First Annual New Year's Day QOV Sit & Sew

The Destination Coordinator for Quilts of Valor Foundation has a brilliant idea for New Year's Day that I thought I would share.

For the past three years she has taken the time in December to cut out a Quilt of Valor top that she sits down and completes on New Year's Day. This year she is inviting everyone to join her!

Here's how it works:

1. Pick a pattern that meets the minimum requirement for a Quilt of Valor. Make sure it is one you feel you can complete in one day. Select and cut your fabric in December.

2. On January 1st, sit down and sew your top together. Post your progress that day on Yahoo Chat, Facebook, the QOV blog, your own blog etc...

3. When you are finished, request a longarmer, or if you have one have it quilted by a volunteer longarmer in your area.

4. After your quilt is finished (bound, washed, labeled, presentation case made) request a destination. Put NYD S&S in the comments field of the destination form. You will receive information on where to send your quilt and you will be entered into a drawing for prizes (to be announced).

5. A winner will be selected for every 13 NYD S&S quilts made completed by March 13, 2013 for which a destination is selected.

6. Please remember that our overseas contacts request red, white and blue, non-gender specific quilts, so please keep that in mind when selecting patterns and fabrics.

7. Also, spread the word! Invite your friends, family, and guild members to participate!

I hope a lot of people will join us kicking off the New Year by making aQuilt of Valor to honor our nation's heroes!

If you have any questions or if you are going to join in please leave a comment on this post!

Have an amazing day!

September Sewing Date

I'm pleased to announce our next sewing day. Due to scheduling conflicts I'm a little late in letting everyone know, but it's next Saturday, September 22nd from 10am-2pm at the West Springfield Government Center.

Here are the details:

• We are meeting at the West Springfield Government Center's Community Room again. The address is  6140 Rolling Road Springfield, VA.
• I will bring with me an ironing board, an iron, and cutting supplies. I am more than willing to share, but if someone would like to bring any of their own supplies that would be wonderful!
• Please bring your sewing machine and your current Quilt of Valor project. If you don't have one in the works please still plan to join us! There is always something to do!
• I ask that if you want to sew with us please RSVP to me by either leaving a comment on this blog post or by emailing me at Melanieb@qovf.org.

Unfortunately, we are not allowed to have food or drink in the room except bottled water. Never fear if you get hungry there are restaurants close where you can go for a lunch or coffee break. At the meeting in August, ladies packed their lunch and ate on the steps outside. Now that the weather is cooling off, I think that's what I might do.

As an added incentive I will have door prizes that everyone who attends will be eligible to win. (Fabric, Fabric, Fabric)

I hope you will join us in September! Never doubt that the need for quilts in our state is great. I have received three more request for quilts since we last met. I'm happily working away on them, but honestly, I'm slow and I have two toddlers. I need all the help I can get!!

Please consider joining us and making a quilt for our nation's finest! We are a small group (so far), but we're fun!

Take care everyone and keep on quilting!

August Sewing Date

We had another great time in August for our monthly sewing get together. The good news is we almost doubled our numbers. There were five of us! Up from three at our first meeting, I'd call that great progress. Sue Olmstead brought in a ton of beatiful fabric to share with us, so if you have always wanted to make a QOV, but don't have any fabric please join us! We are a very generous group and we happily share our fabric!

Our next meeting is scheduled for September 22nd from 10-2 at the Government Center. Won't you join us? If interested please RSVP by either leaving a comment on the post or email me at melanieb@qov.org.
Here are some pictures from the day:

Here's Sue working on her beautiful pinwheel blocks.

Here's Dottie working on her star quilt. We had a great time together arranging and rearranging the blocks.

Here's Kathy with her scrappy Quilt of Valor. I love a scrappy quilt, don't you?

Big Anniversary Sale in Crewe, VA

I received notice today from a store in Virginia who is very supportive of the efforts of the Quilts of Valor Foundation. If you live in or near Crewe Virginia, this sounds like a sale you don't want to miss. Even if you don't live in Crewe, but are close enough and up for a drive, I think this would be a very worthwhile day trip. Bring a couple of your quilting friends along and make a day out of it! They have a cute little gift shop in the store so maybe you could even do a little early Christmas shopping? I wish I lived close enough to go, but I don't think my toddlers would be very understanding about a four hour long trip to a quilt store. :(

I'm sure if you go to the sale you could find some great fabric that could be used for a Quilt of Valor at a very reasonable price! If you go, please tell the ladies that I sent you!

