of poor people, to conquer hunger, disease and illiteracy, and to encourage respect for each other’s rights and freedoms;
• To be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations to achieve these goals.

I chose to create a ring of people holding hands to show unity.  Each person is a different color fabric to show that everybody is different but we can still come together as a group to accomplish anything we set our minds to.  I used purple thread around all of the people to further unite them.  I decided to place this ring of people around the earth to show if people try hard enough, we can unite men and women around the world.

Safety
by Katherine

Safety and Nonviolence Block

Different forms of physical violence against women is a universal phenomenon—physical, sexual, psychological and economic—both within and outside their homes.  Rates of women experiencing physical violence at least once in their lifetime vary from several per cent to over 59 per cent depending on where they live.

Source:  The World’s Women 2010: Trends and Statistics produced by the United Nations

In my research, I discovered how many women and children in the world are not respected or safe.  Over 25% of women will be abused in their lifetime.  Some women in different areas of the world live in garbage dumps, abandoned, in a disease-filled environment. This quilt block represents how women deserve to be safe and sheltered. My concept shows a girl sitting happily on a swing under a big tree, protected from the storm.

 

Kindness, Forgiveness, and Honesty
by Sydney

Kindness, Forgiveness, and Honesty Block

Girl Scouts of the USA was founded in 1912.  Our GIRLtopia survey results indicate that girls of today embrace the same values as the Girl Scout Law:  I will do my best to be honest and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and caring, courageous and strong, and responsible for what I say and do, and to respect myself and others, respect authority, use resources wisely, make the world a better place, and be a sister to every Girl Scout.

The grandfather clock represents “Time waits for no one,” I truly think this saying means don’t wait too long to forgive someone.  If you are honest, kind, and forgiving, you will get further than being selfish. To be able to forgive you need to know the difference between making a mistake and actually intending to hurt someone.   In the heat of the moment, something may seem really huge but in actuality, it’s not that big. I added two significant dates for girls:  Girl Scouts was founded in 1912; Title IX was passed in 1972.

 

Respect
by Sydney and Lindsay W

Respect for all Humans Block

Religion is one of the most multifaceted elements of human life. It inspires billions and holds the potential to bring people together.

Source:  http://coexistfoundation.org/

We modeled this block after the COEXIST movement.  The word “coexist” is important to show respect for all humans, no matter their religion, race or sex.  This block not only represents respect for all humans but it can be taken further to mean respect for our world as a whole.

Love
by Megan

Love Block

 

On average, there are 6,200 happy couples that get married each day in the United States. This shows the commitment women have to their relationships.

 

Source:  http://www.soundvision.com/info/weddings/statistics.asp

Love is always perceived as something tremendously grand. It always seems to have a flashy showcase, something that is complicated and confusing. For this block, however, I wanted to show love in a simpler way. The two hearts in the background suggest the eternal love the two figures have for each other. This block shows what kind of love a woman of today holds and dreams of having.  A woman loves her family and surrounds herself with people she cares about.

Peace by
Megan

Peace Block

 

Since 1901, more than 90 Nobel Peace prizes have been given out in America. These prizes represent the people who have done the most/best work for fraternity between nations.

There are many symbols of peace that I could have chosen. In the church, in nonviolent marches, in designs, and on our hands, there are many symbols that show signs of peace.  Any one of these suited my block.  In the end, I chose the dove as the simplest way to portray peace. The dove originally represented peace of the soul but has transformed to represent civil peace. The dove in the block carries an olive branch, a symbol of peace derived from the customs of Ancient Greece.

Shelter and Home Life
by Annelise

Shelter and Home Life Block

 

There are an estimated 100 million children living in the streets in the world today.  Children living on the streets are especially vulnerable to victimization, exploitation, and the abuse of their civil and economic rights.

Source:  http://www.cyc-net.org/cyc-online/cycol-0904-Homelessness.html

I decided to create a storybook gingerbread house inside of a heart to represent the dream house of every girl. All children deserve shelter from the elements as well as a happy home. The heart symbolizes how a loving, positive home environment is necessary for every child’s well-being.  Unfortunately, many children in our country and around the world are lacking both shelter and a proper environment.

 Happiness
by Alice

Happiness Block

 

All of us need other people in order to be well and thrive. We feel better just being around other people. And we need close relationships in order to be happy.

Source:  http://www.pbs.org/thisemotionallife/topic/connecting/connection-happiness

This block is based on Killingworth’s own historical artist and author Ruth Warner Robinson as a child. The Robinson family lived in what is known as the “Country Squire” and Ruth attended school at the one-room school house. She is best known for her colorful farm scene paintings, charming sculptures of farm animals, and short stories about the simple pleasures of country life.

