The coolest thing happened...

[nineva]

Today I took a break from my American Heroes quilt to take my DIL to lunch. She is a Navy nurse, recently returned from a year\'s deployment to an army hospital overseas where the wounded Iraq vets go. She asked me what I was working on, so I told her about the quilt I have on the machine. She got the strangest look on her face. Her words were "you will never know how much those quilts mean to those guys". I almost started crying (well I did, but we were in a public place after all). She said the vets are brought to tears knowing some stranger out there cared enough to do this for them.

:)

If you are able at all to squeeze in an extra quilt with a quick E2E, please think about doing this. QOV, American Heroes, any others. It does make a difference.

Nancy

[TracyeQ]

Thank you for that reminder Nancy. We don\'t always know how much it might mean to them.

So often when we give quilts to family members they don\'t really apreciate them, so it\'s easy to think the same might be true for strangers who don\'t have any idea what it takes to make a quilt.

[kennan100]

My nephew just got his orders to go to Ft. Leonard Wood in Missouri. He was wanting depoyment but will be there for about 2 years. He has gotton his housing and called his Mom to have her send the quilt our Mother made for him. He wants his "pilty"! Says it won\'t be home without a quilt! I love our troops!

[DoryJM]

Friends of mine were in the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport with their son, who was in uniform. He went to buy a coffee at Starbucks and a man in front of him paid for it. Another man came up and said he\'d moved him from regular fare to first class. Their son was so touched. This man was a VietNam vet and swore that he\'d do whatever he could whenever he saw a soldier in uniform so that they\'d never feel as he had when he got back home.

I think its wonderful that no matter what we think of the war, we\'re not taking it out on the soldiers. It really says something for how far our country has come in that respect.

I\'d like to make a QOV. How can I find out where to send it?

[Sheri Butler]

Nancy, where are the addresses to send these quilts to?

Ya know, we really could make up a quick quilt, practicing what we learned at our MQS classes. What a way to practice, practice, practice, AND care for our soldiers as well!

[barbm]

Dorothy & Sheri,

The website for QOV is www.qovf.org (Quilts of Valor Foundation). Check out the website - you might even find that there are quilt-toppers in your immediate area in need of pairing with a longarm quilter. You can also e-mail to June Moore at june@qovf.org - she\'s the "longarm/topper coordinator." I know she\'d be ecstatic to have more quilters on board!

[cmoore1223]

Here is the addy to the organization that I just contacted. They need longarmers to quilt for them.

http://www.americanheroquilts.com/contact.htm

[quiltmonkey]

Nancy Jo, thanks for the "up front and personal" story about these quilts. I am going to see my guild members tomorrow and ask if they would piece a few tops, and everyone chips in for batting & Backer fabric, I would quilt them. Thanks Nancy Jo, my sista. Love ya!

Oh, and about shedding a tear in public? No worries...those tears are good ones and everyone should be happy to shed a grateful tear for the soldiers who risk their lives in such a dangerous environment.

[Bonnie]

I too will be asking for a few to do....Gene and I do whatever we can to suppor the troops.

When traveling Gene always buys ice cream, meals or coffee\'s for those that are in uniform while he is waiting at the airport. I had to laugh last month...HE WENT WAY over budget...and now I don\'t feel so bad about buying more fabric. Besides I would have hurt him if he hadn\'t....Its nice to see them smile.

God Bless those who are serving, and God Bless their families.

[Grammie]

I just began QOV a few months ago. I really enjoy doing them.

They do make a big difference.

Many of us have family or a friend serving our country so do take the time if you can.

My son just left last Month and will be there for a year and a half I understand.

Thanks for the warm story Nancy. Isn\'t it amazing what a difference a bunch of Quilters can make. I LOVE THAT!!

Hugs

Grammie

[nineva]

QOV is a large organization and you can go to the website Barb posted. American Hero quilts is smaller. You can go to the website or email Sue directly at helpinghands@americanheroquilts.com . I chose them as they are smaller, not as well known and I know the quilts go directly to the soldiers while they are still in the hospital. That\'s how my DIL knew about them. She did not know I was one of the longarmers doing this. I am not quite sure about QOV and when they get the quilts. Both are extremely worthy organizations. I don\'t actually piece the quilts. They come to me beautifully pieced, with the backing. I donate the thread and batting, quilt them and mail them back. Not sure how QOV works, probably much the same. I do know you can be reimbursed for the postage. If anyone wants to do this and cannot afford to provide the batting, please email me at nineva@adelphia.net. I will donate the batting for you. Either organization. I don\'t care. As Myrna says, JUST DO IT.

Please, if you can, do this. It\'s quick to E2E a quilt for a soldier/sailor/airman/marine. They are so appreciative.

Nancy

[Farmwife Darlene]

Nancy, I\'m working on 2 American Hero quilts now and they sent the batting as well as the binding to me. I\'ve completed one and will start the other this weekend. This is a great group and are so appreciative! Sue is very helpful and grateful for anyone that can help quilt for them!

Thanks for sharing the story.

[nineva]

And further...

I was just telling my husband what a wonderful group y\'all are. It makes my heart full to see the response to our soldiers, regardless of what political opinions are. I know if my son (active duty Navy) was injured, I would be grateful to any quilter that donated a quilt to him during his time of healing. Thanks to all of you for your direct from the heart responses and the love each of you share everytime you do one of these quilts.

On Saturday, on my way home from MQS, there was a soldier in full camo sitting in the front row across from me. I would say 75% of the people that boarded that plane thanked him for his service. Is that just the best thing?

