What a Great Sewing Day!

Apologies for being so slow to post about our wonderful Quilts of Valor sewing day at Ye Olde Schoolhouse Quilts in Cedarburg, WI on Saturday, January 23^rd; I didn’t want to detract from Gail’s wonderful story about the Vietnam Veteran she found in her back yard.

Jeanie opened the shop early for us, and when Dick & I arrived at 9:35 Mary was already there and the two Judys had set-up their machines the day before!  I cannot tell you how excited Dick and I were with the turnout!  There were 18 of us throughout the day.  Four or five people drove over an hour each way to join us as we worked on these quilted hugs of gratitude!  The four ladies from Oconomowoc worked on a quilt top.  Roxane from Northern Illinois worked on 9-patch blocks for a scrappy DNP top.  Judy G. showed as a very fast way to create strip blocks using  ”wof” (width of fabric) strips sewn together and the 45 degree angle on the ruler.  Wow!  Some of us worked on scrappy strips on foundation blocks, and still others provided assistance with pressing & trimming (that is such a luxury!  Dick laid out the two tops with blocks drawn by 4^th & 5^th graders from a school in Kellnersville, NC (that will be another story!)  Then he had to audition (and buy) fabrics to complete those two tops as well as a third top he laid out with donated blocks.

At the end of a delightful day, two quilt tops went home with Carol (who had them quilted by Monday!!!) and Dick has two more scrappy strip & DNP tops to layout while I assemble the two for Kellnersville as well as two other tops.  A quilt that Beth brought went home with Kris and was presented to one of her co-workers several days later.  A heartfelt thanks to Jeanie for providing the classroom, and to Beth, Carol, Gerri, Joann, Judy G., Judy O., Kay, Kim, Kris, Linda, Mary, Nancy, Nancy & Jeff T, Roxane, and Susan for making our first QOV sewing day such a success!  (Lots of customers wandered down to the classroom to see what we were up to – not sure if it was the laugher or smell of fresh baked brownies that brought them down ).

Our next QOV Sewing day will be Saturday, February 27^th at YOSH.  We would love to have you join us!

Piece,

Tink

Judy G showing Judy O her magic striped squares technique

Dick pondering quilt layout

Lots of busy sewing machines

That bin needs to be empty…. someday

Zipping through those strippy blocks!

Your Own Backyard – Followup

Meet Jim

This is our wounded Vietnam Veteran.  He may have the QOV upside down but it

Meet Jim

didn’t matter to Jim.  When I told him about Quilts of Valor and that I was giving him a QOV, he was embarrased (he is very shy).  I told him to never be embarrased and that this QOV is the thank you that he never received for his sacrifices to our country.  He said, “it is so beautiful”, and the ladies in the group said the quilt said it all.  Jim kept saying thank you and his smile was so big when he got the quilt. Because of the wounds he received in Vietnam, some still showed, but he was the proudest warrior I have ever had the honor to give a QOV.

Keep checking those backyards ladies.  There are plenty of deserving warriors out there.  When you have done something like I did tonight, you won’t stop making QOVs.  The need is more than I can express and I am so lucky to be apart of QOV and be able to give to warriors like Jim who never told anyone about his experiences for 35 years.  Now, hopefully,  he can begin to heal.

God Bless
Gail

They are in Your Own Backyard

Sometimes life gives you unexpected gifts.  On a day when your feeling down, someone walks into your life and makes it better.  I was longarming, minding my own business (?), when Mary came into the shop.  She starts telling Mom and me about an amazing thing that happened at her Bible study the night before.  A man she had known for years stood up and said, “I need to tell you something”.  He always had trouble speaking and Mary thought something had happened to him.  He told the group, “I was in Vietnam in 1967 and then I woke up in Walter Reed Hospital.  I had been in a coma for 6 months.  When I woke up, I couldn’t feel my legs and the doctors told me I would never walk again.  Eventually, I got feeling back in my legs and was able to walk – that was 35 years ago.”  Tears welled up all over the room as he told his story – he had never told anyone before.

I looked at Mary and and said, “Mary, we have to give him in a QOV.”  So I start ‘gimping’ around the shop (I don’t run) looking for the perfect QOV.  We had just gotten a QOV back from our ‘binder”, Linda, and I asked Debbie to please sew a QOV label on the quilt.  Mary looked at me like I was crazy.  I gave her my five-cent lecture on Quilts of Valor and told her to take the QOV to this man.  She looked at me and said, “Gail, you gotta do it – I can’t.  You are the veteran and he needs to get it from you.”

So, this coming Monday night I will give a QOV to a “Forgotten Warrior.”

My day got better after that – you just can’t give enough!

Mary has been coming to the Shop to buy fabric for some time and never really paid attention to Quilts of Valor.  She said, “I thought you just went to DC – I had no idea.”  Now she is a believer!

