The Irish Drillmaster

The Irish Drillmaster

Tuesday mornings we gather together
At Horse Power Farm, no matter the weather.
The indoor arena allows us to learn
From an expert horseman, although quite stern.
Drillmaster McGirk barks out her orders -
"That's a C, an A, that's a D, are you snoring?
Look at his ears, you gave him no warning!

Some riders are deaf, and some just don't get it,
The horses forgiving and looking quite fit.
"What 's wrong with my circle, too big or too small?
Just make up your mind or else I may fall!"

At last she approved, "You're horses look happy."
And Jo chose great music to make us look snappy.
She designed a Halloween dance for all to study
So we could perform it with our best buddy.

Little black capes we pinned to our backs,
as we danced and flanked around the tracks.
The people they cheered and dropped their plates
into the arena where they looked like snakes.

The horses, like people, so different, but yet
All came together for the final set.
The music played on and we pulled it together
on a glorious day of the best fall weather.

Barb Jansz

History comes to life

History comes to life
Article from:The Sun - Lisle (IL) Article date:April 27, 2007Author:By Tim Waldorf More results for:jeanine nicarico Literacy

At 12:14 a.m. July 30, 1945, a Japanese submarine torpedoed the USS Indianapolis, shown here at Pearl Harbor, while it was en route from Guam to the Leyte Gulf in the Philippines.|Kuryla|A showcase filled with USS Indianapolis memorabilia is on display at Kennedy Junior High School in Lisle.|USS Indianapolis survivors George Laws, left, and Michael Kuryla share a private word April 20 before their presentation to Kennedy Junior High School eighth-graders. The World War II sailors were among 317 survivors after a torpedo strike sunk the Indianapolis.

There's history - and there are those who change it. Paulette Goodman, Kennedy Junior High School's library resource center director, is giving the school's eighth-graders face-to-face meetings with both. Goodman used a Jeanine Nicarico Memorial Literacy Fund grant to bring Bartlett resident Michael Kuryla, survivor of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis, to school April 20 to speak to the students. Survivor George Laws of Manchester also was there.
The grant also allowed Goodman to do the same April 23 with Hunter Scott, who helped exonerate the ship's captain.

Kennedy's eighth-graders have studied World War II, but have no concept of the suffering and sacrifices of its veterans on behalf the country, she said. That's where Kuryla came into play April 20 when he spoke of his experience.

On April 23, they learned from Scott how one voice - a voice much like their own - can make a difference.

"This is an experience that does not go away," she said.

The Indianapolis

At 12:14 a.m. July 30, 1945, a Japanese submarine torpedoed the USS Indianapolis while it was en route from Guam to Leyte Gulf in the Philippines. The ship sank in 12 minutes, and, of the 1,196 men on board, about 300 went down with it.

"I thought it was going to end. I thought I was going to die right there," Kuryla said of the moment he ran out of breath and water began to flood into his nose as the sinking ship sucked him beneath the sea. "The next thing I know, I came up to the surface and I clung onto something, and I looked and I saw the ship, just the back of the ship going down."

The rest of the crew, about 900 men, were left floating in shark-infested waters - some, such as Kuryla, in life rafts, some in just life preservers, but all without food or fresh water.

The ship was returning from the Philippines after delivering the first atomic bomb to a secret military location. This was the bomb that would be dropped on Hiroshima a week later, helping to end the war.

Because the Indianapolis was on such an important mission, it was kept a secret. No other ship on the waters knew the location of the Indianapolis, and nobody but its surviving crew members knew it had sunk. So by the time the survivors were spotted by accident four days later, only 316 men were still alive.

Scott and McVay

The ship's captain, the late Charles Butler McVay III, was one of the 316 survivors, but he was court-martialed and convicted for the sinking of the Indianapolis. The Navy said he placed the ship in jeopardy by failing to "zigzag" through the Philippine Sea so as to avoid such an attack.

McVay's dedicated crew believed he was made a scapegoat for the mistakes of others in the Navy. Thanks to Scott, their beliefs were validated. At the age of 11, Scott began extensive and relentless research on the USS Indianapolis incident after hearing about it while watching the movie "Jaws."

"His voice was the only one willing to contest the findings of the U.S. government and the U.S. Navy concerning the USS Indianapolis, its captain and its men," Goodman said.

His voice was heard. In October 2000, President Clinton signed legislation stating McVay should be exonerated for the loss of the Indianapolis and for the deaths of its crew members. The Navy amended McVay's record accordingly in July 2001, but his conviction remains on his record, as the U.S. military has never overturned a court-martial verdict, and there is no known process for doing so.

Still, for survivors such as Kuryla (and there are only 84 of them left), their beloved leader's name had finally, although posthumously, been cleared due in large part to Scott's work. That meant a lot to them, Kuryla said.

