Flag Day

Flag Day was last Monday and I was inspired to sketch flags. The above is flagus interuptus. The rest of the drawing lost in space as I needed to stop and help Mom. Perhaps inspiration will slap me in the face at some future time and this will get finished (like on the fourth of July? :} ).



Left Mom at the Senior Center eating a gluten filled lunch and I went and sat at Starbucks. Had a lovely conversation with a total stranger whose political leanings matched mine - a rare find in this area of California.

This flag is a perfect example of failure to pay attention - not always a bad thing. I noticed when I posted this that the stripes are wonky. I guess it goes with the Starbucks logo which I intentionally made wonky (notice the Vulcan hands?).

I looked up info on Flag Day as I had forgotten my grade school history on the origin. I did remember that Betsy Ross is credited with the design of the first flag. She changed the stars from six-pointed ones to five pointed ones. According to Wikipedia she did this for two reasons - the five pointed star was easier to cut out (there is a trick to it that I used to know) and it is also easier to recognize a five pointed star from a distance.



Here is a quite old project (a purse) I did as part of a challenge when I was in the Marin Needle Arts Guild in the good old days (2001, I think). The star was cut out using Betsy Ross's method. I was a new quilter at the time and didn't know much. In order to satin stitch the star down I put scotch tape on the edges at a stabilizer! LOL! But it worked! Not only did it stabilize the edges, but it also held the star in place. Was kind of icky to remove, however!



This is the only other flag related project I have done. It is a lap quilt that I made for my mother's (late) husband in 2004. He loved Coca Cola loge products and when I saw this fabric I knew I had to make him a quilt.


I had recently taken a machine quilting class and the stars were a manifestation of my new-found skill (?!).


Here is a good view of the logo fabric.



This is the back, which I love because it showcases lots of fabrics that I have used on other quilts. My Mom has this on her couch and I love sitting with it over my lap when it is cold (about four days a year!)

That is the extent of my flag day offering. Kuddos to Betsy Ross. I think Flag Day should be called "Betsy Ross Flag Day" to celebrate contributions women's sewing has made.