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.)