Alaskan Veterans Honored with Quilts of Valor

On October 11, 2012, forty five residents of the Veterans and Pioneer Home in Palmer, Alaska, were presented with Quilts of Valor to show our appreciation for their service to our country. These veterans served in World War II, Korea and Viet Nam. All branches of our military were represented.

Before the presentation a couple of the gentlemen wheeled their chairs up close to the tables covered with quilts. One, a World War II sailor, just kept shaking his head saying, “So much work has gone into these. You can’t just give them away!” We assured him that the work put into the quilts paled in comparison to his own work.  He was still repeating “Just so much work!”  later in the evening after all 45 had been presented to his fellow veterans.

The evening’s ceremony was opened with the introduction of Colony High School’s ROTC Honor Guard by VFW State Commander J. R. Hastings. After leading the Pledge of Allegiance and a short prayer he then offered the floor to us to present the quilts. Each quilt was opened and shown to the audience before presenting it to its recipient.

One lady veteran shed a few tears as she remembered the “boys” whom she cared for during her years as an Army Nurse during the Korean War. “It was just shameful what those boys had to endure,” she said with a shake of her head. Then she tightly clutched her quilt to her chest.

One highlight of the evening came when a Marine veteran came in, dressed with pride in a t-shirt that proclaimed “My Grandson is a Marine.” He was so excited that his grandson had enlisted as an honor to him that he quickly dismissed this own Purple Heart and the service he had given to his country in previous years.

Each of the quilts presented that cool October evening were made by quilters around the Mat-Su Valley, ranging from Anchorage, Palmer, Wasilla, Big Lake and Willow, Alaska. 

submited by Linda K - QOV Coordinator in Alaksa

The Story of A QOV

 I am writing to you to make sure that I am following all the correct processes to deliver a QOV. I have just finished my first QOV. I did all the work myself using a "Weave It To Me" Pattern I fell in love with at the Home Machine Quilt Show in Salt Lake City last May. I followed all the requirements and did the longarm quilting at a friend's home in Wyoming. I wrote about my process on my blog ( http://www.rootsandwings-srr.blogspot.com/ ) beginning on Memorial Day May 28th. I am working on completing a journal for "my soldier."

I was even able to present it and you can read that story with more pictures http://www.rootsandwings-srr.blogspot.com/2012/09/quilt-of-valor-5-full-circle.html

Suzanne R

Colorado

Mystery Quilts

Two new mysteries are starting!!! Get your creative thinking caps on and join in

The first is at http://www.persimmonquilts.com/Mystery27/Mystery27-Homepage.html

The Second is at:   http://groups.yahoo.com  and in the search box type : MysteryQuilts4Military

and you an join that group and be off and running!!!

CT Quilters Group

Hello!
My name is Kathy T. and I would like to let you know about our QOV group in Tampa, FL. We call ourselves the CT Quilters – named after our Under Our Wings quilt shop sponsor, The Crafty Threads Quilt Shop.

We are a relatively new group and we're growing and adding new members each month. Right now we are concentrating on donating our quilts to the Poly-Trauma Unit at the James A Haley VA Hospital here in Tampa – we've been able to make and donate 15 quilts this year to that facility. These have been counted and registered with the QOVF.

I'd really like to thank Bonnie Hunter for our "regular" pattern – the "Fourth of July!". We make up block kits from this pattern (either 4-patches or snowballs) that quilters can check out at the Shop and return at their convenience. Our group then assembles the scrappy tops and gets them to our volunteer quilters. We've also made up several "alternative" patterns from donated panels and fabrics.

We are also so thankful for Le Ann Weaver at Persimmon Quilts and her fantastic mystery quilts. You can see at least three of her mysteries that our volunteers have made up recently at our blog site (#'s 4, 20 and 24).

I'd like to invite you to visit out blog at:
http://qov-ctquiltersgroup.blogspot.com/

We have a wonderful group of quilters that are enjoying contributing to the QOV mission. Your comment and/or advice is always welcome!

Kathy T. in Tampa

Houston - International Quilt Festival

CHECK OUT BOOTH'S
 #5745 and 5844; located between Aisles R and S in the Special Exhibits area. 

