For more than 12,000 years, the are has been inhabited including the Calusa, Timucua, Tequesta and the Seminole nations. The Calusa people lived for 2000 years on an island in southwest Florida, leaving evidence of their existence by the mounds of shells left behind. In northern Florida, the Timucua nation occupied more than 19,000 square miles. The Tequesta occupied areas along the eastern coast for more than a thousand years. Most recognizable is the Seminole, the only tribe to never sign a peace treaty, though you probably know them through their dress. Over the years, their colorful and unique designs have become recognizable. Clothing made of patchwork is still created by the Seminole people and beautiful examples can be seen in many museums, including these garments I saw at the Crazy Horse Memorial Museum in South Dakota.
In 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León became the first European to document the land, naming it La Florida (“the land of flowers”). What followed was a long and turbulent era of Spanish, French, and British colonial rivalry and the decimation of the native population.
Florida was controlled by Spain until 1821 when John Q. Adams signed the Adams-Onís Treaty, ceding the area to the United States in exchange for the U.S. abandoning its pursuit of Texas territory, still controlled by Spain. Twenty-four years later, the territory of Florida was admitted to the Union as the 27th state.
A pro-slavery state, Florida was against the freeing of enslaved people and in early 1861, was the third state to secede from the Union. Four years later, the Confederacy lost the Civil War and Florida surrendered, re-joining the United States in 1865.
In the early 1920s, with the railroad making its way to the southern east coast, tourism started with folks from the northern coast heading south for the enjoyable winters. Despite the hurricanes, some incredibly devastating, the interest in visiting (and buying property in) Florida has been unabated. Today Florida is home to more than 22 million, a remarkably diverse population of immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Puerto Rico, and Central America. And many more Americans from northern states who make the trek down when the weather turns to winter up north.
NASA opened the Kennedy Space Center in 1962 — originally called the Launch Operations Center, but renamed for JFK after his assassination. It’s from there that all the Apollo missions launched, the Space Shuttles launched and landed during the development of the International Space Station, and is now home to both the Artemis missions, Blue Origin launches and SpaceX flights.
I haven’t yet made it into the Kennedy Space Center, but I was able to squeeze in a stop at the visitor center and gift shop to get a tee for my space-loving partner, Hawke.
It’s still on my list of places to visit, as well as The Florida Keys, with it’s 113-mile Overseas Highway (including 42 bridges!). It’s one of those places that is mind-boggling to me, which means I eventually have to see it for myself!
Quilt Block
Florida is known for its storms as well as it’s incredibly long coastline, so the Storm At Sea block seemed like the perfect choice. I modified the block to fit the Quarter Millennial Quilt, so it finishes at 8 1/2″ x 10 1/2″. There are two variations on layout that you’ll want to consider and that is the inside triangle of the corner diamond. The patterns shows both ways: I made mine with all the same fabric for ease, though most Storm at Sea pattern use the one-corner-is-different method.
We use templates for this pattern and while there are many, if you layout your block first, it’s fairly simple to work through one part at a time. Make sure to place the triangles on so they create rectangles–it’s easy to get them upside down and then you end up with a misshapen polygon.
I also introduce a new technique–smashing your seam allowances. While this seems like a crazy idea, it works very well to get those pesky thick spots to get quite a bit flatter. Hammer on something stable and just give it one smack at a time from the wrong side of the fabric. I show you how I do it in the video tutorial.
Quilt Shops
- Cut Up and Sew has locations in Palm Coast and St. Augustine and offers classes, machines, long arming and fun Facebook lives.
- The Sew Studio Fabric Super Store in Maitland was one of the first places I taught as a Cuddle® ambassador and what impressed me the most was the range of fabric types and notions that they had available. You can find almost anything you need there, so check them out online and in-person.
- Coastal Stitches in Destin carries an impressive range of quilting cottons, including modern fabrics, novelty, children and Florida-themed. They offer long-arm quilting services and you can see the range of pantographs available on their website.
If you live in or have visited Florida, I’d love to hear more about it. Especially if you’ve seen a rocket launch or driven that highway to Key West!
