1. The song wasn’t around on the first Independence Day, in 1776. In fact, it wasn’t until the second war with Britain, decades later, that it was written.

2. The words of the song were written near the end of the War of 1812 — in September 1814, to be exact, by Frances Scott Key. The British had just burned Washington, DC, and were headed to Baltimore to bombard Ft. McHenry. Key was on a British ship seeking the release of another American and was kept on the fleet to prevent him from warning about the British plans.

3. Key wrote a poem, “Defense of Ft. McHenry,” in honor of the huge American flag that hung after the successful American defense of Ft. McHenry. The poem later was set to the music of a popular tune at the time, “The Anacreontic Song.” Ironically, that song had been written by a Brit, probably John Stafford Smith.

4. The stirring song was unofficially adopted as the national anthem and played at 4th of July celebrations throughout the 1800s. In 1889, it was officially adopted by the Navy as the song to be played when the flag is raised. (Click on the link below to hear the Navy Band play it.)

In 1897, it was played at the opening day baseball game in Philadelphia. In 1916, President Wilson ordered it played at military and other patriotic occassions. The song became even more popular when it was sung at the 1918 World Series of Baseball, in honor of the armed forces fighting in World War I.

5. On March 3, 1931, Congress proclaimed the Star Spangled Banner as the national anthem.

6. In our Storybook Quilt, Emily and Maurice the Cat hear the band playing the Star Spangled Banneras their runaway balloon soars above the park.

7. The song is very difficult to sing! In 2009, the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian held a national singing contest that anyone could enter. See the results here.

Star Spangled Banner by the Navy Band

©2010 Storybook Quilts Rocks!. All Rights Reserved.

Did you know that hot air balloons have been around just about as long as the United States? The first unmanned flight was 227 years ago today — June 4, 1983 — in France. The first manned flight was later that year in Paris – Benjamin Franklin was there to see that. In the US, George Washington watched the first flight here in 1793.

If you want to watch the beauty of hot air balloons yourself, visit one of the many hot air balloon festivals that take place around the world every year. To find out when there is one near you, check out this excellent list. There is one near us in just two weeks – we’ll be there!

The romance of hot air balloons has crept into our own stories here at Storybook Quilts. It’s a ride in a runaway hot air balloon that creates such an adventure for Emily in our Maurice the Cat Storybook Quilt. In our red sportscar Storybook Quilt, a hot air balloon helps Dad warn David about the dangers on his exciting drive to the game with the star player.

Of course, you don’t have to be a character in one of our Storybook Quilts to take a hot air balloon ride. HotAirBallooning.com lists dozens of companies in the US that offer rides.

Have already ridden a hot air balloon? Tell us about it!

©2010 Storybook Quilts Rocks!. All Rights Reserved.

According to whatscookingamerica.net, Philadelphia was the ice cream capital of the US by the early 1800s. Large quantities of ice cream were produced there and its public ice cream “houses” were famous. A much-loved vanilla-and-egg flavor was named “Philadelphia.”

The “father of ice cream” is Augustus Jackson, an African-American cook/chef at the White House, who is credited with developing the modern method of making ice cream in around 1832. He used ice mixed with salt to lower and control the temperature of his special mix of ingredients. He later moved to Philadelphia where he distributed his popular flavors in tin cans to Philadelphia’s many ice cream parlors.

It took a woman named Nancy (Johnson), though, to invent the first hand-cranked ice cream maker. Her basic design, still used today, made it possible for anyone to make ice cream at home. (I remember my father doing that – hand cranking as we watched the fireflies on the 4th of July. Was that good ice cream!)

A continuing argument is who made the first ice cream cone. Rumor has it that the first ice cream cone was created at the St. Louis Exposition of 1904 when an ice cream vendor ran out of bowls and a pastry maker then put the ice cream in crisp wafers. This may have been the first cone in the US (or not), but it wasn’t the first in the world.

We found almost as many facts about ice cream as there are ice cream lovers, so we’ll stop here (and go get some ice cream!).

What’s your favorite ice cream? Or your favorite ice cream concoction?

Ice cream features in our Storybook Quilt about Emily and Maurice the Cat. Emily shares the end of her cone with Maurice just before they go off on a very unexpected balloon adventure! Of course, the quilt includes an ice cream cone fabric – our stories are written around the fabrics in the quilt.

A PS: We do know that Memorial Day has a very serious and important side to it. Children do need learn about it and we hope that parents make a point of that.

©2010 Storybook Quilts Rocks!. All Rights Reserved.

So, to make it a bit more real, below are just a few of the unsolicited comments Storybook Quilts owners have sent in. We’ll include others in subsequent posts.