Here's a link to their website if you would like to know more about the shop:

http://www.rosepatchcreations.com/

Our 5th Anniversary Sale!

Aug 30-31, 2012

(Mom's 77th Birthday on the 30th)

Thursday and Friday

9 am-7 pm. Both Days

Our Biggest Yearly Sale!

Door Prizes, Fat Quarters $1.50(over 300), 2 Baskets of rolled Fat Quarters $1.00. Notions 25% off,  Every Bolt of Fabric will be 25%-50% off.

Min 1 yard Cuts.

     $3.99-$4.99 Wall of Fabric

      Will be $2.99-$3.99 (2 yd min.)

Surprises?

Light refreshments.

Every $50 you spend-puts your name in the Big Drawing- For 10 yards of Fabric- Your Choice (Must be redeemed by 12/31/2012). 

Come Celebrate with Us!

We would not be here with YOU!

Please forward our sale to all your quilting friends. We would love to meet all of them!

We'll Be Wait'n for Ya!

Kimberly and Pat

Shoppe Keepers

125 W Carolina Ave

Crewe, Va 23930

434-645-7780

rosepatchcreations@earthlink.net

Quilt Inspiration from Buffy Harris

Today I have some absolutely beautiful quilts to share with you! Nothing motivates me to get to work like seeing Quilts of Valor other talented quilters have made. I know these photos are going to inspire you to get busy quilting!

The very talented Buffy Harris who lives in Bealeton, Virginia (Fauquier County) made these and has very kindly offered to share them with us. Aren't they gorgeous?!? Buffy is still looking for people to sew with close to home so if you live in or near Fauquier County please contact her at buffyharris73@yahoo.com.

Thanks for sharing your amazing talent with us Buffy! I know the lucky recipients of these quilts were so appreciative! What treasures!

Quilt of Valor Flickr Group

Do you Flickr? If so, consider joining the Quilts of Valor group.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/quiltsofvalor/

Even if you don't want to upload pictures of your own projects, it's fun to look at what others are working on. I don't know about you, but I always get inspired to get in my sewing room when I see someone else's beautiful quilt!

Until next time, keep on quilting!

Quilts of Valor in Fauquier County

I had the great pleasure of "meeting" one of our fellow quilters in Fauquier County. (Emailing is the same as meeting, right?) Buffy is a passionate supporter of Quilts of Valor and has been sewing for the cause for four years. She is interested in starting a sewing group in her area. If you live in or near Fauquier County and want    a quilting partner or two please contact Buffy Harris at:

Buffy Harris

buffyharris73@yahoo.com

937-545-4050

Bealeton, Va. (Fauquier County

Until next time, hope all of you are well and keep quilting! The requests are coming in everyday!

August Sewing Date

I'm happy to announce another sewing date has been scheduled for August. The three of us had a blast at the first, but we would love it if we had more company! Please consider joining us! Our nation's Heroes need us!

The details:

• We are meeting at the West Springfield Government Center's Community Room again on August 25th from 10-2. The address is  6140 Rolling Road Springfield, VA.
• I will bring with me two ironing boards (one full size and one tabletop), an iron, and cutting supplies. I am more than willing to share, but if someone would like to bring any of their own supplies that would be wonderful!
• Please bring your sewing machine and your current Quilt of Valor project. If you don't have one in the works please still plan to join us! There is always something to do!
• I ask that if you want to sew with us please RSVP to me by either leaving a comment on this blog post or by emailing me at Melanieb@qovf.org.

Unfortunately, we are not allowed to have food or drink in the room except bottled water. Never fear if you get hungry there are restaurants close where you can go for a lunch or coffee break.

As an added incentive I will have door prizes that everyone who attends will be eligible to win. (Fabric, Fabric, Fabric)

I hope you will join us in August! Never doubt that the need for quilts in our state is great. I have received four individual requests for quilts in the past week from Heroes and their families. I'm happily working away on them, but honestly, I'm slow and I have two toddlers. I need all the help I can get!!

