Quilts of Valor Needs you!!!

QOV Currently has vacancies in the following states, and needs a regional Coordinator for each.

Arkansas
California
Connecticut
Florida
Hawaii
Kentucky
Massachusetts
Missouri
North Carolina
New Hampshire
Oklahoma
Ohio
 South Carolina
Tennessee
Virginia
West Virginia

If you are interested would you please email Lori at Lori @ Qovf. org  ?

Auld Lang Syne

Happy New Year to all....

I had some time on my hands today and so I visited the QOVF website
www.QOVF.org. I was clicking around looking at the wealth of information
available there. I was checking out the links for the "Under Our Wings" program,
the fabric lines, the many options to join this wonderful mission.

Then I clicked on the link for the newsletter. Just for fun I went back, back to
the very beginning and I read the newsletters from that first year. Have you
ever heard the expression the more things change the more they stay the same?
That is sort of what it felt like reading. It was a history lesson of the grass
roots movement to cover our wounded.

I had to chuckle when I read about people getting their panties in a bunch
and un-subscribing because "presentation cases" were requested/required for each
quilt. (Something we do now with out a second thought) There was discussion of
fabric quality, fabric color choices, batting, age appropriate fabric and
pattern choices, meeting size requirements. (Catherine would not wavier on the
quality issue, she wanted only the very best for those who would lay down their
lives for our freedom. Sound familiar?) Interestingly enough, every time there
was some sort of policy change their was some grumbling, a few bumps in the
road, a few gripes and then we sewed on.

It was interesting to read about the growth and maturity of the Foundation. At
first there were just a small number of volunteer toppers and quilters, a few
hospitals and VA facilities. Then each month more volunteers, more quilts, more
facilities. Pretty soon QOVs were available on the battle field.

What a miracle this organization is. From idea to action this is solid proof
that if we work together anything is possible. Our numbers have grown in leaps
and bounds thanks to your dedication and steadfast loyalty to this Mission.

Yes, we have had disagreements and bumps in the road, and occasional bunched
panties! But with open minds and open discussion look at where we started and
where we are today.

I am so proud to be in the company of such focus and tenacity, this Quilts of
Valor Community.

I hope we all make that new years resolution to take a new quilter "Under Our
Wings".

Best regards

Lori Kutch
Wenatchee, WA
lorilovesred@yahoo.com
lori@qovf.org

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.