Patriotic Quotations Quilts

In early September, 2009, I became very disturbed by what was happening in my homeland of America. I had grown weary of hearing that the United States is not, and perhaps never was, a Christian nation. In the past several years, many changes have been made in our country that, in my opinion, unfortunately have distanced us from the values of our Founding Fathers, especially regarding the liberty and freedom of all our citizens. I was impressed to create the two quilts so that my sons and grandsons might know that no matter what it becomes in their lifetime, the United States of America was truly founded on Christian principles and values.

I began research on patriotic quotations of our nation’s Founding Fathers. Very soon, I had over 200 quotations saved in a Word file. I finally narrowed the list down to 24 quotations to use in the quilts.

My research was an awesome study of our nation’s history, particularly during its early years. I wanted to know more about how and why this great nation of ours came to be. I wanted to learn more about the reasons and the determination our Founding Fathers had as they were led to this new land.  In school, we studied about the many hardships those early pilgrims and colonists experienced. We learned about the reasons our Founding Fathers made those treacherous trips across the ocean to arrive in this land. I suspect those reasons are rarely mentioned in schools today.

As a result of my recent study, I was driven to share what I had learned, but how could I do that? ........ Well, what better way than through two quilts?..... Before I began writing each quotation on the fabric, I bowed my head and asked God to help me write my very best, and He did. I had to re-write only one block of the twenty-four!  Some of you will remember the pictures of the blocks were posted previously in my APQ blog.  It would take too much space to show pictures of each block again.

I added something to the quilts that I had never done before; I inserted a “pillow tuck” area near the top under the titles so the titles would lie on top of the pillows on occasions when the quilts are displayed on beds. That created a bit of a problem for hanging the quilts for display; it required a hanging stand nine feet tall!  However, the quilts fit perfectly when displayed on my full-sized beds. I also wrote in the horizontal sashings the lyrics of two of our patriotic songs: “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” on one, and “God Bless America” on the other. I had never done that before.

Each quilt measures 106” x 78”. I decided to have the quilts professionally machine quilted; I think she did a beautiful job!   The blocks were stitched with white thread; then she used red thread in the flag and red borders.  I completed the bindings on both quilts in June, 2010. 

I believe the lessons learned from this research experience will be self-evident to even the casual observer. With that explanation, I’ll let the quilts speak for themselves; they do have a lot to say!  Rather than show a picture of each quotation block, I'll include the list of quotations under each quilt's title.  (Remember to click on the pictures to enlarge them.)

AMERICA – FOUNDED AS A CHRISTIAN NATION,
AND BY GOD’S GRACE, SO SHALL IT EVER BE!






1. “It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God and to obey His will.”
---George Washington

2. “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ.” 
---Patrick Henry  
(This block is the proof of my search for answers.)

3. “If we will not be governed by God, then we will be ruled by tyrants.”
---William Penn

4. “Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him, who has never yet forsaken this favored land, are still competent to adjust, in the best way, all our present difficulty.”
---Abraham Lincoln

5. “We recognize no sovereign but God, and no king but Jesus!”
---John Adams and John Hancock, Founding Fathers – April 18, 1775

6. “If the power of the Gospel is not felt through the length and breadth of the land, anarchy and misrule, degradation and misery, corruption and darkness will reign without mitigation or end.”
---Daniel Webster

7. “It is impossible to mentally or socially enslave a Bible reading people. The principles of the Bible are the groundwork of human freedom.”
---Horace Greeley

8. “Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet anchor of your liberties, write its precepts on your hearts and practice them in your lives.”
---Ulysses S. Grant

9. “The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time.”
---Thomas Jefferson

10. “A Bible and a newspaper in every house, a good school in every district, all studied and appreciated as they merit, are the principal support of virtue, morality, and civil liberty.”
---Ben Franklin

11. “Proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”
---Leviticus 25:10, Inscription on the Liberty Bell

12. “The future of our country depends upon the Christian training of our youth.”
---George Washington

WISE WORDS OF OUR FOUNDING FATHERS,
AS TRUE TODAY AS THEY WERE THEN

1. “Posterity --- You will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it.”
---John Quincy Adams

2. Pledge of Allegiance ---“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

3. “Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom.”
---John Adams, Defense of the Constitution, 1787

4. “No government ought to be without censors and where the press is free, no one ever will.” ---Thomas Jefferson, September 9, 1792

5. “Liberty --- the greatest of all earthly blessings --- give us that precious jewel, and you may take everything else. Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel.”
---Patrick Henry, Speech at the Virginia Convention, June 5, 1788

6. “A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have.”
---Thomas Jefferson

7. “The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work, and give to those who would not.”
---Thomas Jefferson

8. “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.”
---Abraham Lincoln

9. “But a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.”
---John Adams, letter to Abigail Adams, July 17, 1775

10. “In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. Regard not the particular sect or denomination of the candidate --- look to his character.”
---Noah Webster, Letters to a Young Gentleman Commencing His Education, 1789

11. “Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.”
---John Quincy Adams

12. “The same prudence which in private life would forbid our paying our own money for unexplained projects, forbids it in the dispensation of the public moneys.”
---Thomas Jefferson, letter to Shelton Gilliam, June 19, 1808

I was so pleased and honored that both quilts were displayed on opposite sides of the platform area in my church on July 4, 2010.  I received many complimentary comments of agreement.  I noticed a visitor taking a picture; he told me he works at a military base in San Antonio, many miles from me, and he just wanted to share the pictures with friends.    A nice church member made the hanging stands from PVC pipe and helped me hang the quilts a few days early.  The stands can be dismantled and used again for displaying the quilts made by the church quilters for youth fund raisers. 

Since both quilts are exactly the same, I'll show only one picture to save space. 

I mentioned a few days ago that I would bombard you with pictures.   Certainly this has been a long post, but it is about a major project for me, one that I just could not NOT finish.  I had no choice; I simply had to do it!

---"Love"