Please consider joining us and making a quilt for our nation's finest! We are a small group (so far), but we're fun!

Take care everyone and keep on quilting!

First Sew in....Success!!

Our first sew-in, Saturday July 21st was a success! There were only three of us, but we had a great time and got some work accomplished in between chatting!

The community room in West Springfield is a beautiful space! Even though it was a rainy, dreary day outside we had lots of light coming in through the floor to ceiling windows.  Stayed tuned for more details soon about our next scheduled meeting in August. We will be meeting at the same space again in Springfield.

If you live in the Northern Virginia area and would like to join us  please send me an email or leave a comment on any of these blog posts. This group is open to anyone who would like to make quilts for our men and women in uniform. If you live in the state of Virginia, but can't attend our meetings I'd be happy to help you with any questions or concerns you have about the Quilts of Valor Foundation. The requests for quilts across Virginia are coming in everyday, so please consider making a quilt (or two) for this fantastic cause!

Here are some pictures from the event:

Here I am spreading out my quilt top

The top half to my quilt top

Kathy and Sue hard at work

Kathy's beautiful and scrappy red, white and blue blocks

Thanks Kathy and Sue for coming out in such horrible weather to sew with me! I had such a good time and I can't wait until next month!

Thanks for stopping by and supporting the Quilts of Valor Foundation!

Urgent need for Quilts of Valor

I just received this message from the Destination Coordinator for Quilts of Valor:

Just a heads up that the fighting in Afghanistan is very fierce right now leading to a substantial increase in the number of wounded. As such,  the number of quilts requested by the standing weekly destinations has increased from 65 to 105 EVERY WEEK in just the last month. The increase by 40 quilts a week includes the addition of the ICU unit at Landstahl in Germany (15 quilts a week), the addition of the medical unit at  FOB Shank-East in Afghanistan (20 quilts a week) and doubling the number of quilts going to the multinational medical unit at Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan (to 10 a week). These quilts all go to front line wounded service members. There is no concern about whether they have already received a QOV or not.

Sadly, we will fall far short of meeting this need since the 65 quilts a week wasn’t even being fulfilled. These destinations request patriotic/RWB only. 

Won't you please consider making a Quilt of Valor to be donated today? If you live in the Metropolitan DC area please join us for our sewing day July 21st! I would love to be able to help cover some of these good people with quilts not mention help fulfill the numerous individual requests that come in everyday!

Thanks for stopping by and supporting Quilts of Valor! 

First Sewing Day!

I'm so pleased to announce the first sewing date for the Virginia Chapter of Quilts of Valor! As a member of two guilds in Virginia and one sewing group in Maryland I have to admit I love getting together with other quilters!

The details:

• We will be meeting at the West Springfield Government Center on July 21st from 1-5pm. The address is 6140 Rolling Road Springfield, VA 22152. We will using the community room that day. 
• I'll bring with me two ironing boards (one regular size and one tabletop), an iron and a cutting mat. I think since this is our first meeting that we will be a small group, so that should be enough for us to share. However, if you are coming and would like to bring your own cutting supplies that would be great!
• Please bring with you your sewing machine and your current Quilt of Valor project if you have one in the works. Never fear if you don't have a quilt top in progress, I will be making signature blocks that day and would love some help!
• I ask that if you are interested in attending (and I hope you are) please RSVP by email to melanieb@qovf.org or by leaving a comment on this blog post.

Now for the fun parts! Sadly, we are not allowed to have food or drinks (other than bottled water) in the room, but I promise I will have treats for everyone to take home with you that day! Also as an added incentive I will have door prizes that everyone who attends will be eligible to win. (Fabric, Fabric, Fabric)

Please consider joining us on a hot summer's day to make quilts for our nation's brave heroes! They have given and continue to give their all for us, let's give them a tangible symbol of our appreciation back!

To see guidelines for how Quilts of Valor should be made and also to learn more details of the foundation go to the Quilts of Valor website. 

For those of you are might be concerned about meeting a complete stranger in a Springfield Government Center please let me assure you that I am who I am claiming to be! I'm a wife and mother that lives in Alexandria who loves to quilt. Please go to my personal blog to see more details about my life and also a picture of me so you will know what I look like. Hopefully soon, my bio and picture will be on the Quilt of Valor website, but as I am very new to the organization I haven't been added quite yet.

