Opportunity Knocks in Alaska

I took one of the quilts I recently finished for show and tell at our local guild meeting tonight. At the break a lady who came as a guest came up and said, "I was just admiring the quilt you showed tonight and wonder if there's a website where I might go to request a quilt like that. My husband is being deployed for the 3rd time to Afghanistan in November, and I know he'd love to have a little bit of 'home' to take with him." I told her yes, I could give her information, but I could also offer her that particular quilt if she'd like it. After all, a soldier heading out on his third deployment certainly deserved it. I showed her the label and said she could add his name and the date to it when she got home, and told her what kind of pen to use. After the meeting she came up again and asked if she could bring the quilt back to the meeting next month for me to sign because she'd like to have his name written in my handwriting, just as I'd written the
makers names. I quickly found someone with a Pigma pen and quickly added his name and the date. Then, after we chatted a bit about her family, I asked her to do one favor for me.......would she take a picture of her husband with the quilt......and include the whole family if they'd like to join in. She said she definitely would. "I won't let him take his uniform off tomorrow until I have that picture for you." She said that each deployment gets harder and harder. "He can use this on his bed and know that there are people back here at home that care." Yes.......this is what QOVF is all about! Opportunity knocked tonight and I was so happy I could answer! The longarmer, Nancy Rowland, was there, too, so she was also able to talk to the wife after the meeting. I think the conversation with this soldier's wife made the whole evening more meaningful for us. The beautiful lady was *so* appreciative it was a joy to hand that quilt to her.

Linda Kau, Alaska Regional Coordinator
Quilts of Valor, www.qovf.org
http://www.flickr.com/photos/h_and_l_kau/