Friendship
by Cherie

Friendship Block

 

Having friends helps you live longer. In one nine-year study, people who had a greater number of friends cut their risk of death by more than 60%.

Source:  http://www.anapsid.org/cnd/gender/tendfend.html

Friendship is represented here by a flower with many different colored petals. There are ten petals, symbolizing each girl in the troop and the three moms who guided the quilt making. The fabrics are different, just as we are all different. If you look closely, you can find the blocks from which the fabrics were selected.  The yellow in the middle unifies us, just as Girl Scouts unifies us. The flower is reminiscent of a Daisy, the rank from which the girls began their Girl Scout journey a decade ago!

 

Freedom
by Lindsay N

Freedom Block

600,000−800,000 people are bought and sold across international borders each year; 50% are children, most are female. The majority of these victims are forced into the commercial sex trade.

Source:  U.S. Department of State, 2004, Trafficking in Persons Report, Washington, D.C.

My block represents freedom and is a traditional pattern from the Underground Railroad when African-American slaves escaped Southern plantations.  The quilt codes communicated messages and identified places of refuge.  Slaves endured both physical and mental abuse yet were brave and unable to complain.  They put their minds together and were courageous.  We should never take anything for granted and always be thankful and happy for what we have.  I envision a world where all people have freedom.

Courage
by Adrienne

Courage Block

International Women’s Day, originally called International Working Women’s Day, is marked on March 8 every year.  In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women’s economic, political and social achievements.

“Courage isn’t the absence of fear.  It’s using the possibility of your demise and doing your work anyway.”  This quote is attributed to many people, including Victor Hugo, in various forms.  I chose the Chinese symbol for courage to represent the quote.

Careers and Hobbies
by Diane

Equal Career/Hobby Opportunity Block

• Only 13 of the 500 largest corporations in the world have a female Chief Executive Officer.
• Women spend at least twice as much time as men on domestic work, and when all work—paid and unpaid—is considered, women work longer hours than men do.

Source: The World’s Women 2010: Trends and Statistics, produced by the United Nations

This block shows the evolution of women’s careers and hobbies from knitting to aviation.  In early Killingworth, women knit to create necessary clothing and blankets; women performed “male” chores only for survival. Harriet Quimby was the first female pilot licensed in the United States and the first woman to fly solo over the English Channel.  Although women have been pilots for many decades, up until about 10 years ago, U.S. women were not permitted to fly military combat missions.  My wish is for all women to have the right to choose a career/hobby.

Justice
by Lindsay W

Justice and Equality Block

Only four women have served as Supreme Court justices since Sandra Day O’Connor’s pathbreaking arrival on the bench three decades ago.

Source:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/11/supreme-court-women-justices_n_1419183.html

I made this block because all of us will face unfair and unjust events and decisions in our lives.  One of the most representative objects of this idea is the justice scale, originally held by the hand of Lady Justice.  Since our project revolves around the GIRLtopia theme, I included the symbol for male and female on each side of the scale. I think the scale should be balanced; after all, isn’t equality what is just?

Global Conservation
by Annelise

Global Conservation Block

Scientists estimate up to 20 percent of global carbon emissions come from deforestation—greater than emissions from every car, truck and plane on the planet combined.

Source:  http://worldwildlife.org/threats/climate-change

The leaves on the tree start with green and darken to brown from left to right, growing sparser from green to brown. The grass of the hill follows the same pattern. The left side represents our ideal world while the right side predicts where our world will end up in the future unless we act now. Presently, I believe we are somewhere in the middle of the tree, and which side we will travel to depends solely on our decisions.

The Bee Goes On!

Quilting Bee #2

The girls decided to meet one more time as a group and try this quilting bee thing.  They moved to a smaller table and worked along the outside edge.  Although we had only agreed to meet for a final hour, four of the girls stayed for over two hours to finish off quilting their blocks.  The girls are proud of their quilt and most commented that they enjoyed working on it.  The future:  next week is a Court of Awards; the week after is a pool party to celebrate their accomplishments.  After that, the girls are on their way to Gold!  As usual, great job girls!

A Modern Quilting Bee

If the Colonial women could have joined us today, they may have been a little shocked by the short shorts and the two girls in bikinis!  (Well . . . it was a hot one today.)  We told the girls about the history of the quilting bee, distributed thimbles, and taught them how to bury their knots and rock the needle.  The girls are working on quilting around the outside of their blocks.  Here is what a Girl Scout Troop 62019 Quilting Bee looks like:

Penny525 and TheSquid

Kamam cross-legged up on the table

Linds

Youkilis and AS1898

Kamam getting a closer look

TheSquid taking a break!

Linds is focused

Penny525 switched blocks after sewing her finger to the other one!

Crowded on this side

Not sure this is a traditional quilting maneuver!

All ten fingers blood free? Check.