Nancy

[bobbi]

When my older brother came home from Viet Nam back in the early 70\'s, he was greeted with people spitting on him, yelling at him, and wanting to beat him up. Our own parents wouldn\'t even talk to him about it. He\'s now 64, on disability for loss of hearing, has had a colostomy from the agent orange, (now repaired), and never married because of the PSTD he\'s suffered all these years. He lives several states away from all of us, and it\'s hard to maintian contact with the poor guy. He knows we love him, but ya know, THANK GOD our society has finally accepted ALL OUR SOLDIERS for what they really are.....

HEROs!

All our men are willing to lay down their lives to keep America safe and free. Thank God for them!

[TracyeQ]

You know it is just mind boggling the way the Viet Nam vets were treated. It\'s not the soldiers who just up and decide "hey, let\'s go to war" they do what they are told, go where they\'re told. They are not the ones anyone should have spit on.

What was it the spitters expected them to do? I just don\'t understand.

I am so glad people are not behaving that way for our soldiers now. I\'d be in fights everywhere I went.

[bsktsn3cats]

I quilt 2 tops per month for QOV. I provide batting, thread and my time. Sometimes I finish them and send them on to their final destination. Sometimes, I send them back to the piecer to finish. I also try to make my own as often as I can.

My son suffers from PTSD also from being in Iraq. He has trouble with the simplest things sometimes. It\'s so hard to see him struggle with the demons of war. It affects all aspects of his life these days and it makes me so sad to know others are also going through this.

Every small thing we can do will help.

[Mary Beth]

While working at the Circle Lord booth at MQS, I was able to talk to the ladies at the QOV booth. I was blown away by the fact the the reason I have not received any QOV quilts to work on is because there are no piecers in the Kansas City metro area!! Can you believe that?! I am making it my mission to get the word out to the quilt guilds in the area that piecers are needed for this cause. If you all could contact all of your local guilds and give them the web sites for both of these organizations, encourage them, so that we can get enough quilts for these soldiers, I know the soldiers would appreciate it.

[victoriasews]

We had a soldier on my plane coming home from MQS. My husband started the conversion and I thanked the young man. He was on his way home after 2 years in Iraq. Our plane had been delayed twice and some were really obnoxiously complaining and the young man just smiled and said, This is nothing. How we often get our perspective out of whack.

[calicokat]

QOV\'s are how I got my start longarming. The local group I work with just celebrated 3 years and they totalled the quilts - an astounding 803! I\'ve only been helping for a year, but I\'m really glad to get to be a part of such a good effort. (I got to see some of chickenscratch Theresa\'s work at one of the displays a year ago - too cool!)

The neat thing is, it seems that more and more folks are going out of their way to try to make it up to the Vietnam guys now. My hope would be that each of them who was disrespected could receive an act of kindness and appology that touches their heart and helps heal those wounds. They never should have been treated that way.

[lisae]

I do QOV quilts, too. My son is in the Navy so it is a project very near and dear to my heart! I have received a couple of thank yous from the recipients. Talk about making you cry!!

[Grammie]

My husband is a vietnam vet and doesn\'t speak of it often. Never mind his job but few of us would have wanted it.

The end of March his father passed and was given the 21 gun salute graveside.

I\'ve never seen my husband touched that way and once again he stood so proud while he recieved his fathers Flag.

It was moving to say the least. I\'m so proud of him. He\'s a keeper!!!!!!

[abayer]

Thank you for starting this thread . . . here in Texas we are doing our part too. Operation Quilted Comfort for Ft. Hood started in 2004 by two military spouses living on post. When several local quilters attended the post Quilt-A-Thon, they saw the potential to make this a community service project very meaningful to the family members that would receive these quilts. The project naturally expanded to include those soldiers with life alterning injuries.

When my friend Lorraine Karl moved to Tennessee she started a new chapter and I took over the coordination of OQC here in Texas. Today I\'m looking at a stack of 25 completed quilts that are ready to go!! To date we\'ve done over 600 quilts between four quilt guilds; Allen, Frisco, McKinney and Plano.

We always say to those assisting us . . . "Do what you can when you can, there is no deadline."

[JanieceKS]

Mary Beth -

I just sent an e-mail to the Blue Valley Quilter\'s Guild for QOV quilt tops. If you would like to partner up to get this going in K.C., let me know. We can pool our resources for any supplies we need and hopefully get some tops from our quilting friends. In addition, maybe we can work on our longarmers to do 1-2 quilts a month too.

Call me so we can put together a plan;:)

Janiece

[DebFigved]

I friend of mine has a son in the Marines and on his 2nd tour of duty in Iraq. He and the men under him are responsible for training the Iraqi police. When asked what he would really like in his monthly care package, His response was not for him, but for the kids. His letter read:

Dear Mom-

I\'m doing well for the moment, but have been busier than a one legged man in a...well, you know. Things are going well at the police station and I try to stay busy with all the patrols, logistics and operations there. We try to do a lot of community activities and events with the Iraqi Police and would like to get our hands on school supplies and other comfort items for kids (ie: small stuffed animals, small toys and uninflated soccer balls...these kids love soccer balls!!!) We try to do a humanitarian effort as much as we can while performing combat operations out here...winning the hearts and minds. It\'s amazing how much the people have begun to accept us with small little gestures we do. Big differance from what it was when I was here back in 2004.

Our men are of valor!! They deserve all the quilts and praise we can give them.

[GramieSnooks]

Jim,my DH, has been doing QOV for over a year now. A few months ago he got a card from a Capt. in Iraq, a nurse, thanking him for the quilts. She said that sometimes because of thier situation it might be the only thing the soldiers have left that is theirs. She worked in a trama center at the front. It\'s the least we can do for their sacrifices.