Wednesday, July 25, 2012

A different kind of Quilt Show

It has been a couple of crazy weeks around here, and while I love Crazy... I love being a homebody too.... so today... all home.. all the time!!


I have a few lovely quilts to show you today, and a lot of happy smiles....



This first great quilt was made by Jessie C  - Can you believe those start? Wonderful!!



This one is number 6 of 12 ( the QOV 12 in 12 challenge) from Adele D - It is SO great. I spent a lot of time checking out her fabrics!!


And number 7 of 12 for Adele - this one is lovely too, and last night it caught the eye of a female veteran. She was IN LOVE with it... (pictures to follow soon)

Pillowcases!!! Each and every one of our Quilts of Valor are presented with a pillowcase. These are so wonderful! They keep the Quilt clean, they make it easy to carry, and when they get home, to the barracks, at the hospital - they can put the pillowcase on their pillow and it livens up the place.


These were sent by the Pride City Quilt guild in Pueblo - most of them this time made by Teresa!!! Thank you SO much!!


And now -the Happy Faces!! It has been whirlwind presentation time around here - I don't know the reason why, but we have just been working hard to get our military covered!!
Army - 3 tours Iraq

Army in the WTB ( Warriors in Transition)
Quilt made by Jessica V quilted by me 
(just a lucky memory thing at this moment)

This quilt caught her eye because of its soothing colors, when I opened it fully she went - *ohhhh*  ...it found a forever home ;-)


This quilt - from the Cane Cutters Quilt guild in LA found a happy recipient. These were seriously her favorite colors, and we decided it would really brighten up her barracks!
Nita - if you are reading - we are looking for the pattern name for this one. 
This is one made by the High School FCCLA at Platte Valley. They sure did a great job. He is in the WTB as well. Nicest guy ever, but he could not understand why I was not charging him for this quilt.
Gift was a hard word for him to accept.



This guy was amazing. He has a facial injury, but was as happy as could be. He was so tickled to receive a quilt, but even more happy to pose!!!



And my last happy face for today! He really really really wants to say thank you to all the quilters who make these quilts. When he got to the unit, he was walking through and was looking at the quilts on others' beds. 


All he had was his standard issue blankets. He asked the others about them and they explained what kind of quilts they were, and he felt like he might not be worthy of one.... And then I showed up.  


He told me he could feel all your love that is put into the quilt, and he couldn't stop examining the fabrics and the stitching. Something like this always makes my day, but the smile is what really made it - and his thanks to all of you to be honored this way!

17 comments:

Diana said...

These stories and pictures make me tear up every time...thanks so much for sharing with us!

marilyn said...

I love, love these stories and they are what keep me going, making quilts as fast as I can! Thanks for posting them :)

JL said...

Awesome Alycia! I love seeing those happy faces. What a wonderful reward! Ariana just finished her 2nd yesterday.

grandmatomato said...

God has given you a special mission.
How wonderful so many people are helping you to make our service men and women know they are loved.

Anonymous said...

You cant imagine how i feel seeing the veteran who received the quilt i made. I was just thinking about that quilt yesterday and was wondering where it went. I dont take pix of my Qov's so thank youthank you. I will make a copy of this for sure. Thank you, thank you. Hugs! Jess

MaryLu said...

Alycia,
I can't tell you what a special quilt show that was to me. My husband has been to Iraq for three tours and during the last tour, as a chaplain, he was allowed to pass out some QOVs to the soldiers at the hospital unit where he was stationed.
It was so heartwarming to see that he had come home with one for himself.
As a quilter myself, I know the hours and the love that goes into each one. I proudly display our very own QOV at our home, and we have shared many hours of snuggling with my sweetheart now that he is home.
Thanks again for showing the recipients this time.

Gypsy Quilter said...

Spreading the warmth of love even if it's 100 degrees. That's what QOV is all about. Thanks so much for sharing these wonderful pics.

Impera Magna said...

Beautiful quilts, wonderful photos of happy recipients... good back stories...


*reaching for a tissue*

Roslyn said...

Their humility never ceases to amaze me Alycia, good work & thank you for coordinating all of this.

lisa0116 said...

Just amazing!

Nancy said...

Fantastic photos. Thanks again for sharing the smiles and comments. They motivate me to fire up my sewing machine.

Mary Johnson said...

You do such a wonderful job of sharing what and why you do this ... It doesn't surprise me that so many people want to help. I've got one more to bind when I get home before shipping 3 to you.

Kate said...

Beautiful quilts! Thanks for sharing the smiles.

Norece said...

Thanks Alycia - love seeing our military wrapped in these wonderful quilts of love. Enjoy seeing each and everyone of them. Thanks for sharing.

Quiltin Jenny said...

Alycia, these are my favorite posts! They always make me cry. Please keep them coming!

Also, I hope all of these heroes know how honored we are to quilt for them.

Cyn said...

This is a great show. Thank you for organzing this so our Vets and Military can be honored and remembered. We do something like this on the West Coast, but I've never seen pictures of the recipients before. All of ours are given annonomously [sp].

Darling Jill Quilts said...

Love the quilts and the smiles! Especially the last guy... So glad that you could make his day with a quilt!