What am I supposed to do with this thimble?

Interesting

Working and chit-chatting

The stitches on the back

Teacup Purse Mrs. W made today

“It’s Officially a Sandwich!”

I was quite relieved to leave the quilt top behind when I left the home of FSCsoccergirl and Mrs. Toe-mom!  I have four cats, two dogs, a Russian tortoise, a bearded dragon, and a crested gecko.  While the latter 3 are contained, anyone who owns dogs and cats understands that accidents and vomited hairballs are just a fact of life . . . not something I wanted for this beautiful creation!

Leaving it behind had the added bonus that FSCsoccergirl and Mrs. Toe-mom put the quilt together into a quilt sandwich:  batting spray-mounted onto the backing and then the top spray-mounted onto the batting.  They worked as a team using large basting stitches all around to hold it together temporarily until the girls can quilt it.

Tomorrow, the girls will bring their quilting needles presented to them by Sandy Smith (local quilter/artist) at one of our early meetings.  We will bring the quilt, hand-quilting thread, extra quilting needles, scissors, thimbles, and PATIENCE as we teach the girls how to “rock the needle.”  (We are a no-hoop troop!)  Maybe I should bring band-aids?

Thank you FSCsoccer girl and Mrs. Toe-mom.  I can’t wait to see the sandwich in person.

The sandwich!

05-26 Sub-Committee Meeting

We had a small group gather to piece the top together, and we couldn’t be more proud of the girls.  (I will probably express the exact sentiment after they quilt it next month . . . and I will mean it just as much.)  We never dreamed the top would look this fabulous.  Seven girls with minimal sewing experience, and different ideas, plus three moms, all came together to create something quite beautiful.  Here’s what happened:

• Mrs. T programmed her fancy machine to add TheSquid’s desired quote:  “TIME WAITS FOR NO ONE” on the Forgiveness block.
• Live and learn!  One or two of the blocks were a tad short of the 12.5×12.5 inches unfinished size.  Therefore we trimmed the majority down to 12×12 inches.  However, one block (the schoolhouse) was still a bit short horizontally, so we added a muslin strip on one side.  We also added a blue button as the doorknob because we found it in our supplies.  Why not?
• The rows were distributed and the green strips were added in-between each block and the seams pressed.
• The rows were then sewn together and of course the seams pressed.
• Next, we divvied up the work:  one sewed green strips together with the red blocks, one pressed, and one sewed on the sashing between each row of blocks.
• We carried this method into adding the outside borders.
• Finally, we used the leftover green, to make binding strips for the outside.
• Finally, we chose a backing fabric.  While there was not a unanimous love for the fabric, we agreed that it has several benefits:  it is historical looking; it blends with the reds and greens in the quilt; it will hide the imperfections of our quilting stitches; and no one will see it anyway!

At our next meeting, each girl will hand-quilt at least one of her blocks.  The plan is to quilt around the outside of the square block and around the outside of the major designs in the block.  Each girl has access to one of her blocks on the outside of the quilt.  As for the inside blocks?  Well, let’s see how it goes!

We agreed on the final layout . . . AGAIN!

Quilt Top with Inner Sashing

Quilt Top with Borders Added

Does It Look Nicer When Pressed?

A Peek at the Backing Fabric

05-19 Meeting Update . . . Seeing the Light at the End of the GIRLtopia Tunnel!

Today was unusual in that we had more sewing machines and more adults than girls!  But that’s a good thing as many of the girls are done with their blocks or have taken the blocks as far as they can.  So . . .with the two girls at hand, and the three moms, we put the finishing touches on just about all of the blocks.  Here is a status report:

1. Peace:  complete!
2. Love:  Fused, needs some applique.  On task for end of week.
3. Relationships / friendship:  done!
4. Respect for all humans:  done!
5. Shelter / homelife:  needs some hand sewing of a few details.  On task for end of week.
6. Safety:  done!
7. Equity / equality / balance / fairness / justice:  needs some applique and some more embroidery chain stitches; on task for end of week.
8. Education:  done!
9. Career / hobbies:  done!
10. Self-assurance / self-respect / courage / strength:  done!
11. Unity / solidarity / togetherness:  done!
12. Freedom:  done!
13. Happiness:  done!
14. Independence:  done!
15. Values:  kindness / forgiveness / honesty:  done!
16. Global conservation:  needs some hand stitching of a few more leaves; on task for end of week.

Proposed Layout:  Can you tell which block is which?

Believe it or not, it was not easy for our little group to decide how to arrange the blocks.  The two hearts looked better apart, as did the two trees.  The browns looked better separated as well.  The colors in certain blocks complemented each other.  Eventually this is what we settled on.  The missing block up top is Education which came together below.

