Veterans Day – Quilts of Honor

Good morning!  It’s Cindy reporting in from Ohio AND it’s Veterans Day!

Last Thursday, my quilt guild hosted a luncheon to honor 63 Veterans in our local area.  For the past year, my guild worked diligently to make 21 Quilts of Honor and we presented them to 21 grateful Veterans at this lovely luncheon ceremony.

It was very humbling to have FOUR World War II Veterans join us and this quilt sums up what many of us were thinking.  Home of FreeThe quilt below was presented to a Vietnam Veteran who was a Prisoner of War (POW) for over two years.  He is a recipient of two purple hearts, a bronze star, a silver star and many other military honors he is reluctant to mention.  CharlieThis wall hanging was even more beautiful in person. Eagle One of our guild members even did a bit of hand quilting for a special, personal touch.  Quilted StarI really like these stars on point…this design may be a July 4th quilt in the making!    Stars on PointIt was fun to see how each guild member put their creative stamp on each quilt.  Patriotic phrasesThe quilting below resembles wood grain because the recipient used to do woodworking as a hobby…what a nice, personal touch!Single Star

It is a privilege to honor our Veterans today.

Veterans DAy 2019

Photo Courtesy of va.gov

Honor to Honor

Last Sunday, my quilt guild presented a quilt of honor to a World War II veteran.  What a perfect tribute, timed just after our July 4th celebration in the U.S.!

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Quilt of Honor for World War II Veteran

This veteran joined the U.S. Navy just after his 17th birthday in 1944 and served on a battleship in the Pacific Ocean.  After being discharged from the Navy, he finished high school by taking night classes after working a full shift in a manufacturing plant.

While enrolled in college, he enlisted in the Army ROTC (because it paid $25 per month).  While in college, he was then deployed to France during the Korean War.  After the Korean War, he returned to college to complete his degree.

Many friends and family members were on hand to celebrate with us as we presented this quilt to a wonderful man.  What an honor to honor this World War II veteran!

An Active Guild!

I belong to an active quilt guild.  Each year we do a quilt for a Habitat for Humanity family, a quilt for a family surviving domestic violence and a Quilt of Honor for a United States Veteran.

Last weekend, I finished sewing the top for our Quilt of Honor.  Several guild members worked on the blocks and I finished the last row of chevrons and added the inner and outer borders.  A long arm quilter from the guild will do the quilting.

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This is one of my favorite blocks.  I like the plaid and polka dot combo.

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Here is another favorite block.  Also, you can see the navy outer border fabric that highlights the entire quilt.

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Our guild goes 0n a shopping road trip each year and we have fun picking out the fabrics for our charity quilts.  Most of the time, guild members donate fabrics for the quilt blocks and then we go shopping for the border and binding fabrics to bring everything together in a cohesive quilt.

I have learned so much from my fellow guild members!  Each member has different quilting talents and they inspire me to expand my quilting horizons.  I’m always challenged with new techniques, color placements, fabric choices and patterns.

Do you belong to a quilting guild or group?  Tell us about it!