The booth will have a display of representative QOV. Volunteers will accept your completed quilts labeled as a Quilt of Valor with the presentation case. The perk for volunteering is free entrance to the show on the day that you help spread the word about QOV and let our warriors know that they are not forgotten. You may also sign a block and write a message; sew a block; and donate patriotic fabric, thread, rotary cutters and blades. We'll be "sew" happy to see you!

 If you will be attending the Houston Quilt Festival Nov. 1-4 and would like to help at the QOV booth, please contact cynthia@qovf.org.

Seneca Textile Guild

the 2012 design for Quilts of Valor-

Hello Alycia,

 I wanted to let you know that we enjoyed your Not So Top Secret pattern.

We used your fine tutorial as a guide for our QOV donation program this year. The members of The Seneca Textile Guild meet in Seneca falls , N.Y. They have been donating quilts to this worthy cause for years. Thank you for posting this and I'll share a photo of the final Number of quilts made. S. Kasulke

If you are interested in this pattern - it can be found 

as a pdf file

or here

QOV goes to MQX West

Quilts of Valor made a strong showing at MQX West in Portland this past week.

Our display consisted of a variety of quilting methods which included pieced, counted X-stitch, machine and hand applique, paper pieced and machine appliqued and embroidered. June Moore, Exec Director, Judie Yates, LA Coordinator, WA RC Carol Olsen, ID RC Sharon Ledbetter, Quilters Tami Drader, Colfax, WA, Debbie Hersko & Cherrie Takenaka, Spokane and Debbie, Judy and Linda from Montavilla worked the booth.

The QOV group from Montavilla, OR did a wonderful job of recruiting quilters and LA's alike. The group is lead by Debbie Turner and Judy Fletcher.

Mike Moore was our "group husband" for the event. He is a great gofer - ripper (hate to do that to anyone) and human being extraordinary!!! We considered him the Rooster in the hen house and appreciated everything he did for us.

I am a very early riser. Our first morning there, I took a quilt to bind and headed to the lobby of the Red Lion to let my roommate sleep. Richard is the Chief Engineer for the hotel. 

He is a combat veteran from Vietnam. I told him we would have a QOV for him during the show. The first quilt off the frame was trimmed and bound. On Friday morning we presented him in the lobby. There were a lot of tears and gratitude. (By the way - my feet never hit the floor before 6 after that first morning -)

--

Submitted by
Sharon Ledbetter
Idaho Regional Coordinator
Quilts of Valor Foundation

Nebraska Governor's Ag Excellence

 For more than a decade, the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority (NIFA) has sponsored The Governor's Agriculture Excellence Awards which honors and financially rewards 4-H Clubs and FFA Chapters each year for outstanding performance. The awards are competitive and are granted to Clubs and Chapters that most actively implement the mission and strategies of the organization by using a program of activities that emphasizes student development, Club/Chapter development, and community development. Clubs/Chapters are rewarded for providing educational experiences for the entire membership. The Governor’s Agricultural Excellence Award aids in improving the quality of the agricultural education program and helps prepare young people for careers in agriculture.

The Kool Kreative Kids 4-H Club in Kearney County, Nebraska received a 2012 Governor's Ag Excellence Award and used part of its grant money to support Quilts of Valor by purchasing the fabric and supplies to make a QOV. As you can see from the attached thank you note, Club Members did a great job on the quilt as it received purple ribbons at both the county and state level.

Attached is a scan of the thank you note NIFA received.

Governor's Ag Excellence
Program Description

The Nebraska Investment Finance Authority, which offers agricultural financing opportunities through the Beginning Farmer/Rancher Program, formed an annual awards program in July of 1996. Known as the Governor's Agricultural Excellence Awards, this program honors and financially rewards 4-H Clubs and FFA Chapters each year for outstanding performance.

The challenges facing young people today looking at a career in agriculture are formidable. To help prepare for the rigors of these challenges, youth Ag organizations, such as the 4-H Clubs and FFA Chapters throughout the state, are constantly looking for ways to motivate young people while at the same time preparing them for a farming or ranching career.

