#23

This quilt was pieced by Connie Zwego and other members of the Blue Valley Quilters' Guild during a quilting retreat in 2009.  It was machine quilted by Connie Zwego and sent to Everett, WA in November of 2009.

#22

This quilt was pieced by Wanda Wadman of DeSoto, KS and members of the Blue Valley Quilters' Guild.

It was machine quilted by Lisa Sipes (pictured) of Colby, KS.

This quilt was sent to a naval base at Everett, Washington in November of 2009.

#21

This quilt was pieced by Paula Vohls and members of the Blue Valley Quilters' Guild.

It was machine quilted by Marilyn Page of Olathe, KS.

This quilt was sponsored by Sue and Tyrus Frerking of Leawood, KS.

In December of 2009 it was sent to a World War II Veteran near Milwaukee, WI.

This quilt was pieced by Paula Vohls and members of the Blue Valley Quilters' Guild.  It was quilted by Marilyn Page of Olathe, KS and was sponsored by Tyrus and Sue Frerking of Leawood, KS.

It was sent to Milwaukee, WI to a World War II Veteran in December of 2009

#20

This quilt was pieced by Tina Gordon, Olathe, KS and other members of the Blue Valley Quilters' Guild.

It was machine quilted by Tina Gordon of Leawood, KS.

It was sponsored by the National Korean War Veterans- KS Chapter 181

In November of 2009 it was sent to a naval base in Everett, WA.

#19

This quilt was pieced by Nikki McDonald, Olathe, KS and other members of the Blue Valley Quilters' Guild.

It was machine quilted by Diane Tolin of Leawood, KS.

It was sponsored by Mary Harrison of Little Rock, AR.

In November of 2009 it was sent to Everett, WA.

#18

This quilt was pieced by Jessie Vandenberg of Overland Park, KS.

It was machine quilted by Janiece Cline of Lenexa, KS.

It was sent to Ft. Worth, TX on 9-09.

#16

This quilt was pieced by Marilyn Robbins of Silver Lake, KS.

It was machine quilted by Janiece Cline of Lenexa, KS.

It was sent to Ft. Worth, TX on 9-09.

#15

This quilt was pieced by members of the Blue Valley Quilters' Guild and Billie Clark, Overland Park, KS.

It was quilted by Mary Kaye Fosnacht, Overland Park, KS.

#14

This quilt was pieced by Linda Bartels, Overland Park, KS.

It was quilted by Janiece Cline, Lenexa, KS.

It was sent to Ft. Worth, TX 9-09

#13

This quilt was pieced by Linda Bartels, Overland Park, KS and was quilted by Janiece Cline, Lenexa, KS.

It was sent to Ft. Worth, TX 9-09

#12

This quilt was pieced by members of the Blue Valley Quilters' Guild.

It was quilted by Diane Tolin, Leawood, KS.

It was sent to Ft. Worth, TX 9-09

#11

This quilt was pieced by members of the Blue Valley Quilters' Guild and was quilted by Diane Tolin, Leawood, KS.

It was sent to Ft. Worth, TX 9-09

#10

This quilt was pieced by Paula Vohls and other members of the Blue Valley Quilters' Guild

It was quilted by Janiece Cline, Lenexa, KS

It was sent to Ft. Worth, TX 9-09

#9

Pieced by Sarah Cullins, Lenexa, KS

Quilted by Janiece Cline, Overland Park, KS

Snet to Afghanistan, 10-08

#8

Pieced by Sarah Cullins, Lenexa, KS

Quilted by Janiece Cline, Lenexa, KS

Sent to Erie, PA 12-08

#7

Pieced by Virginia Rudisill, Overland Park, KS

Quilted by Janiece Cline, Lenexa, KS

Sent to Afghanistan 10-08

#6

Pieced by Virginia Rudisill of Overland Park, KS

Quilted by Janiece Cline of Lenexa, KS

Sent to Afghanistan 10-08

#5

Log Cabin Quilt:

Pieced by Virginia Rudisill's Overland Park, KS Sewing Group

Quilting done by Marthe Cox, Overland Park, KS

Sent to: Alaska

*Need picture*

#4

This quilt was sponsored and made by the Shawnee Mission Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. 3 SMDAR members also belong to the Blue Valley Quilters' Guild: Leanne Baraban, Mary Guggemos, and Nikki McDonald.

It was machine quilted by Charolette Gurwell, Jefferson City, MO

and was sent to a VA Hospital in Kentucky in June of 2008.

The pattern is called "Nancy's Fancy from the book, "A Treasury of Scrap Quilts" by Nancy J. Martin.

