Recap of 06/21/13 Meeting

We had an excellent turnout for a very productive Quilts of Valor meeting, especially considering that it is summer time/vacation time.  We have witnesses that will attest that these ladies can churn out a huge volume of work.  And our thanks for the brownies made by Pat's granddaughter, Jessica ... we snarfed them up!

We had some more great fabric donations – thank you so much, Donna, Debbie and Yvonne (who is our favorite hunter/gatherer that collects from her friends for us!):

 

And, this is what we can turn that fabric into!  Let’s see all of the quilt tops that were turned in ready to be quilted and/or the quilts that volunteers made at home.  First up are those made from our go-to pattern, the Fourth of July by Bonnie Hunter or its variation:

 

And check out this detail of the center blocks in the third one above made by Dawn – great fabric choice!

 

And the detail of the border fabrics on this one made by Jan (the fourth photo above) – some soldier is going to really like those eagles in the border:

 

This one was made by Patricia – everybody loved the “new to us” pattern and that beautiful star!

 

And there were lots of oohs and aahs over these, made by Debbie:

 

 

And we loved this fabric that Debbie discovered and used for the backing of a quilt (so many great fabrics, so little time …):

 These are the busy ladies in action:

 

making kits

sewing borders and bindings

cutting squares and assembling kits

cutting fabrics, sewing bindings and
ironing in the background!

sewing on bindings and sewing borders

And we had another great presentation of a take-home technique from Pat.  You can use a precut Jelly Roll or cut your own 1600 inches of 2 ½ inch strips.  These types of quilts have become very popular because they go together so fast – and yes, there have been groups that have had Jelly Roll Races to whip these quilts out.  Here is Pat’s sample of a finished quilt:

 

finished demo Jelly Roll quilt

And here is her demo started – using her own leftover patriotic fabrics – and a close-up of the fabrics:

 

through the __nth cut!

varied patriotic fabrics

And the finished center – later in the meeting:

 

Jelly Roll center before borders

That quilt will be destined for Pat’s brother-in-law that served in the Army.

And we had two items for Show and Tell.  Pat is making this quilt for her father’s 90^th birthday present.  The thirteen stars represent his children and grandchildren:

 

And Jadene shared this heartwarming story about the honors received by her son, Matt.  Congressman Bill Young spoke on record in the US House of Representatives acknowledging Matt for his volunteer work at Bay Pines VA Center in St. Petersburg, FL.  Matt received a plaque with a framed printout of the Congressional Record from May 20, 2013.

Matt has Down Syndrome and Autism and receives support through a community based Medicaid waiver to do his volunteer job 5 days a week.  Word is that, not only does he greatly enjoy his job, his work is appreciated by staff and the patients, as well.  He is even able to connect with patients who don’t interact with staff and other patients!

Our best wishes go to Matt - he’s doing a fabulous job for our Veterans and we are so proud of him!

 

Jadene with Matt's nephews Aiden and Cody
holding a photo of Congressman Young and Matt

Matt's plaque with the
framed Congressional Record

Next month, we will have a special Sew-In

to make a Trip Around the World Quilt

(not a Demo – not a Presentation – all will Participate)

More on this Special Activity in later Posts – Watch this blog!!!

July’s meeting will be on Friday the 19^th, from 10 – 2:00

at the Crafty Threads Quilt Shop