Be part of the 1812 Star-Spangled Quilt Project

THE DETAILS:

The Genea-Quilters group will be creating a quilt themed to honor Francis Scott Key’s “Star-Spangled Banner”. The purpose of this project is to raise awareness and donate funds to the War of 1812 Preserve the Pensions Fund, supporting efforts to digitize the War of 1812 Pension Applications held by the US National Archives.

The quilt will be awarded at the completion of the project period by a random drawing from the names of those who have participated in the project in any, or all, of the following three ways:

1.   Create a block for the Star-Spangled Banner quilt.

To maintain a consistent look for the overall quilt, participants must follow the following recommendations for fabric choice, size, and block style.

§  FABRIC: Once the center panel has been created, fabric guidelines and recommendations including colors and manufacturers, will be displayed on the Genea-Quilters Blog. (Please check back around Nov 10th - notification will be made on Facebook and on the blog when the fabric guidelines are available. Thank you for your patience!)

§  SIZE: Finished trimmed block size must be squared to 10”.

§  PATTERN: Please choose any traditional-style block pattern. Suggestions and website links to block patterns will be available on the Genea-Quilters Blog.

Blocks will not be accepted for inclusion in the quilt if they contain applique or embellishment of any kind, such as paints, beads, charms, etc.

In order to be included in the final quilt, all block submissions must be accompanied by BOTH a completed official submission form, and a photograph of the entrant holding their quilt block. Submission forms will be available on the Genea-Quilters Blog.. Additional photographs are welcome. Submission forms and photographs are to be submitted with the quilt block, or sent digitally to GeneaQuilters1812@gmail.com. If a quilter has not returned their submission form, the quilt block may not be included in the final quilt.

2.  Submit an article for the accompanying e-book.

Submit an original article of no less than 250 words about your ancestor that participated in the War of 1812 in some way, OR how using digitized military records has enriched your own genealogy research.  Articles should be typed with minimal formatting, and may (but are not required to) include up to four photographs.

3.  Donate to the Star-Spangled Banner Quilt Fund.

A dedicated Pay-Pal account has been set up to accept donations which will be given to the Preserve the Pensions Fund at the close of the Star-Spangled Banner Quilt Project. All monetary donations to this account will go directly to the Preserve the Pensions fund at the completion of the Star-Spangled Banner Quilt Project. Donations may be made at http://tinyurl.com/QuiltDonate

In order to gain an entry into the final drawing for the quilt, a contributor’s name must accompany their monetary donation. Those wishing to remain anonymous may so indicate at the time of their donation, but will be also entered into the drawing for the quilt unless they also specifically request to be excluded.  Unless anonymity is requested, donors’ names (but not contribution amounts) may be included in the memorial booklet being prepared about the quilt, the quilters, and their ancestor stories.

Additional Information:

All submissions to the Star-Spangled Banner Quilt Project, including all quilt blocks, articles, and monetary or material donations, will become the property of Genea-Quilters. Any written submissions will be given appropriate credit and attribution to the author, along with permission for that author to post or publish all or any part of their original work in any other form.

Any costs associated with the creation and promotion of the Star-Spangled Banner Quilt will be handled with separate donations made by arrangement with the Star-Spangled Banner Quilt coordinators. Possible additional expenses may include quilt construction, machine quilting, transportation, as well as memorial book and other printing expenses, if any.

Monies received will be reported monthly via the Genea-Quilters Blog. Project progress and any additional notifications or information will also be updated regularly on the Genea-Quilters Blog. All contributions made to the Genea-Quilters Star Spangled Banner Quilt Project PayPal account will be donated to the War of 1812 Preserve the Pensions Fund  at the completion of the project time period.

Participants may participate as much as they would like, however only one entry will be submitted per individual.

Everyone who contributes in at least one of the three ways listed above will receive a PDF copy of the Memorial book.

Winner will be chosen at random and the decision of the judges is final.

Timeline of Events

The timeline for the creation, display, and awarding of the quilt is tentatively set as follows:

10/1/2015	Project officially begins	All Genea-Quilters	The Genea-Quilters will create a quilt in honor of Francis Scott Key and his creation of the Star Spangled Banner during the bombardment of Ft. McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland during the War of 1812. Monies raised will be donated to the Federation of Genealogical Societies for their "Preserve The Pensions" project.
10/15/2015	Voting on center panel design BEGINS	All Genea-Quilters	The quilt blocks will frame a central theme block. The final size of the quilt will depend on the number of blocks received.
10/25/2015	Voting on center panel design ENDS at midnight Eastern Standard Time	All Genea-Quilters	Be sure to vote!
10/26/2015	Details posted on the Genea-Quilters blog	All Genea-Quilters	Fabric, block size and pattern guidelines will be available.
Ongoing	Updates	All participants	Pictures and project updates will be posted on the Genea-Quilters Facebook page and blog.
2/25/2016	Absolute final cut-off for receiving quilt blocks	Tami Osmer Mize	All block submissions MUST be received by February 25, 2016. Please allow for adequate delivery time depending on how you send them.
5/1/2016	Deadline for articles for Memorial Book	All Genea-Quilters	In addition to the required "1812 Ancestor" form to be submitted with any quilt block, participants must also submit photographs of themselves holding their block submission. Additional 1812 Ancestor stories and information will be accepted up to this date as well.
5/1/2016	Quilting	To be determined	Finished quilt will be sent out for final stitching.
8/31/2016	Memorial book available	Tami Osmer Mize	PDF copy of memorial book emailed to all participants.
8/31 - 9/3/2016	Quilt and Memorial Book On Display	FGS attendees	The final quilt will be on display at the 2016 FGS Conference in Springfield, Illinois, at the FGS booth.
2/8 - 2/11/2017	Quilt and Memorial Book On Display	RootsTech 2017	The final quilt will be on display at the FGS booth.
2/11/2017	Presentation of Quilt	RootsTech 2017	Drawing will be done at RootsTech 2017, date to be determined.

The coordinators for the Star-Spangled Banner Quilt Project are Tami Osmer Mize, Gena Philibert Ortega, and Pat Richley-Erickson.  Additional details, or any changes to these will be noted on the Genea-Quilters Blog and the Genea-Quilters Facebook Group.  Please email any questions to GeneaQuilters1812@gmail.com.