I look forward to meeting you in July! If you can't attend, but are interested in joining us at a later date please consider following this blog. I will post future sewing dates here as they are scheduled!

How to Make a Quilt of Valor

I thought it would be a good idea to give a short explanation of the process involved in creating a Quilt of Valor. The first step is to create the quilt top. To see some good examples of quilts see the Flickr group. While planning the quilt top keep these factors in mind:


Fabric:
 Buy the best 100% quilting weight cotton you can.
 Do not use sheets, thin muslin, or polar fleece as backing.
 Choose fabrics appropriate for adults.
Pattern:
 Choose an interesting pattern.  (No Rag quilts)
 Sources: QOVF website; quilting books; quilting magazines; quilting websites; quilt shops;
fabric company websites for free patterns
Construction:
 Your best work.
 Accurate cutting.
 Uniform seam width (no gaps or holes).
 Blocks squared up to same size, or compensating strips added to make them the same size
so they fit together.
Borders:
 Cut to fit center measurement. (Not a length of fabric sewn to the side of a quilt and
whacked off)
 Opposite borders cut same length. (The opposite sides or ends of your top should not differ
by more than ½ inch if you have pieced carefully)
 Borders pinned and sewn with longer edge underneath so the feed dogs can ease it if
needed.
Backing:
 Color and fabric design appropriate and related to top.
 Ends cut square. Size specified by longarmer.
 If seamed, selvedges trimmed from seam.
 See quilting books, magazines or About Quilting website (www.quilting.about.com) for how
to cut and seam backing.

Once the quilt top is completed it is sent to a volunteer longarmer who will do the quilting for you. Before the quilt top is sent off to them, it should be neatly pressed, free of any animal hair or line, and free of any odors (such a cigarette smoke or laundry detergents)

Once it is returned to you for binding the following guidelines should be used:


Binding:
 Straight cut diagonally seamed (unless edge of quilt is scalloped requiring bias binding)
double fold binding.
 Not just the backing folded over.
 Corners mitered.
 Neatly applied by hand and/or machine.  (Not zigzagged)

When being shipped to the recipient, the quilt should be have a Quilt of Valor label and should be placed in a presentation case. These can either be drawstring bags or a pillowcase. Instructions can be found on the national website.

Along with the quilt, a letter of appreciation or a journal of the quilt making process should be included. The service members want to know who you are, why you wanted to make them a quilt and often how to contact you. Of course since this quilt is a tangible item of thanks to them for their service, a thank you should never be expected, but there is a greater chance of receiving one if you give your contact information.

If you have more questions or concerns, I encourage you to go to QOVF.org. Not only will it answer your questions, but it is filled with photos of beautiful quilts, lots of helpful videos and it is so inspiring! I found the foundation after doing a simple Google search and I've been hooked ever since!

Have a wonderful day and keep sewing! As always, if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to leave me a comment below or send me an email @ Melanieb@qovf.org

Welcome

Hi! My name is Melanie Burnett and I am the new (as in less than 24 hours) Regional Coordinator for the Commonwealth of Virginia. I would like to use this blog as a way to communicate with everyone involved in the Virginia Quilts of Valor community and to show off our work.

I'll start by telling you a little about myself. I live in Alexandria, right outside of Washington, DC. I'm married and have two sweet little boys. My roommate in college taught me how to quilt and I have been quilting ever since. I have been involved with the Quilts of Valor Foundation for almost 2 years and I love it! This cause is personal for me because of my father. He served in the Army as a Staff Sergeant during the Vietnam War. I have heard the horror stories of how he and others were treated when they came back from their tours and I want to do my part to ensure that the warriors of my generation feel appreciated.

If you live in Virginia and would like to get involved please don't hesitate to contact me. My email address is melanie.burnett@qovf.org. Please come back to keep up to date with what's going on in the state. I will update the blog with events, sewing groups, and more as the information becomes available to me.

Just for fun because no one wants to read a blog post with no pictures, here is my latest QOV project:

Here's the pattern in case you're interested! Gotta love Bonnie Hunter!

Have a great day!