Quilts of Valor
The Gwinnett Quilters’ Guild, participates in the national Quilts of Valor Foundation which creates wartime quilts called Quilts of Valor, for wounded service men, women and veterans. This is our national outreach project.
The Quilts of Valor Foundation has presented more than 68,000 quilts as of June, 2012 to service members and veterans who have been touch by war.
Guild members and guests can help in several ways:
Sew with our group each month. We meet on the third Thursday of each month at St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Make and donate a patriotic quilt or quilt top. Guild members who are long arm quilters have volunteered to machine quilt the tops others have pieced.
Donate batting or fabric for backing, or help raise funds to provide supplies for our Quilts of Valor quilters.
Each month the completed quilts are photographed and then sent to various destinations for distribution. Over the past two years our quilts have been sent to Kandahar, Afghanistan, Bethesda Naval Hospital, Walter Reed Army Hospital, Dover AFB, Ft. Sam Houston, TX, Camp LeJeune, NC, as well as Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta, GA.
Here are the guidelines for pieced quilt tops.
What is the size of a QOV?
- The minimum size for a Quilt of Valor is 55” by 65”
- The maximum size for a Quilt of Valor is 72” by 90”
- The ideal size for a Quilt of Valor is 60” by 70”
What are the responsibilities of a Quilt Topper?
- Use good, quality fabrics of 100 percent quilting cotton
- Pre-wash all fabrics
- Use a uniform seam width (normally ¼ inch)
- Press carefully
- Prewash your completed quilt before turning it in to the Gwinnett Quilts of Valor Quilters
What happens to the completed quilt?
- We photograph each of the quilts.
- We make a label for each quilt with name of the quilt topper, the machine quilter, the name of the quilt, the date completed, and the location. All QOV quilt labels state “This is a Quilts of Valor endeavor”
Ÿ Every Quilt of Valor is sent in a presentation case made especially for that quilt and includes a personal note to the service member who will receive the quilt.
For additional information contact
Susan Gordon at susang@QOVF.org
or
Rebecca Keeble at rebecca.keeble@gmail.com