"He was such a good officer, and they blamed him for something that he was not guilty of. That's the way we felt, and the whole crew felt that way," he said. "We just loved the man. We would follow that man again if there was a possibility."

Author Peter Nelson told Scott's story, as well as those of the survivors, in the book "Left for Dead," which Kennedy's eighth-graders read in preparation for these visits.

On April 23, learned firsthand from Scott how "just one voice changed the history of a man, his ship and the USS Indianapolis survivors," Goodman said. They had "opportunities to question and discuss the level of courage that was undertaken by this young man, the steps he took to accomplish his mission and the aftermath of the experience."

They will then take on similar projects of their own, she said.

"They (will) pick one issue that is meaningful to them and then ... pursue steps that will aid in a positive change for that issue," she said. "It may take years to learn of the impact of this program, but it will be felt."

Contact Tim Waldorf at twaldorf@scn1.com or 630-416-5270.

Bartering with Placemats and coasters

The criss-cross coasters and four placemats I made for a local silent auction charity, were purchased by someone who knew me. I was delighted to receive a call from her letting me know how thrilled she and her husband were with the fabric choice and craftsmanship! I didn't ask her what it went for, but I'm anxious to find out!

As a quilter, I so enjoy it when someone who receives my work appreciates the design process and craftsmanship that went into it, even a simple project like coasters and placemats. But here's the best part. She remembered when my husband and I were at their home for a supper club dinner last fall and we so admired her husband's hand crafted wooden hobby horses. The smaller of the two styles had caught our eye because it reminded us of our miniature horse, Spandangles. She wanted to know if I would make four more placemats and a tablerunner in exchange for the wooden hobby horse.

Of course I would! I let her know that I may have to exchange one of the fabrics for a similar one, but that I did have more of the main fabrics that I had originally used. The only time consuming part of these placemats is hand sewing all the binding. It does finish them crisply and adds a nice design element, but I think next I will experiment with creating a placemat that I can just add a backing to, and then do the quilting after it has been turned to the right side.

Well I decided I better get on it right away, and try to get them finished before Easter in case she wanted to use them, so I finished them this week and am ready to deliver them today. They turned out so nice, and I wish I had a set myself, but that is yet to come. I'm beginning to think that placemats, runner and coasters may be some of the next family gift items that I make.

Simple Quilt Sleeve

Here’s a simple idea I found in Quiltmaker magazine to use instead of a quilt sleeve on smaller wall hangings. I tried it out on three advent calendars I made for grand nieces and nephews this past Christmas.

Fold two 3” squares into triangles by folding in half and in half again. Match the triangles raw edges to the upper corners of the quilt’s back so that it will get caught in the seam when you add the binding )and sew it on instead of the traditional sleeve for hanging. Bind the quilt as you normally would. You can also use the triangle as your quilt label, by writing on it, if you use a light fabric to create the triangles.

Measure and cut a narrow dowel rod to fit into the corners. You can do the same thing on the bottom to add stability.

The quilt sleeve triangles will need to be stitched on before the binding is stitched to the quilt. For larger wall hangings 26" - 45", cut two squares that measure 8".
The tip was from Terry Chilko, Morgantown, West Virginia, She has a nice visual on her webpage. http://www.terrychilko.com/

Quilt Guilds

I've been reading some blog discussions about quilt guilds, and if it is helpful to become a member of a guild. I live in a rural area, and have traveled a distance to become a member of a large guild across the river, and belong to a little bitty local guild of about 30 members. For me, the small local guild works best.


We make many donation quilts for the babies born in our county and for a local Justice Center that helps abused children. The ladies in our guild are very generous with their time and talents, and I think that is true of most all quilters.

I am always inspired by the quilts that members share during the Show & Tell part of the meeting. It is so interesting to see what everyone is working on and how they solve the challenges that come along. We also have wonderful programs from members, local quilt shops and speakers that we bring in.

Last year we had our "5-year annual" Quilt Show and were able to have Jennifer Chivarini come as a speaker. Many of the members had made her sampler quilt, Sarah's Sampler, the year before I joined. She had a wonderful trunk show and talk, and then autographed books that we had for sale.

We made a hand quilted Raffle Quilt for the Quilt Show. It was quilted here on my frame, and was a wonderful way to get to know many of the members even better. The Friendship Star pattern was used, and it turned out to be a great money maker. Each member of the guild contributed so much time and talent toward the Quilt Show.



We meet once a month. I enjoy the challenges that are offered, and the group projects. Right now our group project is House on Willow Hill http://www.willowhillquilts.net/, which I've referred to before. In years past we've done other projects that have been presented in a quilt magazine as a series, with parts introduced each month.

My second year as a member I joined the Row by Row project which was a quilt that had been in American Patchwork & Quilting in April 2002. It was called Prairie Times. Each member made a collection of fabrics that they would like used in the quilt. Each month the collection of fabric was rotated to a different member on your Row by Row team, and an additional row was added. The surprise came during the fifth month, when the rows were returned to you, all completed in combinations of colors you may not have chosen yourself. You then did a final row, added the borders and finished your quilt.