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This mother’s two daughters each received an SQ for Christmas last year from their grandparents. The quilts were Amos the Bear and Maggie the Dog.

“I think the idea of the personalized quilt and book is a great one. The quilts themselves are really beautiful and obviously made meticulously by a talented artist. I absolutely love the different printed fabrics–really vivid, unique patterns and just so interesting to look at even without the story line to follow. A real feast for the eyes!

“About the stories: Chloe and Hannah loved that their names were in the stories. Their eyes lit up when they heard the stories were about them. They also really liked listening to the story and looking at the quilt so they could point out when I was reading a part that matched a quilt square. (We have both quilts hung up in the nursery so they are looking at the quilt on the wall as I read.)”

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An fully customized version of Winnie the Frog was made for a boy’s fifth birthday. In addition to the special square on the quilt, the story was revised to include family details and use his name for the main human character. It was a gift from his aunt and her family.

“I’ve been meaning to send you a note for weeks — Thank you for the beautiful quilt! It is really very lovely and Rafael enjoyed the story very much. I’ll remember to keep you in mind when friends ask about a special gift to give someone.”

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Most recently, we heard from Kelly, who won the contest this summer to name the turtle character in our Captured by Pirates Storybook Quilt.

“Nancy, I can’t tell you how fun it has been showing off your quilt and book to our friends and family. Everyone agrees that this is such a beautiful gift and we are so very fortunate to have this lasting representation of our summer with lunas. [The family raised luna moths, an experiment for their 4-year-old daughter.] Your book has been so fun! Our favorite part of the story is when the crabs come in to tell Adia a rescue is being planned. It might have *something* to do with the crazy whispery-voice-with-foreign-accent we’ve created just for them, but it sends the girls into giggles.

“I also love that you’ve ended the story with the question about whether it was a dream or real. This has been a fun discussion with Adia at each story’s end.”

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Don’t you think it’s time you ordered a Storybook Quilt for the child in your life?

Orders are being taking for Hanukkah until mid-November and for Christmas/Kwanzaa/New Year’s until early December. Order now to be sure your SQ is in the production queue.

Contact us through our website or on our Facebook Fan page or on Twitter @StorybookQuilts. We look forward to making your Storybook Quilt!

©2010 Storybook Quilts Rocks!. All Rights Reserved.

Maggie the Dog Storybook Quilt

Grandparents, I believe, have a special role in being living proof that one doesn’t have to always be involved in the latest latest to be valued or find satisfaction in life. Grandparents also provide a link to timeless traditions and activities that are both exciting and comforting.

It’s grandparents, often, who have the time that busy parents do not to dabble in such things with their granchildren — a little fingerpainting and papier mache creation, making (and “testing!”) a few cookies, helping fit together a puzzle, exploring the wondrous animals at the zoo, feeding the squirrels in the park, going fishing in the beaver pond, planting a garden and watching it grow, or reading stories together.

These are timeless pleasures that do much to restore one’s soul, at any age, and are the building blocks for a good set of coping skills that are invaluable throughout life.

At Storybook Quilts, the special bond between grandparents and grandchildren is one thing the spurs us on to create the quilts and write the matching stories. We imagine a grandparent cuddled with a grandchild under a quilt, reading a story that plays out in the fabrics in the quilt. The stories are adventures that keep one’s attention to the end; the quilts become companions that can help recollect that cozy, comforting feeling of being held and read to by grandma or grandpa. These are memories that always are precious; our unique quilts with matching stories help ensure that they remain strong for years to come.

We are continuously adding to our themes and now have eight available: DanZy the Rabbit, Amos the Bear, Maggie the Dog, Maurice the Cat, Dapper Dan the Snowman, Vroom Vroom the Red Sportscar, Winnie the Frog and the yet-to-be-named sea turtle. (The contest to name the turtle has just ended; the winners will be announced shortly.)

Happy Grandparent’s Day!

©2010 Storybook Quilts Rocks!. All Rights Reserved.

The power of stories and quilts to both comfort and create lasting memories is built into each Storybook Quilt. I see a child being held on the lap of a close relative, cuddled up under the quilt, listening to a familiar and soothing voice. The tale the voice is telling plays out in the fabrics in the quilt squares, which both the reader and the listener seek out as the story goes along.

Maurice the Cat Storybook Quilt

Perhaps best of all, that wonderful, comforting feeling of being held and read to becomes an integral part of the quilt—always there, now and for years to come.

Win a Storybook Quilt for the treasured child in your life by entering the Name the Turtle Contest, now though August 30th.

©2010 Storybook Quilts Rocks!. All Rights Reserved.