Youkilis’ Education Block

The group overruled Youkilis’ design and added red chimneys.  After all, we did agree as a troop to try to use the red and/or green sashing colors somewhere in the block.  Youkilis’ freedom block was exempted since it was so historically traditional; however, we thought the red chimneys look awesome on this block!

TheSquid, Kamam, and Mrs. S were very focused today and finished Forgiveness, Independence, and Happiness.  Yay!  The group also convinced Kamam to add a cloud to her Safety block.  Doesn’t it look fabulous?

Kamam added a cloud to her Safety block.

TheSquid hard at work finishing her Forgiveness block.

TheSquid and Kamam were the only two girls in attendance today.

A small but focused group.

FSCsoccergirl was home working on her math homework but sent her Love block in for us to admire.

FSCsoccergirl’s LOVE block

Penny525 did not attend the meeting but did work very hard all morning on her blocks.  Here is a timeline of her progress.

Testing different methods for attaching small leaves.

Cutting out lots and lots of tiny pieces!

Attaching the leaves

Penny525’s Global Conservation block with many of the leaves sewn in place

Last-minute design changes to Shelter/Homelife

TheSquid and Linds’ Respect Block all complete

The Respect block center hand-sewn in place so as not to lose the details of the GS emblem face

French knots added to complement this symbol

May 5 Meeting Summary

Well . . . our meeting did not get off to the best start but some progress was made.  We had “the case of the missing key” fiasco (again!) and needed to wait for almost 30 minutes for someone to arrive with one.  This time of year is so busy and with girls involved in track, lacrosse, soccer, softball, and church confirmations, the parents are coming and going and the girls are trying to keep up with homework.  It seems like homework was weighing on the girls’ minds this afternoon.  We had five girls in attendance but only two machines.  Technically, we had three machines but only two that have an adjustable zigzag stitch for applique.  Only one (broken) iron today as well.  (It prefers to drench fabric in lieu of steaming it.)  Here’s what happened:

Mrs. S continued with the final details of her HAPPINESS block but I did not get a photo.  Sorry friend.  I will do better next meeting.

Kamam fused all of the pieces for her INDIVIDUALITY/INDEPENDENCE block and the colors look fabulous.

Individuality / Independence

TheSquid05 did not have access to a machine to finish her applique but she learned a few embroidery stitches and added the minute and hour hands to the grandfather clock.  She also decided to add the dates of the establishment of Girl Scouts and the introduction of  Title IX.

Kindness / Forgiveness / Honesty

Linds also had limited access to a machine so she learned how to embroider using a chain stitch to add the chains for her weighing baskets.

Penny525 is a bit of a perfectionist and spent as much time using a seam ripper as she did using the machine to applique.  She finished the outline of the house, doorway, roof, and chimney.  Unfortunately, she is not pleased with the doorway and plans to re-do it either by sewing over it or ripping it all out.  We tried to convince her to move on to the heart . . . but it was no use.

Shelter / Homelife

AS1898 finished her second block today and is all done.  Here is the individual COURAGE block and then both COURAGE and UNITY / TOGETHERNESS next to each other.

Courage

AS1898 has finished both UNITY / TOGETHERNESS and COURAGE.

Since all of the girls were busy and self-sufficient, Mrs. W took advantage of the large open space and worked on tying her personal quilt.  She has spent seven years working on it . . . but only during school breaks and is finally in the home stretch!  The photo makes the yellow look tan.  Oh well.

Mrs. W tying her quilt

04-21 Meeting

Today we watched “Intended Consequences” and had a short discussion explaining the video and listening to the girls thoughts and reactions.  Part of our GIRLtopia Journey was looking at the lives of girls and women in other countries.  Although the genocide campaign in Rwanda was 19 years ago, those families are living with the impact every day.

The troop watching “Intended Consequences” as part of our research

On a happier note, the girls got right down to business working on their blocks.  Only one more block was completely finished today, but that makes a total of six out of our sixteen.  The six finished blocks are:

• Career/Hobbies
• Friendship
• Peace
• Freedom
• Unity/Togetherness
• Safety

I missed the photo last week of Unity/Togetherness, so it is shown below followed by Safety and then other photos from the day documenting our progress.

Unity/Togetherness completed by AS1898

Safety completed by Kamam

AS1898 designing Courage

Courage block fused and waiting to be appliqued

Linds and TheSquid05 cutting out the Respect block pieces

Linds appliqueing the Respect block

Respect block partially appliqued

TheSquid05 appliqueing

TheSquid05 begins appliqueing the Forgiveness block

Youkilis2013 and AS1898 at the cutting station

Youkilis2013 cutting strips for her Education block

FSCsoccergirl finalizing the design of her Love block

Mrs. S, Mrs. W, and Mrs. T still friends after all these years!

