Meet Our New Longarm/Topper Coordinator

Hello! My name is Judie Yates. I am thrilled and honored to be a part of the Quilts of Valor Foundation team.

I have been a sewer since I was 13 when I bugged my mother to teach me to sew. I quickly advanced beyond what Mom knew and enrolled in my school’s Home Economics class. (That tells you a little bit about how old I am!) When I became a mother of two beautiful children, I continued to sew for my little ones but it wasn’t too long before they didn’t want “homemade” clothes so it was then that I got into quilting. At the time, we lived in a small town in the high desert of Southern California with one grocery store and a TG&Y (another reference to my age). Eleanor Burns came to town and gave a lecture at the junior college and I was hooked! With her log cabin book and my red, white and blue fabrics from the dime store, I taught myself by making two quilts for my son’s bunk beds. He’s 35 years old now and still owns one of those quilts today so I must have done something right.

In 2007, I bought my longarm machine and shortly thereafter volunteered with QOV and have loved every minute of it. The stories that have been shared along with the quilts that have been donated have touched me deeply. I can’t imagine not being involved with those who have given so much for me, my family and our country.

My husband and best friend for 31 years is my biggest supporter and, with his help, I hope to not only cover my family with love through my quilting but also to, in some small way, repay a portion of the sacrifices our soldiers and their families have made on our behalf.