First QoV Friendship Star Blocks have arrived!
They are gorgeous! If you want to see them you will either have to register and volunteer on March 15th or you will have to listen to Gary and Lisa on KEARTH 101 on Monday, March 17, 2008 to find out what the link is to the photos of the Quilt Tops.
We still need lots more QoV Friendship Star blocks as we are trying to get to 1600 so we can make 100 quilt tops in a single day!
Don't forget to register to attend the all day "sew-in" at the American Legion Post #496 on March 15th. Panda Express has stepped up to provide lunch to all the volunteers! Trader Joe's - Bixby Knolls is providing water and sodas for all the volunteers.
Thanks for the love and support, Panda Express. We like to support our sponsors so plan on taking your family or meeting a few friends for a meal at a Panda Express just to say thanks. Be sure to tell them "Thanks for the love from Quilts of Valor-socal!' There are 1081 restaurants in 37 states. You can find a Panda Express near you at www.pandaexpress.com and click on the restaurant locator. Order your favorite but for me, the Orange Chicken is hard to beat!
Make a special effort to go out of your way to drop by Trader Joe's - Bixby Knolls on Atlantic and tell them "Thanks for the love from Quilts of Valor-socal".
And while we are speaking about sponsors, don't forget to show some love at SewVac on Clark when you drop off those QoV Friendship Star blocks. We have been meeting there on Thursday afternoons from 1pm to 5 pm for about a year and a half. We want them to know how much we appreciate them collecting the blocks. Scott and the whole team have been great.
Thanks to all our sponsors March 15th is going to be a really great day! We could actually be making American history. I am not sure any group has ever made 100 quilt tops for our American heroes in a single day! What a great day in history.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Participation is rising.........
Wow, everyday we get emails and phone calls of people who want to join in and participate. It is so cool to see so many people supporting our American heroes. I just can't wait to take a picture of all the sewing machines buzzing and post the photo so all 1.5 million who have stepped up to serve can see the photo and know how very many people really do care about them. How many people care about them so much they are willing to step up just for them.
I think it is very important for each one of them to know how much we love and appreciate them. And for them to know that we don't need to know their name or their face to appreciate that they put their feet in those boots and stepped up for us. They bore the burden so that we would not have to, well, most us would not have to. Obviously, excluding those who served.
Tomorrow I will go to the weekly QoV-socal afternoon at Sew Vac from 1 - 5 pm and I will check to see how many Blocks of the Month have arrived. Tomorrow night I will post an update on the status of the Blocks of the Month.
Keep up the great work! Be sure to share it with your friends, especially those who think they don't have anything to give because they "don't quilt!" Assure them, neither do I.
This is going to be FABULOUS!!!!!! and this is just the beginning.
Share the love!
I think it is very important for each one of them to know how much we love and appreciate them. And for them to know that we don't need to know their name or their face to appreciate that they put their feet in those boots and stepped up for us. They bore the burden so that we would not have to, well, most us would not have to. Obviously, excluding those who served.
Tomorrow I will go to the weekly QoV-socal afternoon at Sew Vac from 1 - 5 pm and I will check to see how many Blocks of the Month have arrived. Tomorrow night I will post an update on the status of the Blocks of the Month.
Keep up the great work! Be sure to share it with your friends, especially those who think they don't have anything to give because they "don't quilt!" Assure them, neither do I.
This is going to be FABULOUS!!!!!! and this is just the beginning.
Share the love!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Confusion about "SHOW YOUR COLORS"
The color of the 1600 Block of the Month QoV Friendship Star blocks.
It seems that I have inadvertently caused a bit of confusion regarding the QoV Friendship Star pattern and instruction sheet. The sheet calls for a light colored background. The picture of the completed Friendship Star clearly does not have a light colored background. Additionally, on the instruction sheet it states a choice for a border of 2"red or navy strips to frame the block.
For our 1600 Blocks of the Month this month we are not really using the light background. The background can be any patriotic color. For this month we are using only the 2" red border. Our theme is "SHOW YOUR COLORS". Light, dark, bright, bold, soft, pastel, it is all up to you! It is your block and your choice.
I apologize for the confusion and hope that clears it up a bit.
The response has been strong and it is still early yet but it seems we are off to a good start. People have registered from Big Bear, San Diego and Thousand Oaks and are carpooling to attend! As amazing as it sounds we have people mailing in blocks from many states away! How cool is that to see that kind of support for our American Heroes! Wow, it is really exciting to see so many people getting involved.
It tells us we are on a journey and I think this is just the tip of the iceberg. It is going to be a great ride and a whole lot of fun!
I am just dying to see all the Blocks of the Month. I just can't wait to see all the combinations. It is going to be a visual overload I am sure but I just can't wait. For those of you mailing in blocks there will be pictures, many, many pictures. More pictures than you really want to look at. We promise pictures. It is in writing and you can hold us to it. (You know my companions are going to say "us, who is this us Kimosabi?")
