Quilt of Valor quilt

Presenting Quilts of Valor

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This week I was honored to present my first Quilt of Valor quilt to a 95-year-old World War II veteran. While the ceremony was just beginning, I remember seeing my veteran sitting across the room in the audience. We made eye contact more than once. I wondered if he knew I made his quilt.

That night, there were four quilts presented to veterans at the VFW Post 4816 in Porter, Texas. This was also the first time Quilt of Valor quilts had been presented at the VFW hall. It got pretty emotional in that hall after the first quilt was presented. It was also my first time to set foot in a VFW hall. It was quite something! Did I mention we happened to be attending during “steak night” and were treated to a lovely and delicious dinner? My friend, Susan, who heads up Quilt of Valor for our guild, Peace by Piecing Quilt Guild, also made one of the beautiful quilts.

Quilt of Valor is a national organization that has given veterans quilts since, I believe, right around 2004. As of July 31, 2023, 354,712 quilts have been wrapped around the shoulders of service members and veterans. The mission of Quilts of Valor Foundation is to cover service members and veterans touched by war with comfort and healing quilts. Not only are the quilts wrapped around the shoulders of recipients like a “hug” during the ceremony, we also give them a little hug!

When I joined the guild a few years ago, I knew at some point I would make a Quilt of Valor. Just one though. Each quilt is a huge project. There are also lots of specific requirements. The quilt has to be a certain size: larger than I usually make quilts, and machine or hand quilted, not tied. Longarm quilters donate their services on behalf of the guild. Lisa Taylor did a fantastic job on my quilt! There is a patch stitched on the back with information such as who is receiving the quilt, date awarded, who pieced it, and quilted the quilt. We make a pillow case for the quilt to be stored in when not in use. Everything also has to be washed. The six color catchers I used came out purple. Thanks Susan for the heads-up on the color catchers!

I purchased the quilt kit at Stitchin’ Heaven in Quitman, Texas a couple of years ago. After the quilt top was finished, I purchased a wide back quilt backing with a patriotic-theme from My Favorite Quilt Store. The kit sat on my project shelf for a year after reading through the instructions. I noted the kit could be made with, or without, the central panel with the eagle. The instructions stated the quilt could be made with six-pieced blocks and the panel, or twelve pieced blocks with no panel. After finally piecing one of the blocks, I decided the quilt would be made with the panel. The pieced blocks were very challenging. There were lots of biased pieces. Six blocks vs. 12? Easy decision on my part! I almost had to go to confession over a few of them.

After the quilt top was finally finished and handed to Lisa for quilting, I decided I had made my one and only Quilt of Valor. I just checked it off my bucket list. Except … wait … after presenting my quilt this week … stay tuned … I betcha nine dollars I’ll be making another Quilt of Valor next year!

2022 Quilt Projects Roundup

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In 2022, I cranked out 7 quilts and lots of smaller projects like Christmas stockings, table runners, as well as pillowcases and backpacks for charity. I’ve also learned some new skills in 2022: machine binding, cute little zipper pouches, and a chic sewing machine cover at A Needle and Thread, a local Houston area sewing lounge. I am definitely going to do more learning this year.

But back to the quilts! The collage angel wing quilt was the only quilt pattern I created this year. It can be purchased in my Etsy shop as a pdf downloadable pattern. It is definitely wall hanging size. A photo of the angel wings will also appear on the cover of my upcoming book A Joyful Embrace: A Memoir which will launch on Amazon this February.

My lovely fellow quilter, Noreen (we call her the “Fabric Whisperer”), agreed to be my pattern tester and made the angel wing quilt in pastel colors. I love how it turned out. As always, she continues to awe! Just as she asked, I paid her in jars of homemade pickles.

I re-created Laura Heine’s elephant collage, Lulu. Originally, I was going to give the new quilt to my niece, Karin, a mighty cancer survivor. Instead, I gave her my original quilt over Thanksgiving. I will keep the new version. It is very similar with the yellow background. I love to show Lulu at my trunk shows as the quilt that got me hooked on collage art quilts.

I also created a simple baby quilt with appliqued name for my grandson, Leo, born in late 2022. He is also the cutie pie featured on the angel wing quilt. The zookeeper panel quilt was made for the Michigan grandkids and now hangs in their playroom. The gigantic snowflake quilt was for my daughter, Katie. She loves all things modern! This quilt is totally her style right down to the horizontal quilting. My quilting buddy, Sally, made the amazing quilt label with the snowflakes. Another one of my friends who is at the top of her game.

The cowboy boot quilt is currently hanging in my foyer all ready for when Houston Rodeo season cranks up in late February. I purchased it as a kit several years ago at the International Quilt Festival changing up a few of the fabrics.

I’ve made my list of quilt projects this year and hope to top 2022. I do expect a fair amount of time to be spent marketing my book so we will see what happens. At the top of my list is a Quilt of Valor kit purchased at Stitchin’ Heaven in Quitman, Texas. I have a few of the blocks finished. Let’s just say the directions are great but this one is not as easy as I expected!