Stay tuned – more on this story to come.

God bless,
Gail

Wow!

You may not know (I didn’t), that Wal-Mart encourages their employees to “get involved in charitable organizations that matter to their families and the communities where they live and work. …… Through VAP, (Volunteerism Always Pays) associates may request charitable contributions on behalf of eligible organizations where they volunteer.” (http://walmartstores.com/communitygiving/201.aspx)

A few month ago I received a call from Gerry regarding Quilts of Valor and the VAP  program.  Gerry and the quilting ladies of the Wal-Mart store in New London, Wisconsin had decided that in addition to donating their creative talents, they would also donate their VAP time to benefit Quilts of Valor!  Through their generosity, this amazing group of ladies has donated $1,750 to QOV, enabling us to purchase batting, threads, extra wide backing fabric, and more quilting fabric to keep our local efforts going!  Hats off to Gerry, June, Kathy, Aljeanne, Kim, Margo, Marilyn, and Peggy!!!  You’re all angels!!!

Here’s a photo of these generous ladies:

June, Marilyn, Gerry, Kathy, Aljeanne (missing: Margo, Kim, & Peggy)

We’re an all volunteer, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.  We purchase our own fabric, batting, and threads, and pay shipping out of our own pockets.  Receiving donations enables all of us to create more quilts for our wounded military members and veterans.  Do you work at Wal-Mart or have quilting friends who do?  Would Quilts of Valor qualify for a matching grant from you employer?  Do you know of any businesses or organizations that might provide financial support to help us create these quilted hugs of gratitude?

I know from experience that banks will not cash or deposit to your personal account checks made out to an organization.  I know some people have opened their own QOV bank accounts, gotten EIN numbers, and file the appropriate paperwork.  If you don’t want to go that route (like me) you can send donations you receive payable to QOV to Lenny Truit, Quilts of Valor Foundation, PO Box 1003, Seaford, DE 19973.  Send Lenny copies of your QOV related receipts and you’ll receive 90% of your donation back (10% is kept to cover bank fees).

I am so grateful to all who support the QOV mission in “sew” many ways.

Piece,

Tink

Don’t be Shy

Hi All,

I’m very shy.  Really.  My middle name should be “Wallflower.”  Most people don’t believe that about me because I over compensate.  Somewhere along the way I developed the gift of gab – probably to quell my nerves.  When it comes to Quilts of Valor, that gift has opened doors that otherwise would not have known to open.

As the result of an airborne toboggan crashing to the ground with me as a passenger, I’ve had decades of lower back issues.  A couple of years ago I visited our local Relax the Back store in search of relief while sitting & sewing, and have become an infrequent regular.  As often happens, while shopping there last summer I started chatting about what I do – meaning creating Quilts of Valor.   One of the guys is a Vietnam Vet… so I presented Gene with a Quilt of Valor in November.   Gene and Joe (the franchise owner) are now huge fans of QOV!  They have requested a number of quilts on behalf of their customers who are veterans.  Joe called this evening to ask if it would be okay to send information about QOV to all the Relax the Back franchises throughout the country, with a link to our website!  Of course I said yes (I did ask if he’d pitch the idea of financial support to their corporate headquarters – sometimes I surprise myself by really stretching beyond my comfort zone!)  In addition to my business cards they are going to take some flyers about our monthly QOV sewing days so that they can give those to the quilters who visit the store.

Are there businesses that you visit – frequently or only occasionally?  Don’t be shy – tell people that you create quilts for Quilts of Valor.  When you explain what QOV is all about, you’ll likely receive a warm reception and connect with other quilters as well as with veterans and/or active duty military members who should receive one of our quilted hugs of gratitude (everyone always knows someone).  That kind of reception encourages me to continue to reach outside my comfort zone and tell people I meet about QOV.  Try it and let me know how it goes.

Piece,

Tink

Welcome 2010

Hi to all everyone out there in “Blog Land.”

Have you ever thought what we do without computers or cell phones?  I couldn’t even blog or text message

Lady Valor

until Catherine and I went “Across America.”  Now I’m the new owner of an iphone.  I didn’t even have it nine days and dropped it — all I could see was dollar signs.  Moral to the story – be more careful – new iphone screens cost money.

One good thing about computers and cell phones – they keep us connected.  We can stay up-to-date on who has been doing what in our QOV community.

Catherine will be reminding all of us to start our count for the New Year – with individual goals of TEN.  I set my longarm goal at 100/year.  Don’t ask me why but I think it pushes me and keeps me focused on providing QOVs to our warriors.

We had a great year in 2009 but this year we will grow even more.  Get ready for some more adventures.  We will have our “Lady Valor” going out to shows and helping us promote QOV – look for up and coming events.

Thank you all for supporting Quilts of Valor.  You are all Angels in Disguise.

God Bless,
Gail
Valley Springs