04-16 Meeting . . . Slow and Steady Progress!

The girls are on spring break from school and everyone is very busy with catching up on dentist appointments, orthodontist appointments, track practice, softball practice, lacrosse practice, shopping for spring clothes, and haircuts to name a few things on our lists.  Us moms agreed that we can only handle looking ahead 24 hours at a time on some days.  However, six of the seven girls made it to yesterday’s four-hour meeting during which they worked on the GIRLtopia quilt about half the time.  The girls are Girl Scout Seniors (HS freshmen) so socializing and catching up is just as important to them.  Plus, we had to stop for a dinner of pizza (yum!) and then some cake compliments of Mrs. S.  I apologize for the quality of these pictures but I am hobbled by an old phone and do not qualify for an upgrade for some time yet.  (We will meet again on Sunday and I will make an effort to bring a real camera.)  Here is what we accomplished:

• Youkilis2013 finished piecing her Freedom block and look how nicely her seams align.  As soon as the last seam was pressed, she began designing her Education block.  She starting with the idea of a pieced school house; changed her mind to a School Zone sign; then went back to the idea of a pieced school house.  Does anyone have a simple 12×12 school house pattern to suggest to Youkilis2013?
  
  

  Finished FREEDOM block

  

  Trimming loose threads

  

  Schoolhouse pattern under consideration

• FSCsoccergirl had already finished her Peace block so she worked on her Love block.  So far she is playing around with the idea of two hearts and two people (extra from AS1898’s Togetherness block).  She had thought of two equal-sized people (adults) with two smaller people (children) representing a family, but now prefers the idea of two people in love.  We can’t wait to see how her ideas blossom between now and Sunday!
  

  The beginning of LOVE . . .

• AS1898 finished her Togetherness block.  That was a lot of applique for someone new to this sewing technique.  Unfortunately, my phone shut down while I took that picture.  I will get one on Sunday!  That makes five finished blocks!  Woohoo!  She jumped right in to making a template for her Courage block which includes the Chinese symbol for courage.  AS1898 has never taken the easy route and her design contains the phrase:  Courage isn’t the absence of fear.  It’s using the possibility of your demise and doing your work anyway.  In the interest of time, we are encouraging her to shorten the writing (translation:  embroidery stitches) to the simple word Courage.  Since we plan on having descriptions of each block on display with the quilt, she could include the entire phrase then.  (We also thought that she had too many people on her Togetherness block yet she persevered and is one of the first three girls with a completed block.  So keep checking back with us.  She may surprise us all.)
  

  COURAGE conceptual sketch

• Penny525 is still cutting out pieces for her Shelter/Homelife block.  She now has many tiny cutouts ready for fusing for both blocks and a lot of applique in her near future (Sunday!).  Her Shelter/Homelife block is looking very sweet!  I like how FSCsoccergirl’s Love block will link to AS1898’s Togetherness and Penny525’s Shelter/Homelife by using people from one and corresponding hearts from the other!  Nice job communicating girls!
  

  Shelter/homelife . . . every girl’s dream fairy-tale home

• Kamam added legs to her girl on the swing on her Safety block and began appliqueing around the dress and the tree.  Kamam’s spirits were not dampened despite having to switch from machine to machine.  I am quite capable with my own machine but useless at making bobbins and threading someone else’s machine!  We briefly thought she was angry when she would not respond to our queries but soon discovered she was wearing headphones and listening to music.
  

  It’s not this machine I’m smiling at . . . it’s my music!

• Linds came late due to another commitment but jumped into designing her Respect block.  Linds first wondered if the block should represent respect for race, ideas, religion, or some other form of respect.  She was then inspired by the Coexist sticker on her dad’s car and is using it as the basis for her design.  I will get a picture of her sketch on Sunday.  If you are unfamiliar with the Coexist sticker, here is one from the Internet.
  

  Inspiration for RESPECT block

• TheSquid was absent but we hope to see her on Sunday as she finalizes her Forgiveness block.
• Mrs. ToeMom had her finished Friendhsip block ready for display and came to help out at the meeting.
• Mrs. S is learning how to applique and even got started on her Happiness block clouds.  While waiting for a machine to become available, she added French knot embroidery stitches to make her sheep 3-dimensional and woolly.  Mrs. W discovered a 1971 embroidery booklet in her sewing supplies if any of you girls want to add some decorative stitches to your blocks.  Aren’t these sheep adorable and cuddly?
  

  French knots on HAPPINESS sheep

• Mrs. W lined up four of the finished blocks with the red and green sashing so the girls could get a sense of the finished product.   Sorry AS1898, but Togetherness wasn’t done when I took this photo.  😦  Since some blocks are brighter than others, we will need to play with the arrangement to achieve some balance. We need 11 more finished blocks girls!
  
