Monday, August 24, 2009

Quilts of Valor

By Melanie Brooks

A few of my friends and I have started a sewing circle we refer to as Stitch n' Bitch. We're a group of 20 and 30-somethings with a knack for creativity. We meet every Monday night in my mothers newly built (by my dad) craft room in the basement of their Orono home. It's a nice room with lots of counter space for all of our sewing machines.

Alyssa has turned us all on to quilting and I am finishing up my very first quilt! I have to point that when I told my mother and grandmother (who are both talented seamstresses) that I was going to make my 2-year-old niece a quilt they both laughed in my face. Literally. So I love flaunting my almost-finished quilt in their faces. I may not be at their level of craftiness, but I'm no slouch!

Anyway. Alyssa suggested we make a Quilt of Valor as a group. A QOV (as it's known) is a quilt made to honor wounded soldiers. It's a tangible way to thank them for their sacrifice and commitment to our country. Yesterday, Alyssa and I went to Marden's to pick out our fabric. We piece together the top of the quilt and then either find a local volunteer longarmer (someone who will stitch the top, batting, and bottom of the quilt together) or mail it to one affiliated with the QOV and then send it off to be dispersed to a needy soldier.

Alyssa and I chose a color scheme that includes blues, greens, and purples. Each of the four Stitch n' Bitchers are required to sew four 12x12 squares for the quilt. It's a great project to do as a group because you are only responsible for a part of the finished project.

Interested in getting involved? It's easy! Check out the QOV website. Marden's has a ton of fabric at very reasonable prices, but you can also check out Walmart and Joanne Fabrics for material and quilting supplies. (Joann is having a great sale right now on quilting supplies including batting, cutting boards, and rotary cutters.) It's a worthwhile project that you know will brighten someone else's day.

I'll be posting photos of our progress on Bangor Metro's Facebook page. Become a fan and follow the fun!

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much to the Lady Quilters of Maine.
I would love to tell you a story of
how this letter came about.
My husband had been in James A Haley Hospital in Tampa, FL for eight days in critical care, last
night he was transported from the
hospital to our home in Zephyrhills. FL for days I had noticed this beautiful pillow case
tucked under his arm and wondered
how he had gotten such a pretty pillow. When the transport team
picked him up last night they took
everything on his bed including sheet, blanket and pillows. Today
I took the pillow and thought I would wash the beautiful case, to
my surprise as I started to remove the pillow I was shocked to find a
BEAUTIFUL QUILT, a note was inclosed and a web site to send a
comment, I was unable to get to this site so went to Google and this is what I found.
Please accept my grattitude for your wonderful work and all the love that's put into your quilts.
My Mother was a quilter so I can appreciate all your hard work.
Thanks again,
Glenna Courtney
36516 Chancey Road
Zephyrhills, FL 33541