On an annual basis, the NIFA-sponsored 4-H and FFA Governor’s Excellence Awards are presented to the top-rated 4-H Clubs and FFA Chapters in the state. The eligible recipients of this excellence award are the approximately 1,900 4-H Clubs containing almost 26,000 members, and over 130 FFA Chapters, which have seen membership grow from 5,000 to over 16,000 members in recent years. The awards range from $500 to $2,500, given in the name of the Club or Chapter. This is to reward those Clubs and Chapters that most actively implement the mission and strategies of the organization. They improve their organization's operations by using a program of activities that emphasizes student development, Club/Chapter development, and community development. Clubs/Chapters are rewarded for providing educational experiences for the entire membership. The Governor’s Agricultural Excellence Award aids in improving the quality of the agricultural education program and helps prepare young people for careers in agriculture.

--

Sara Kenny

Central Midwest Region 5 Coordinator (NE, IA, KS)

Quilts of Valor Foundation

Lewis and Clark QOV Group

This picture and write up was sent to me by Fern J of Kalama, WA. She
moved from Lewiston several years ago. She has continued sewing for QOV
and the Lewis-Clark QOV group. This is her first presentation. There are
big things to come for her.


I found out about 3 months ago that 2 residents in my mobile home park
were Vietnam veterans and had never received any recognition as most have
not. Well..I decided I was going to do something to put it right. I made
the quilt tops..they were sent to Bunkhouse Quilts in Idaho where Ann
W. did a BEAUTIFUL job of long-arming for me. They were returned to me
absolutely beautiful and they were put away out of sight as these 2 vets
once in a while stop in at my place and I did not want them seeing them.
Then came the 29th of September and the scheduled day for the Park BBQ and
birthday party for 5 people. I had the privilege of presenting these
quilts to Charlie(shorter one on the left) and Emmett(big teddy bear on the
right..is the “water” showing on his cheeks?) with a gathering of about 20
people, including family and friends. There were very few dry eyes in the
group...the presenter included. A side note on this...some had never heard
of QOV..and 2 more quilts have been requested from the QoV site.

Fern J
**********
The second is a presentation of 6 quilts last night at the Lewiston VFW.

submitted by Sharon L

Currahee Military Weekend Banquet

Over the weekend of October 5-7th a group of Region 8 Quilts of Valor
Quilters met in Toccoa, Georgia to sew and to participate in a
presentation of QOV’s to 12 Camp Toccoa WWII veterans.

Camp Toccoa was the training location for the paratroopers in preparation for the invasion
of Europe and D-Day. The story of the Camp Toccoa soldiers is
immortalized in the book and movie “Band of Brothers”.

Each veteran was presented a quilt by one of the quilters and you’d have thought they were
children and it was Christmas morning! They loved the quilts and the
attention from the quilters. The quilters were as inspired as the
veterans were delighted. These living heroes, as Tom Brokow says
“literally helped to save the world.”

We also boxed up 20 quilts to send to Marcella’s destinations in
Afghanistan and Germany. For more photos from the weekend check out our
facebook page: www.facebook.com/wartimequilters

Susan Gordon & Anne Mixon, Region 8
Coordinators

A thank you from DownRange

Dear Mrs. G,

I cannot thank you enough for the time, energy, resources and LOVE that
you put into making and sending the quilts for our wounded soldiers. We
received your box just in time as we had recently run out. One of your
quilts went out with a soldier today-he is going to Germany and on to the
states. He smiled as we told him it was his to keep and even commented
that it “smells like home”. It is a small comfort that reminds them the
folks at home care and support them.
Sincerely, Megan E

Staff Sgt Megan E from the ICU unit in Shank-East, Afghanistan

*QOVF in Des Moines, October 2012*

Karen Demaree, Upper Midwest Regional Coordinator arranged a QOVF booth at
the AQS show in Des Moines October 3-6. 

 Volunteers from Iowa, Nebraska and Arizona helped staff the booth during the quilt show, and what fun we all had! 

