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A Day to Honor Our Fallen Heroes for their Sacrifice...

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Guest post excerpt by Capt Chris Kuehne, USMC (Ret)  ' Jocko Willink, whose words carry the grit of a warrior, cuts through the noise. In a May 2025 X post, he wrote: “Memorial Day isn’t about sales or vacations. It’s about the brave who gave all. Honor them by living with discipline and purpose” (@JockoWillink). In a YouTube video, he expanded: “Remember me the fallen warrior… not for my sake but for yours. Remember what I sacrificed so you can truly appreciate the incredible treasures” of freedom. His call strikes deep. The Marines and close friends I lost in Iraq, warriors with quick grins and unwavering loyalty, didn’t die so we could chase “Memorial Day Blowout” deals. They believed in something bigger—duty, brotherhood, freedom. I can still see them, sharing stories under a desert sky, promising to have each other’s backs. Their deaths left a void that lingers, a grief I navigate daily, as do so many veterans who carry the names of their fallen in their hearts. Yet, their los...
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1776 Getting Embroidered!

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Now that ALL cutting/sewing of the 1776 Diamond Star blocks are complete - time to finish them up w/Embroidery: Stitching out the 1776 center block ...but First - a test stitch-out was required: Test stitch-out It took a couple tries - the first one was Too BIG, the second one was Too SMALL, but the 3rd one was just right! 1st block finished - now to stitch out the rest And here we are...several HOURS later: Hoops Matter!  Switched to Mighty Hoop - YES!! All finished up: ALL eighteen (18) Blocks embroidered! Time to move onto the next block in this quilt - the four (4) patch blocks...let the cutting begin! The Mission of Sweet Freedom Patriot Quilts:    "Dedicated to inspiring the creation of patriotic quilts to help Celebrate our Country's  250th Anniversary  of  FREEDOM ." FREEDOM to You and Yours in 2025/2026, Deborah Lindley Sweet Freedom Patriot Quilts Sweet FreedomPatriotQuilts@gmail.com 217.264.2051 https://SweetFreedomPatriotQuilts.blogspot.com/ "St...
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Assembling the 1776 Diamond Star Blocks

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 Our 1776 Diamond Star Block was 'inspired' by this Barn Star block: 1776 Barn Star Time to cut the fabrics - I used a rotary cutter/ruler first, to test out our EQ8 design: Land of Liberty fabrics Once the 'testing' of the first cut units for the block was complete... Rotary cut units ...time to sew! 1st Diamond Star block assembled Now it's time to 'power cut' w/my fav cutting method - AccuQuilt dies: AccuQuilt GO! dies I used - Plus a 2" Finished multiple squares Studio die ALL cut: Block units ALL cut for the additional (17) 1776 Diamond Star Blocks Time to Sew, Mama SEW!  I like to sew the flying Geese units first: Starting to chain piece the flying geese I sew one side of ALL the squares first/press, then move onto the second side. First side ready to sew After pressing the first side: 1st side of geese 'wings' getting pressed  it's time to sew the second side but first - those 'geese wing tips' need clipped: Top where the wing...
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Our NEW Mission = Sweet Freedom Patriot Quilts!

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WELCOME to a NEW Chapter = Sweet Freedom Patriot Quilts!   We are excited to get started but first, our NEW Mission : Mission:   Sweet Freedom Patriot Quilts is a blog dedicated to inspiring the creation of patriotic quilts to Celebrate our Country's 250th Anniversary of FREEDOM .  These Sweet Freedom Patriot quilts may then be awarded to those Patriots who have remained Loyal and True to our United States Constitution. Our Goal:   250 Sweet Freedom Patriot quilts created throughout the United States to help CELEBRATE our Country's 250th Anniversary on July 4, 2026 ... PLEASE join us in this lofty endeavor.  Quilts will be recorded and counted in our Sweet Freedom Patriot Quilts Facebook group:   https://www.facebook.com/groups/sweetfreedompatriotquilts One example of a Sweet Freedom Patriot Quilt : Sweet Freedom Patriot Quilt Please Note:   Our  F R E E  quilt patterns/designs are provided as a courtesy and offered for ...
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NEW Year/NEW Quilt Challenge!

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Our New Year brings NEW Beginnings, NEW Horizons and this year, a Brand-NEW Quilt Challenge! Rather than a Mystery, this will be more like an online sew-along w/twist. The 'Challenge' is to use patriotic fabric  remnants/leftovers from previous years, turn them into Patriotic Beauties to be Awarded to our Beloved Veterans and Service Members to Honor their Service and Sacrifice for our Country. This is my 'tub' or fabric remnants that I will be using throughout 2023 to create our Patriotic Beauties: Tub of Patriotic Remnants ...and this month, I've chosen the AccuQuilt GO! Feathered Star Die #55535 to create my January 2023 Patriotic quilt, inspired by the 'Icey Hot Stars' quilt pattern  Designed for AccuQuilt by Terri Vanden Bosch of Lizard Creek Quilting, available as a F R E E pattern download from AccuQuilt to members, and membership is also F R E E ;-)    AccuQuilt GO! Die #55535 Check out this wonderful AccuQuilt video on the Featured Star featu...
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Sweet Freedom Patriot Quilts RESUMES w/Twist ;-)

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Greetings Sweet Freedom Quilters, ANNOUNCEMENT: Sweet Freedom Mystery   RESUMES April, 2022! Over the past few months, we have received some incredible feedback/suggestions/recommendations . As a result, we have decided to embrace many of your ideas going forward... Thank YOU! FEEDBACK/SUGGESTIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS: Finished Quilt Sizes - in the beginning, we thought that giving 'finished' quilt sizes would be too revealing and potentially 'spoil' the mystery, and possibly 'limit' the quilter's creative potentional in choosing 'How To' finish. We will now be providing Finished Quilt Sizes and variations in sizing options whenever possible. Quilter's Choice in 'finishing' their patriotic quilt(s) based on 'their' Standards of Excellence requirements, still applies ;-) More Visual Aids for Cutting/Quilt Construction/Binding & Quilt Labeling - while most participants vol...
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Clue #2 = Pinwheels w/BIG Reveal!

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March is the beginning of our  'Twister Season'  in the  MidWest  - now is a good time to create some  Twister/Pinwheel  blocks for our March 2022 Sweet Freedom Patriot Quilts : Blue/White Pinwheel block Pinwheels: Thirty-two (32)   6 1/2"  in-the-raw Blue/White Pinwheels,  (6" FINISHED) GO!  Half-Square Triangle,  (3" FINISHED) ,  Die #55017 https://www.accuquilt.com/go-half-square-triangle-3-finished-square-die.html As most know - there are a gazillion ways to cut/sew HSTs into Pinwheel blocks - here are a couple: Fellow Blogger shares basic instructions on  How To  create a  6" FINISHED  Pinwheel block: http://delawarequilts.com/BOMs/BasicPinwheel/index.html Cutting Tips: It takes four (4) Blue and four (4) White Half Square Triangles/HSTs to create ONE (1) Pinwheel block - you need 32  TOTAL  Blue/White Pinwheel blocks = 128  Blue  HSTs and 128  White  HSTs. I was able to c...
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