The press release goes out tomorrow now that we are past the "big red carpet" night in glamor town so you might see or hear about the big 1600 Quilt Blocks of the Month on the radio, tv, newspaper or magazines. If you hear it or see it anywhere be sure to give Barbara or me a shout out so we can keep track of which ones are supporting us and spreading the good word. Barbara or Carol@qov-socal.org.
I have been a little concerned about how we were going to get all 100 of these quilt tops we are making on March 15th quilted in a timely fashion. Lucky enough, June Moore, the longarm coordinator for QoV sent out an email yesterday asking "where are all the quilt tops." Apparently they had a lot of dissappointed longarmers and could have quilted another 100 quilt tops in January and February. What great timing! Here we come with about 100 quilt tops.
Everything happens for a reason and it happens when it is supposed to. Now I can stop worrying about that! It is even possible we may be able to get them all quilted with in a month! Excellent.
Well, that is assuming I can find a corporate sponsor to pay for the fabric for backs, binding, labels and presentation cases. Not yet, but I am working on it. If anyone knows of a corporation or a charitable fund that might want to sponsor these, by all means, don't hold back. Let me know. I have a couple of conversations set up but nothing definite yet. And, of course, there is that beloved shipping bill of about $30 per quilt for the longarmers we have to ship to. For corporate sponsors the shipping bill will be about $3000 if they want to volunteer to pick up the shipping bill.
i keep hearing those famous words in my head "if we build it, they will come."
We shall see soon enough.
Ciao for now.
It seems that I have inadvertently caused a bit of confusion regarding the QoV Friendship Star pattern and instruction sheet. The sheet calls for a light colored background. The picture of the completed Friendship Star clearly does not have a light colored background. Additionally, on the instruction sheet it states a choice for a border of 2"red or navy strips to frame the block.
For our 1600 Blocks of the Month this month we are not really using the light background. The background can be any patriotic color. For this month we are using only the 2" red border. Our theme is "SHOW YOUR COLORS". Light, dark, bright, bold, soft, pastel, it is all up to you! It is your block and your choice.
I apologize for the confusion and hope that clears it up a bit.
The response has been strong and it is still early yet but it seems we are off to a good start. People have registered from Big Bear, San Diego and Thousand Oaks and are carpooling to attend! As amazing as it sounds we have people mailing in blocks from many states away! How cool is that to see that kind of support for our American Heroes! Wow, it is really exciting to see so many people getting involved.
It tells us we are on a journey and I think this is just the tip of the iceberg. It is going to be a great ride and a whole lot of fun!
I am just dying to see all the Blocks of the Month. I just can't wait to see all the combinations. It is going to be a visual overload I am sure but I just can't wait. For those of you mailing in blocks there will be pictures, many, many pictures. More pictures than you really want to look at. We promise pictures. It is in writing and you can hold us to it. (You know my companions are going to say "us, who is this us Kimosabi?")
The press release goes out tomorrow now that we are past the "big red carpet" night in glamor town so you might see or hear about the big 1600 Quilt Blocks of the Month on the radio, tv, newspaper or magazines. If you hear it or see it anywhere be sure to give Barbara or me a shout out so we can keep track of which ones are supporting us and spreading the good word. Barbara or Carol@qov-socal.org.
I have been a little concerned about how we were going to get all 100 of these quilt tops we are making on March 15th quilted in a timely fashion. Lucky enough, June Moore, the longarm coordinator for QoV sent out an email yesterday asking "where are all the quilt tops." Apparently they had a lot of dissappointed longarmers and could have quilted another 100 quilt tops in January and February. What great timing! Here we come with about 100 quilt tops.
Everything happens for a reason and it happens when it is supposed to. Now I can stop worrying about that! It is even possible we may be able to get them all quilted with in a month! Excellent.
Well, that is assuming I can find a corporate sponsor to pay for the fabric for backs, binding, labels and presentation cases. Not yet, but I am working on it. If anyone knows of a corporation or a charitable fund that might want to sponsor these, by all means, don't hold back. Let me know. I have a couple of conversations set up but nothing definite yet. And, of course, there is that beloved shipping bill of about $30 per quilt for the longarmers we have to ship to. For corporate sponsors the shipping bill will be about $3000 if they want to volunteer to pick up the shipping bill.
i keep hearing those famous words in my head "if we build it, they will come."
We shall see soon enough.
Ciao for now.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
1600 QUILT BLOCKS BY MARCH 13th
1600 QUILT BLOCKS BY MARCH 13th
Quilts of Valor-Socal is making Quilts of Valor for those wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.
We are hoping to collect 1600 QoV Friendship Star quilt blocks by March 13th and meet at the American Legion Post on March 15th to sew them into quilt tops to be quilted at a future date. We have room for 100 volunteers on March 15th. This month, Feb08, we are using the QoV Friendship Star in any patriotic colors you chose with a 2" red border. The fabric does not need to be a patriotic pattern, only patriotic color. Red fabric with white polka dots or printed flowers is fine in red, white and blue. Next month our theme will be Purple Montains Majesty.
QoV Friendship Star blocks can be dropped off or mailed to Sew Vac, 1762 Clark Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90815
ANYONE CAN PARTICIPATE. Everyone has something to give.