 Cyndy, the new QOVF state coordinator for Iowa was very excited to award QOVs to several Vietnam veterans.

 Julia, Nebraska's QOVF coordinator brought hundreds of signature blocks, all of which were filled before the show ended. 

 The gals from Arizona brought QOVs to display, and their quilts joined Nebraska 4-H quilts and QOVs from Girl Scouts and other volunteers from Wisconsin. We handed out hundreds of information sheets and thousands of tiny tootsie rolls (the tootsie rolls were very
popular!!!).

submitted by Sara K

A Sew in - in Idaho

*Becky's Fabrics and Bernina* quilt shop in Lewiston, Idaho hosted a *Quilts
of Valor* Sew Day on Tuesday, Sept. 11.

Eight ladies met and sewed quilt tops from kits provided by the local
Lewis-Clark QOV group and Idaho QOV RC Sharon L.

These tops will be quilted and presented to veterans in our area.

It was a fun and productive day.

The next scheduled Sew Day is Monday., Nov 12.

A thank you

A Small World

Background story on this is, I ( Marcella - QOVF Destinations Coordinator) was contacted by a US nurse at Bastion Hospital in Afghanistan to ask if I could have 5 or 6 quilts sent to her to be presented to British soldiers who were being treated at Bastion as part of a thank you for sharing/hosting the MMU (multinational medical unit).

Bastion is an MMU that is run by the British and our troops are treated
there as well. Our troops are presented with QOVs while in hospital but the
British branch of QOV presents quilts once the soldiers return home and the
nurse wanted to provide comfort to some of them while still in hospital.

Elizabeth C had just requested a destination for 6 QOVs and I asked her if
she would be willing to fulfill this request. Her group, Lighthouse Quilt
Guild, was all for it and even changed the labels to address the fact that
the quilts would be from US quilters to British soldiers. I asked Elizabeth
if It would be OK to send this to you for the blog and she said it would be
fine.

"Dear Ms. C,

My name is Joe S and I'm a British soldier with 3rd Battalion the Rifles,
who have been deployed to Afghanistan since April 2012. I was wounded on
the 9th August 2012 by a hand grenade. Whilst I was being treated for my
wounds in Camp Bastion I was presented with one of your quilts. It makes
our job worthwhile in Afghanistan when we hear from people like yourself,
who appreciate all our hard work.

I am now slowly recovering at home from my shrapnel wounds, which are mainly
to my legs. I am determined to be fit for when the rest of my company
return to our base in Edinburgh, Scotland, at the end of October.

Kind regards, Joe S"



and also:



"We are writing to say thank you very much for thinking of our British
wounded soldiers. Our son Joe was one of the first British soldiers to
receive one of your lovingly made quilts.

We have enclosed a couple of photos of Joe, one in Afghanistan and the other
of him recovering at home with us and his older brothers, Dave and Andy.

It has been a hard few months since he was deployed to Afghanistan, with
only a few phone calls, which usually ended after a few minutes when the
line went down. He was due home for his two weeks rest on 20th August, but
he was wounded eleven days before. As you can imagine the days immediately
following the news that Joe had been wounded were extremely worrying for us.

Afghanistan is an unforgiving place and the fact that you and the members of
the Lighthouse Quilt Guild thought of joe, despite not knowing him, meant so
much to our family.

The quilt will be treasured and will remind us that Joe's service is
appreciated by so many people.

Best wishes, Dee and Graham"


*****

These kinds of things make it all worth while. Thanks for giving me the
opportunity to give the quilts to these troops.

And thanks, too, for all you do to keep the quilts flowing overseas.

Elizabeth C

Grand Haven, Michigan

A Presentation

A presentation was requested for a soldier who had returned and was battling some issues. It turned out that one of our regional coordinators had a person in that specific town who could make the presentation.

This is really a small world. I delivered the quilt to Chris today. After talking with him, he graduated with my son. They livedabout 5 miles from me. He was very appreciative and grateful for the
quilt.


Isn't that cool that it is such a small world!! Thank you Darlene for making the presentation!!
Thank you Susan for organizing this!!