Happy Independence Day, America!

July 4th is a great holiday.  No stress, no presents to buy, warm weather, and based on some of the best parts of American history.  It's even a good reason to make a little table runner, using dark blue, the Rainbow Scrap Challenge color of the month.

I've always wanted to use these fabrics, reproductions of prints popular during the Centennial.  I only had fat quarters, so it had to be something small, thus a table runner instead of a larger quilt.  The print above shows the liberty bell alternating with a liberty cap on a pole.  As a country, we remember the bell, but the cap, although a real thing back in the day, seems sort of odd now.

Isn't this eagle the best?  Majestic and fierce, with arrows in one claw and an olive branch in the other.

The eagle fabric has this stripe, with words saying, "In God We Trust, 1776-1876" and "Welcome Centennial U. S. of A".

I only had a little of this Declaration of Independence fabric to put on the back so it's not centered, but it's very grand and patriotic.

This circle represents the colony of Connecticut.  One of my ancestors emigrated from England to Hartford, Connecticut in the 1630s.  The acorns and oak leaves represent the Charter Oak.

This is the binding fabric.  I didn't quite have enough, but I added another red to it so I could use it.  Peace and Unity.  What could be more perfect for the times we live in? 

If we really want peace and unity, we have to live up to our highest ideals.  Without justice, and I mean justice for ALL, there can be neither peace nor unity.

Oh dear, I seem to have stepped up on my soapbox.  I blame it on the significance of the day, and what we're living through now.

Returning to quilting, here is my leader and ender project for July.  It's appropriately called Fourth of July, and is a free Bonnie Hunter pattern.  Click HERE to go to the instructions.

I've gotten a few four patches done.  Many of them are made from Mackinac Island charm squares sent to me by Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, as a prize for making quilts for her annual Hands 2 Help Challenge (thanks, Sarah!).  I cut the charm squares into 4 squares each (2.5 in.) to use in the blocks.  Of course I added in my own plentiful scraps.

Only 3 finished blocks so far!  If you've read the pattern, you know that I am changing the square sizes from 6 in. finished to 4 in.  Then I'm combining four of the blocks together.  It will look very much the same as Bonnie's in the end. 

This was a good book to read this month:  Lafayette in the Somewhat United States, by Sarah Vowell.  The author reminds us of how quarrelsome and fractious Americans were then, not unlike today, unfortunately.  Her lively writing style gives us a clearer picture of one of America's early heroes, the charming young Frenchman who believed in American ideals and came to help us fight for them.

A portrait of Lafayette is hanging at the palace of Versailles, and I made sure to have my photo taken with it last summer.  Merci, Lafayette! 

One more thing.  This is the first red raspberry from our vines.  It's like the first raindrop of a summer shower.  More are coming, little by little, to make life even sweeter.

Have a wonderful safe weekend, and to all Americans Happy 4th of July!

Cheers for reading,

Sylvia@Treadlestitches

Linking up with:

Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Alycia at Finished or Not Finished Friday

Cynthia at Oh Scrap

Angela at So Scrappy