While quilting may be a bit complex, making a single quilt block is incredibly super simple easy. If you can put a child's jigsaw puzzle (like ages 3 - 5, not those 1000 piece puzzle things) together you can make a quilt block. You do not need to be a quilter or even highly skilled at operating a sewing machine. If you can sew a straight seam from 2" to 12" you can do this. The hardest part is not sewing the triangles in backwards so if you do, think of me and have a little giggle. I sewed the same triangle in backwards twice!
I am not a quilter. You can trust me on that. Making a quilt sounds like a big project I just don't have time for. I also don't know how to make a quilt. When I first saw Quilts of Valor a long time ago I thought it was a great idea for smart people who had a lot of time and knew how to make a quilt. I didn't have a clue how to make a quilt.
I walked away thinking that it was a nice project and thinking I didn't have anything to give or contribute. Such confidence! I was absolutely certain I didn't have a single thing to contribute.
I was quite stunned to learn just exactly how easy it is to cut out a few pieces of fabric and sew them together and call it a "quilt block". The coolest part was ---------there is no quilting involved in that. I can do one "quilt block" in an evening and not make a huge mess or drag out everything in the closet. Make a quilt block and send it in. Volunteers meet and sew 16 quilt blocks into a quilt top. Through the magic of volunteerism it goes to a quilter and that is when the actual quilting is done. Not even in my presence. Simple. Painless for me.
The quilters of America have stepped up more than 15,000 times to make and deliver Quilts of Valor to wounded service personnel all over this country and several other countries at military hospitals around the world. Sadly, there are more than 67,000 wounded and more than 50,000 Quilts of Valor are needed to cover all the wounded. To date more than 1.5 million have served.
So when I first got involved I thought the Quilts of Valor were just like a nice, warm quilt or blankie like the ones I want when I am sick or injured. It doesn't take long to be involved in this find out these Quilts of Valor are way bigger than that. They are mind-numbingly bigger than that to the American heroes who receive them.
In the future I will share with you some of the the things that just blew me away and left me too shocked for words.
Contact Barbara Winkler at barbara@qov-socal.org to reserve your place at the March 15th "sew-in". (You might want to hurry, space is filling up quickly.)
Quilts of Valor-Socal is making Quilts of Valor for those wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.
We are hoping to collect 1600 QoV Friendship Star quilt blocks by March 13th and meet at the American Legion Post on March 15th to sew them into quilt tops to be quilted at a future date. We have room for 100 volunteers on March 15th. This month, Feb08, we are using the QoV Friendship Star in any patriotic colors you chose with a 2" red border. The fabric does not need to be a patriotic pattern, only patriotic color. Red fabric with white polka dots or printed flowers is fine in red, white and blue. Next month our theme will be Purple Montains Majesty.
QoV Friendship Star blocks can be dropped off or mailed to Sew Vac, 1762 Clark Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90815
ANYONE CAN PARTICIPATE. Everyone has something to give.
While quilting may be a bit complex, making a single quilt block is incredibly super simple easy. If you can put a child's jigsaw puzzle (like ages 3 - 5, not those 1000 piece puzzle things) together you can make a quilt block. You do not need to be a quilter or even highly skilled at operating a sewing machine. If you can sew a straight seam from 2" to 12" you can do this. The hardest part is not sewing the triangles in backwards so if you do, think of me and have a little giggle. I sewed the same triangle in backwards twice!
I am not a quilter. You can trust me on that. Making a quilt sounds like a big project I just don't have time for. I also don't know how to make a quilt. When I first saw Quilts of Valor a long time ago I thought it was a great idea for smart people who had a lot of time and knew how to make a quilt. I didn't have a clue how to make a quilt.
I walked away thinking that it was a nice project and thinking I didn't have anything to give or contribute. Such confidence! I was absolutely certain I didn't have a single thing to contribute.
I was quite stunned to learn just exactly how easy it is to cut out a few pieces of fabric and sew them together and call it a "quilt block". The coolest part was ---------there is no quilting involved in that. I can do one "quilt block" in an evening and not make a huge mess or drag out everything in the closet. Make a quilt block and send it in. Volunteers meet and sew 16 quilt blocks into a quilt top. Through the magic of volunteerism it goes to a quilter and that is when the actual quilting is done. Not even in my presence. Simple. Painless for me.
The quilters of America have stepped up more than 15,000 times to make and deliver Quilts of Valor to wounded service personnel all over this country and several other countries at military hospitals around the world. Sadly, there are more than 67,000 wounded and more than 50,000 Quilts of Valor are needed to cover all the wounded. To date more than 1.5 million have served.
So when I first got involved I thought the Quilts of Valor were just like a nice, warm quilt or blankie like the ones I want when I am sick or injured. It doesn't take long to be involved in this find out these Quilts of Valor are way bigger than that. They are mind-numbingly bigger than that to the American heroes who receive them.
In the future I will share with you some of the the things that just blew me away and left me too shocked for words.
Contact Barbara Winkler at barbara@qov-socal.org to reserve your place at the March 15th "sew-in". (You might want to hurry, space is filling up quickly.)
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