A Holiday Message from Pat

It has been three years since the CT Quilters Group, based at the Crafty Threads Quilt Shop, was formed.  We spent most of 2011 meeting once a month to develop a system for how to produce Quilts of Valor.

We began by creating block kits to be available for shop customers to check out and complete.  We had established what pattern we wanted to use as our signature quilt and then engineered a system to make up block kits.  As those kits were returned, we began laying out tops and piecing.  We added borders and then prepared the tops for quilting.

In 2012, we presented 25 quilts to deserving veterans who have made sacrifices to protect our Nation’s freedoms.  To date in 2013 we have passed the 25-quilt mark; but we aren’t finished this year yet.  We have an additional 13 quilts to present and have 4 more coming back from a local long-armer for us to put the finishing touches on.

During the past three years, our Group has expanded from that initial 7 people that met to figure out how this was going to work.  Along the way, we have grown to 30 plus members who give of their time at the meetings, and an untold number of volunteers who take the block kits home and keep our supply chain going for us to make quilt tops.  The dictionary defines ‘giving’ as “to make a present of “, it goes on to define ‘giving out’ as “to distribute”.  This is what the CT Quilters Group does.

But, during this Holiday Season we also get to reflect on the present we receive in this endeavor of ours.  Our members come from many walks of life - some are veterans, some are married to veterans, some are the daughters, sisters and mothers of veterans, and some just appreciate veterans to the extent that they want to contribute.  So, as we sew each seam, we rejoice in the fact that our loved ones and yours have kept us free.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Pat Neville

CT Quilters Group Leader, 2011-2013

PS  We always have needs for donations of fabric (red, white, blue, beige, gold, sage green, camouflage, etc) and/or batting (twin size - 100% cotton or thin poly preferred) to help during our meeting times and the long-arming of quilts.

   Thank you!

Where Do the Quilting Supplies Come From?

The CT Quilters Group originally solicited donations of red, white and blue fabrics to begin its projects in 2011, and continues to willingly receive such donations.  The Group was very fortunate to receive a sizable grant in 2012 to purchase materials to support the construction of more Quilts of Valor.  The grant allowed the Group to purchase 70+ yards of fabric, needles and batting.  We have sent a special detailed report to this service organization not only to express our appreciation but also to explain exactly how their funds were used and who were (or will be) the recipients of their generosity.  We also sent our special thanks to one of our most active QOV volunteers, Maria, who facilitated the application for the grant.  Maria is a member of the service organization and was in constant contact with that group to ensure that they knew their funds were being used wisely.



4-patch made by a service club member from kit



ironing donated backing fabric

sewing pillowcases from donated fabric

What Quilt Design Does the CT Quilters – QOV Group Use?

To ensure quality, the Quilts of Valor Foundation (QOV) has strict requirements for donated quilts.  This group adheres to those instructions.  The sizes requested are a generous lap-size, ranging from a minimum of 55 x 65 inches  to a maximum of 72 x 90 inches.   Good quality, 100% cotton quilting weight fabric suitable for an adult is to be used.  Machine or hand-quilting may be used with a low-loft quality batting – tied quilts are not acceptable.  All quilts are to be labeled with a QOV label and are to be presented in a presentation case (more on that in a later post). 

One of the best-known quilt designers, authors and scrap quilters on the Web is Bonnie K. Hunter.  She has benevolently offered a free quilt pattern on her site that she has entitled the “Fourth of July!”.  Its dimensions of 60 x 72 inches makes it perfect for a QOV project and Bonnie has graciously provided blanket permission for use of her pattern for that purpose (with credit to the designer, of course – see her website for more information).

In addition to being simple and patriotic, this quilt design makes up beautifully with scrappy red, white and blue fabrics and with many different contributors.  The kits (mentioned in the previous post) that are available for checkout at the Crafty Threads store, are comprised of the two main blocks in the quilt:  (1) Blocks “A”  are the 4-patches and (2) Blocks ”B” are the snowball blocks.

In this detail of a quilt top,
Block A is at the top center and
two Block Bs are at the bottom

The group originally made a sample quilt that is on display at Crafty Threads to entice visitors to join the group, sew up a few kits and/or just to raise awareness of this great project.

     
After enough blocks are available for assembly (the design calls for 40 A blocks and 38 B blocks), volunteers begin arranging the quilt top to be sewn together:

          

Two different outside borders are added after all rows are sewn together to make a complete top.  Currently, Barb Linares, owner of Crafty Threads, and several other machine quilters and long-armers are donating their services to sandwich and quilt these tops with gorgeous machine stitching.  Then the quilts are bound by other volunteers and ready for presentation.