Friday, March 3, 2017

Clarification

I made a statement in a recent post that I am in charge of the quilts for veterans in our local quilt group and that I try to make at least one quilt top each month. Since I had lots of “kudos” comments, I felt I needed to clarify a few things.

First  -  I generally only make tops, because I stink at “domestic” machine quilting and I don’t own a longarm. Most often they are quilted by a wonderful member of my quilt group, Sharon Patterson. She is a fireball when it comes to whipping these tops into shape.

Second  - Many of the tops I make are from blocks that are made by people in my group and I just assemble them and pass them on to a machine quilter. Which is why I can produce one or more a month! The blocks are not always perfectly pieced (or even the same size), but I enjoy the challenge of setting them all together into a quilt that I know will be appreciated by one of our veterans.

Third  - We don’t call ours, Quilts of Valor, because the specifications for that particular organization are quite specific and we (as a group) don’t always qualify. But, we have found numerous local Veteran’s homes and services that will take a quilt of any size so we make as many as we can.

I am a very patriotic person and this project is very dear to me. My Dad was in the Navy and I think of him every time I work on these quilts.

The only downside of this responsibility is that I am not (and never have been) a fan of the color scheme, red, white and blue. However, this is a small price to pay to add a little joy to a veteran’s day.

And finally – The reason you don’t see many of these quilts is that I am usually finishing one ten minutes before I have to leave for our meeting. I will try to be better about this in the future as they do deserve to be seen.

Here is one I finished last night to take to Thursday’s meeting. The blocks in this one were made by Donna Zimmerman and are expertly pieced. I didn’t need to trim or fudge one block! Thanks Donna. 
The pattern for the blocks was from Dar (Dar's Patchwork Garden). I learned about her wonderful quilts through Kevin (Kevin the Quilter) and his fantastic efforts to create quilts for veterans.


And the border fabric came from the collection of Joan LaBar. Joan was a fabulous quilter and the mother of my dear friend Laurie. Joan passed away in October and Laurie has generously been donating her fabrics to fellow quilters. I know Joan would be proud to see her fabrics being put to use for our veterans. Thanks Joan!


So, you see I can't take credit for something that is truly a team effort. Thanks to all who make these quilts possible. It truly takes a village! 

16 comments:

  1. Okay, you have made it clear that it is a group effort. : )
    However, to consistently get a top put together each month (even from someone else's blocks) for such a worthy cause, is something I do not ever achieve. So still I say, kudos!!

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  2. What a great team of quilters! I'm sure all of your efforts bring great joy to many veterans.

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  3. Great post! You still deserve kudos for the important part you do--the middle quilter.

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  4. It's a great working group and a great group mind !

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  5. Blessings for all the good work you are doing and the joy they bring to others. We all work together to make the world a better place.

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  6. It's really incredible how you donate your time tho! Don't discount that kind of dedication.:)

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  7. Wendy, Thanks so much for doing your part in getting these blocks and quilt tops put together. If you have looked on my blog recently, you will see that I too am in the process of finishing up lots of QOV tops from blocks that I received from my block drive. I am trying my best to use up lots of fabrics to make bindings, borders and pillowcases for each of these. I'm getting close to the 18 quilts from the block drive. Thanks so much for spreading the good word about the work your group does. I feel the same about being dedicated to the cause.

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  8. I agree with just about everyone's comments, especially my friend Janet O. You are doing a fabulous job. I think getting a top put together, whether you've made the blocks or not, is quite a feat. And it is definitely a gift of love. You are a saint, Miss Wendy!!

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  9. Understood. Our guild's charity projects are group efforts too. I like making blocks, I don't like sewing the rows together, so you still get kudos from me! Plus, I remember how little time I had to quilt when I was working full time.

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  10. Team effort is a great thing if the team is committed, everyone agrees on a quarter inch and there's a good leader

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  11. Team effort is a great thing if the team is committed, everyone agrees on a quarter inch and there's a good leader

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  12. Such a wonderful charity project and certainly appreciated by the veteran recipients.
    The charity projects our local quilt guilds establish really do have a positive impact on our communities and working together makes it all possible.

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  13. You are amazing! It may take a group, but your participation seems to be a key element. bravo Wendy

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  14. I think it is an amazing project and "many hands make light work"!

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  15. I feel the same about being dedicated to the cause. scorehero.net

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