Two years ago we did America the Beautiful, a row-by-row project from Quiltmaker magazine 2002 http://www.quiltmaker.com/ Again, we selected our fabrics, were assigned to a team and the fun began. The wonderful thing about a project like this is, that no matter what, you found time to do that row of sewing each month, because you couldn't let your team down. This one is going to a special niece when she graduates from Thuderbird School of International Business in May of 2009.


Last year we did the 12 Days of Christmas, 7 part series from Quiltmaker magazine that began in the Nov./Dec. issue 2003. This one we did individually. Some ladies hand appliqued their blocks and others, like myself machine appliqued them. It was so much fun to discover how easy it is to machine applique. I forgot to take a photo of my finished quilt before I gave it to my godchild/niece for her 25th birthday and graduation from Loyola Law School in May 2007.

The time was spent in going through fabrics to determine what I would use in each block. Many of the fabrics I used came from a collection of "Nickel Squares" that our guild had exchanged the previous two years. A "Nickel Square" is a 5" square of fabric. It came from Pat Speth's idea to create scrappy quilts and her book, Nickel Quilts and More Nickel Quilts. We had already had Pat Speth and her partner as a speaker at our guild two years earlier.

I also enjoy my involvement with the guild committees. I was secretary for a few years, and now I am the newsletter chairman. Other quilt guilds exchange newsletters with me by e-mail. That gives all of us new ideas to post in our own newsletters and ideas for future programs. I've also enjoyed working on the Program Committee. I think our little guild of 30 members accomplishes a lot together.
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Paper Piecing

The second Friday of the month is when I go to my local quilt shop http://www.phatquartersquilting.com/ to pick up the next three stars in the series of Carol Doak's 50 Fabulous States Stars, all 12-inch, paper-pieced, and complete with excellent instructions. We began a year ago, and have about four more months to go to complete the stars representing the 50 states.

Cutting the fabric to fit is one of the things that make paper piecing so frustrating for beginners like myself, but my quilt shop, has it pre-cut using the charts in Carol's book, and the pieces allow you plenty of "fudge" room. When doing paper piecing you have to "think right" and "sew left-side". Stashbusters newsletter suggested the paper piecing tutorial on Judy Neimeyer's homepagepage http://www.quiltworx.com/ .It is excellent and shows you step-by-step what to do.

Carol Doak also makes a translucent paper you can feed through your printer and its non-woven construction allows you to tear it away easier than most papers. My favorite paper is Fun-dation from HTCW inc. It's like Carol Doak's paper, but they even suggest you leave it in to stabilize your project. Because it's translucent, you can easily see where it is that you are positioning your fabric on the "RIGHT side", so when you turn it to the wrong ("LEFT") side to sew, it's almost fool proof. If you want to tear it out, it comes out quite easily. Many old quilts, like Grandmother's Flower Garden left the paper in for added warmth.

The great thing about this Block-of-the-Month project is that I just had to purchase the book at Phat Quarters and they supply me with the pre-cut fabric each month, that will result in four different quilts in four different color-ways.If I can't make it into the store that month, I can go later and pay $3 for the three stars, which is still a great bargain.

A friend and I are swapping one of the colorways, so that she and I will end up with 24 blocks in one of the color-ways and 0 in the other. We each gave up a colorway that we weren't thrilled about, and now will have enough blocks to make one of the quilts larger.

Another benefit of this 16-month process has been having time to think about how I want to "set" each of the three quilts. I've been collecting pictures from different quilt magazines. One of the quilts I want to set on point and intersperse with plain blocks so that I can showcase some quilting. Another I hope to do a center applique set on point, with the 12 blocks around it, and the third is still in the dreaming phase.

Criss-cross Coasters for Valentine's Gifts

I love the criss-cross coasters that I learned how to make by reading Allsorts blog on typepad. They are the quickest, easiest gifts I've ever made. You need two coordinating fabrics cut in 4.5" strips, a 4" piece of medium weight interfacing and another 4.5" piece for the inner lining. It's all in the folding and layering, a quick stitching, and turning them inside out and you're finished! Thanks, Jennie B. Harris for the clear tutorial you have posted on your blog. http://allsorts.typepad.com/allsorts/2006/11/crisscross_coas.html

I taught my local quilting group how to make them at our last meeting. They make a cute hostess gift, birthday gift, etc. They are nice to have on hand for a last minute thank you gift. Right now I'm making them in soft pinks/greens for Valentine gifts. A friend made them up in white-on-white and a bright spiral red and they look terrific. She's using them as a dinner party favor for a dinner club.

This weekend I designed a simple placemat that coordinates with them that I am making for a Silent Auction that will benefit a local restoration project. I don't have a digital camera, but I'll try to post a photo of them soon.