First Quilts of Valor

Some of you may not be aware that I garden all spring and summer and sew all fall and winter. Mostly I quilt, but I also make costumes for our French & Indian War living history hobby and misc. curtains and such.

My main quilt focus for the last few years has been Quilts of Valor. I make quilts for our wounded warriors. I've been an Army wife for 22 years and have a soft spot for soldiers. :-) I can't not make them.

A few years ago, Hunky Man came home with an Army magazine and showed me an article about Quilts of Valor. I immediately went to my computer and checked out the web site. http://www.qovf.org/ I signed up and have been quilting for them as much as I can since. Warning: don't read the comments from the recipients without a tissue handy. (They are currently having some technical problems, but will be up and running soon, I hope.)

These are the first quilts I made. I'm a "quilt topper", I make the top and backing. Then I'm hooked up with a long arm quilter somewhere in the country. I mail the top and back to her, she/he returns to me a quilted quilt. I bind it, make a presentation case, label it and write a personal letter.

I made these quilts first. I tend to make them in pairs. This simple Nine Patch came first.

Then I made this scrappy Texas Two Step. This one is very special to me. I rec'd a phone call one Saturday morning, right around Veteran's Day from the recipient. A very sweet young Marine called me to thank me from his hospital bed in the burn unit of Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio. I will never forget his voice. God Bless you Sam, wherever you are.

This is the type of presentation case I started making. Handy for transporting the quilts and keeping them clean.

More quilts to follow...

Cheers,

Donna