  

  Getting a sense of the finished quilt!

• FSCsoccerGirl and Penny525 made lots of faces using scissors as props and did not cooperate while I tried to take their picture . .  so their fate is to be displayed with their goofy faces and blurred images!  Ha ha!
  

  Still cutting . . .

  

  Fun with scissors?

  

  Maybe I should cut my hair?

  

  Silly girls!

• Some group shots during downtime.
  
  

  Yay! Linds arrived in time for pizza!

  

  Still having fun in their tenth year together!

03-17 Meeting

I was unable to attend our meeting due to a work committment but Mrs. S gave me a full report:

• We handed in our Midnight Run donations to a member of the Congregational Church who expressed her gratitude and said that they would be making the trip to New Haven that night.
• Our special guest Sandy Smith attended.  Everyone sat in a large circle and took turns showing the blocks and talking about the progress on each one.  Sandy had some great suggestions for each block.   We got feedback about things like, color suggestions for applique, suggestions for how to create a 3-D effect by doing a technique called “trapunto” and using items on the block like knots, hand stitching and buttons for interest.
• Mrs. Toe-Mom brought a quilt she is currently working on to inspire the girls.
• Penny525 worked on her tree block, figuring out how to attach the leaves for the best effect.
• Linds learned how to applique with guidance from Mrs. Toe-Mom and began doing this with her scales block
• Kamam’s progress was stalled due to a limited number of sewing machines capable of satin stitching.  (My machine refused to cooperate without me there!)
• TheSquid5 worked on concepts for her block and got advice from Sandy on how to add text to her block.
• AS1898 continued work on appliqueing the people to her Unity block.
• FSCsoccergirl worked on drawing out her new block, LOVE.
• Sandy made a good point that all the pieces we have fused will, over time, separate from the background fabric unless attached by thread or applique.  I agree!

We seemed to have stalled a bit now that we are at the applique phase.  We will need to push through and meet over April vacation with whichever girls can attend.  Let’s get these blocks done so we can get outside and do some hiking.  Well . . . you girls can anyway.  I will be out of hiking commission for a good year but will meet you in the parking lot with a snack!

FSCsoccergirl and Thesquid5 working on concepts.

Thesquid5 and Kamam selecting the perfect thread.

Linds learning applique from AS1898 as she works on her Unity block.

Mrs. N talking to our special guest Sandy Smith.

All seven girls attended the meeting. Time to get a new group photo.

News from the Cookie Booth

It is hard to believe we have been selling cookies for a decade together now.  Our booth sale at the transfer station was a big success.  Even though our customers will most likely never see this post let alone the blog, we would still like to thank everyone who bought cookies from us, bought cookies for the US troops, or just stopped by to talk to us.  Here are some photos from the day.

The best banner ever!

Luring in the customers with spirit!

Teamwork . . . or safety in numbers!

The early shift.

 

The full crew plus our little helper to add a cuteness factor to our booth!

Our posters documenting our Take Action Projects for the past two years.

What a great photo. Why don’t I have a modeling career?

 

Recent Community Service

Our troop is in the process of collecting and donating to the following two community service projects.

The Pajama Program

Pajama Program, a 501(c)(3) charity, provides new pajamas and new books to needy children, many of whom are waiting and hoping to be adopted. Many of these youngsters have been abused or abandoned and in many cases, have never enjoyed the simple comfort of having a loving mother or father tuck them in at bedtime. Through the Pajama Program, we hope to contribute to a warmer, more loving environment for children when they are at their most vulnerable. The Program, to-date, has given away more than 2 MILLION pajamas and books!

•  Pajamas need to be new, unused, and a complete set or a nightgown.  Here’s what a prominent physician has to say about this: 

  The clothing a child spends 8-10 hours sleeping in is important to a child’s well-being. New pajamas are a necessary part of promoting good health and preventing infections and disease, as well as providing psychological benefits.  ~ Sheldon H. Cherry, MD, Clinical Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, NYC 

• See the organization’s website for more information about having your own Pajama Party/Drive:  www.pajamaprogram.org.  If you want to send your collection directly to them for distribution to the most needy children, their address is below. Their resources are limited so they appreciate you covering mailing costs. 

  Pajama Program, 34 East 39th St., Suite B, New York, NY 10016 , 212-716-9757When sending boxes to them please include their Donation Form (www.pajamaprogram.org/donate.html) or include a note with your name and address, and the number of pajamas in your collection so they can send you a thank you letter!

Midnight Run (through the Killingworth Congregational Church)

The Killingworth Congregational Church’s Midnight Run Group provides necessities for homeless individuals in New Haven.  Group volunteers bring the items to New Haven at night and distribute them from a church.  If you can put together a survival kit for the Midnight Run group, the following is a list of needed items which should be placed in a gallon zip lock bag.  Please contact the Killingworth Congregational Church if you would like to make a donation:  www.killingworthchurch.org

• toothpaste
• shampoo
• shavers/shaving cream
• deodorant
• soap
• washcloth
• lip balm
• feminine products
  
• no candy, please

The New York City organization (www.midnightrun.org) discourages publicity to protect the homeless so hopefully I am not breaking any rules by including their information on our webiste.  The following is an excerpt from their website:

Midnight Run is a volunteer organization dedicated to finding common ground between the housed and the homeless.  In over 1,000 relief missions per year, Midnight Run volunteers from churches, synagogues, schools and other civic groups distribute food, clothing, blankets and personal care items to the homeless poor on the streets of New York City. The late-night relief efforts create a forum for trust, sharing, understanding and affection. That human exchange, rather than the exchange of goods, is the essence of the Midnight Run mission.

Midnight Run is not a solution to homelessness. Our goal is to forge a bond between housed and homeless people by establishing a foundation of sharing and caring from which solutions may evolve. Through Midnight Run, volunteers come to see the homeless as real people, not a commodity. And homeless men and women learn that many mainstream adults and teenagers have commitments and concerns that go beyond their own lives and families.

February 19, 2013 Meeting Photos

Tonight we met in the library meeting room on a rainy and foggy afternoon/evening as the lights flickered off and on.  It is February break for the girls so we were missing three of our seven girls.  (Two are skiing with their respective families and one is earning community service teaching students in Vermont.)  With only three working sewing machines tonight, it was probably just as well that we had only four girls in attendance.  We had an extended meeting tonight (3.5 hours) and took a short dinner break to enjoy some pizza from a local business (one cheese and bacon and the other BBQ chicken in case you are curious).  Mrs. S also provided some delicious blonde brownies.  Sometimes I think the best part of our meetings is the food as us moms like to listen to the girls relax, reconnect with each other, and chit chat about their lives!  So here is what they accomplished:

• FSCsoccergirl and AS1898 practiced the satin stitch on paper towels.They learned about the different control settings and how they affected the stitch.  They practiced making curves and sharp turns.  They also learned all about threading the machines and making bobbins.  During this time, Kamam put the finishing touches on the girl swinging under her tree while Penny525 started work on fusing her second block (Global Conservation).

• 
• 

• After a bit of trial and error, AS1898 started appliqueing her globe while FSCsoccergirl started appliqueing her dove.  It took quite a bit of time for each girl to select the perfect thread.  They discussed the pros and cons of a contrast vs a blend.  AS1898 went with a contrasting silver metallic thread while FSCsoccergirl decided on a black which blended with the background.




• AS1898 progressed to appliqueing her land masses on her globe while FSCsoccergirl decided to turn over the machine to Kamam and begin designing her second block (Love).




• Kamam took a turn practicing applique on the paper towels and then began sewing the ropes for her swing.  Kamam also learned the same lessons as FSCsoccergirl and AS1898 mentioned earlier.








• Penny525 cut out all of the pieces of her Global Conservation block.  She has the brown background of the trunk and branches and then leaves which change color from green to yellow to orange to red to brown.  A bee flies above the live green side while brown leaves fall from the dead side.  Still to come are a green hill and a brown hill to add some background color beneath the tree.

Mrs. S added sheep to her block which are trying to eat the girl’s flowers!  Upon the arrival of Mrs. T, the third machine became operational and Mrs. S. was able to begin appliqueing.

• Mrs. T has been working on her block at home so hopefully she will post some pictures for us!  All of this sewing must have inspired her.  She has been experimenting with some assymmetrical free-form sewing to make a quilt at home.

Title IX

If time permits, we try to research some of the Girltopia themes represented by our blocks. Today we watched a 10-minute YouTube movie explaining the history of Title IX. Some of the girls, nor their moms, had ever heard of Title IX. I recall hearing about it from coaches in 1978 when the boys were attempting to form a cross country team. Worried about inequity, the team did not form until 3 years later when we also had our first girls soccer team. My friend Patti and I worked very hard trying to find enough girls to make that team a reality. Due to a fall field shortage between boys soccer and girls field hockey, girls soccer occurred in the spring. Unfortunately, we pulled many runners away from the girls track team who then had to recruit more girls. The results were that more and more girls were involved in sports who had never participated before. While the intention of Title IX was to ensure educational equity between the sexes, the bill became more commonly known for the affect on sports. Here is a link to the video we watched.

January 20 Meeting Photos

We keep dragging those machines into our meeting room but most of the girls needed the meeting to finalize fusing their pieces to the background.  So maybe next week we will begin applique lessons and think about how we will embellish our blocks, either by hand or by machine.  Youkilis2013 is the only one sewing a pieced block and she was actually able to start sewing those pieces together today.  The girls are smack in the middle of studying for mid-term exams so I will not harass them to update the blog this month. Here’s what we did:

Freedom:  Youkilis2013 is making a classic Shoo-Fly block representing freedom.  Historically, the Shoo-Fly block  identified a person who could guide and help slaves escape along the Underground Railroad and who knew the codes.  Youkilis2013 joined her triangle sections together into squares and sewed the middle column of a classic 9-patch.

Shoo-Fly Block Design

Ironing the seams toward the darker fabric side

Sewing the triangles into squares

Kindness / Forgiveness / Honesty: Thesquid5 added the pendulum to her grandfather clock and spend the remainder of the meeting helping others and planning a joint Respect for all Humans block with Linds.

Gold pendulum added

Thequid5 and Penny525 getting advice from Mrs. Toe-Mom

Shelter / Homelife: Penny525 added the heart behind her gingerbread house and fused her pieces to the background.

All girls deserve a loving family and a fairy-tale gingerbread home

Justice:Linds added the weighing baskets to her justice scale as well as the tiny male and female symbols she painstakingly cut out. She spent the remainder of the meeting co-designing the Respect for All Humans block with Thesquid5.

Added the weighing baskets and male/female symbols

Safety: Kamam10 is still cutting out the pieces that will become a girl on a swing underneath her very lifelike tree.

Creating a girl on a swing

Togetherness: As1898 fused her globe and 17 or her 18 people onto her background. One of the people refused to stay glued! So . . . she had to clone him/her.

17 out of the 18 fused!

Aiming for perfection

Peace: Fscsoccergirl had basketball practice and was unable to join us today. But she posted her progress earlier and Mrs. Toe-Mom brought her block to share and stayed to work on her own block.

Friendship: Mrs. Toe-Mom selected one fabric from each girl and each leader and these will become the 10 petals of her friendship flower.

Selecting the Friendship fabrics

Happiness: Mrs. S is still fussy cutting more and more little details such as bunches of flowers and a basket. We think she would do this all day if we let her!

I added the sun and am deciding between flowers and/or a basket

I still can’t decide!

Moms we count on: Special thanks to Youkilis2013’s mom for staying to help; Lindz’s mom for bringing cupcakes and juice; and As1898’s mom for helping out with the ironing and for keeping the leaders sane.

As1898’s mom ironing

Fabric Shopping Spree

Troop 62019 at the Fabric Store
(School Identifications Removed)

Can 7 girls and 4 moms agree on the fabric for one quilt?  Of course we can.  The moms stood by while the girls made selections, narrowed down the choices, and voted for their favorites.  In the end, the girls purchased a bone-colored muslin for the background, a dark green vine for the sashing, a cranberry maroon vine contrast color, and about 36 fat quarters.  Best of all, with all of our coupons, we were under our anticipated budget.  After the new year, we will be looking for more coupons for the backing, batting, and embroidery floss.

Cranberry Vine Contrast

Bone Background

Dark Green Vine Sashing

Fat Quarters

More Fat Quarters

Meeting #2, Presenting Our Concepts

Meeting #2, October 21, 2012

• Killingworth’s own award-winning and master quilter Sandy Smith, a member of the Killingworth Historical Society was our guest today.  She shared her historical dolls and provided us with information about each woman in respect to Killingworth’s history.   She also brought along some of her masterpieces and talked with us about various techniques, fabric choices, proper thread, and appropriate needle selection.  Her dolls are incredible and her quilts are breathtaking.  We were truly blessed that she joined us today and invite her to come again to see how we are progressing.  Thank you Sandy!
• Each girl and adult on the GIRLtopia team shared her concept and initial sketch (if available) with the group.  Sandy Smith listened attentively to each girl, encouraged everyone to stay true to their concept, and made suggestions when asked.
• We also watched a short video about children living in the garbage dump of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.  Why?  While the girls can relate to other girls in the United States, we are exposing them to the pros and cons of living in other countries, cultures, and governments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meeting #1, Discussing the Project

On September 16, 2012 we kicked off our GIRLtopia Journey with Meeting #1:

• We received GIRLtopia Project binders to help keep us organized.
• We looked at sample quilts brought in by our leaders.
• We perused dozens of quilting books and magazines to look for ideas we might incorporate into our own block designs.
• We made preliminary sketches of our initial concepts.

We are off to a great start.  All of the girls seem excited . . . although I think the leaders are the most excited!

Pre-Season Meeting, September 20, 2012

We chose a beautiful day to hike the Guilford Bluffs Trail, design our GIRLtopia Journey, discuss our GIRLtopia survey results, and amicably divvy up our blocks.  I hope this weather lasts for a tad longer.