#3

Sponsored and made by Nikki McDonald, Olathe, KS

Quilted by Marthe Cox, Overland Park, KS

Pattern is Yellow Brick Road

Sent to ?

#2

Made and sponsored by Nikki McDonald, Olathe, KS 2005
Machine quilted by ?

Sent to Walter Reed Army Medical Center

#1

Made by Janie McDonald, Benton, KS, 2005
Sponsored by Janie McDonald
Machine quilted by ?

Sent to Walter Reed Army Medical Center

How We Became Involved

Fons and Porter's magazine had a competition back in 2005 encouraging people to make quilts for wounded soldiers. Janie and Nikki McDonald each made quilts (#1 and #2 on this blog) and sent them away. As time went by, more and more US troops were deployed and were being injured, so we felt a strong need to do more. A few quilts later, we have over 100 quilters involved and several sponsors. The need will always be there. Individually, we cannot accomplish nearly as much as we can when we all work together. Thanks so much for your help! Here are a few pictures of our guild members at work...

Ways You Can Help

Sponsoring a Quilt: We have opportunities for sponsorship for quilts. $50 per quilt will provide us with funding to pay for shipping and backing fabric. Labor and other materials are donated by quilters. This is currently our greatest need. Sponsors' names are listed on the labels of their quilts. Also, recipients of the quilts often write back, providing thank you notes and pictures of themselves with their quilts. It's a very rewarding way to help with our cause. We currently (as of 9-16-09) have 22 that have been awarded to veterans and 38 more that are in progress. Most of these 32 that are in progress are in need of sponsorship, as we have started to run low on backings and are out of funds to pay shipping. If you are interested in sponsorship of a Quilt of Valor, please let us know.

Block of the Month: Each month at our Blue Valley Quilters' Guild meeting, you can stop by the QOV table to pick up a 12 1/2 inch block pattern. We ask that you make one block to donate back to us to be used in a sampler quilt. Any color scheme will do, although patriotic blocks are popular and easy to mix and match with. We have a different pattern each month. There's no time requirement on how quickly the blocks must be returned.

Block Kits: Kits are generally available for checkout with fabric that has been pre-cut and a pattern to match. These blocks are used in sampler quilts along with blocks from the block of the month patterns.

Making Pillowcases: With each Quilt of Valor, we make and send a matching pillowcase. Kits to make pillowcases are available to be checked out at guild meetings.

Assembling Quilt Tops: Often, we use 12 blocks on point to make a quilt top (see picture below). Kits can be checked out to help with assembling quilt tops. Pictures are provided with each quilt and blocks are measured beforehand to make assembly troublefree.

This is a picture of a quilt that is ready for assembly.

Piecing Backings: Generally we buy 4 or 5 yards for backings. These need to be cut in half, sewn together, ironed and hung on hangers.

Binding Quilts: If you love to bind quilts, we would like to know about it.

Putting on Labels: We have a volunteer that makes machine embroidered labels for our QOVs. These labels need to be appliqued onto the backs of the quilts. This is one of the final steps and one of the most important.

Making Quilt Tops: You can make a Quilt of Valor yourself. We can help with any stage of the project, whether it is helping find funding for a backing, adding borders, finding a quilter, binding or shipping!

Quilts of Valor Bee: In the next couple of months, we will be forming a Quilts of Valor Bee that will meet monthly (probably on Saturday mornings) to work on quilts. We can work on projects that are already in progress (cutting, assembling, labeling, etc.) or we can plan new quilts to do together at our meetings. A Yellow Brick Road quilt is on our list of to do's... If everyone brought a patriotic fat quarter or two, we'd have enough to make a quilt. If you are interested in participating in this bee, please let us know.

Machine Quilting: We deeply appreciate our long arm machine quilters. Without their help, none of this would be possible. If you are willing to quilt one of our QOVs, please contact us. We almost always have a quilt or two that are ready to be quilted. We have recently had a donation of batting, so we can provide batting if needed to help defray costs for you.

Helping Unfinished Blocks and Tops Become QOVs

We always take donations of orphan blocks or fabric (especially yardage). We are willing to take unfinished or finished tops and facilitate getting backings, machine quilting, and shipping, if needed. We have an army of willing quilters who will make sure your top gets completed and shipped to soldiers who will find comfort in having it.

ALL fabric must be quilt shop quality.

QOV SIZE REQUIREMENTS
The minimum size for a QOV is 50" by 60" (Remember to allow for shrinkage when the quilt is washed)
The maximum size for a QOV is 72" by 96"

PILLOWCASES
If you have extra material from piecing your top, please make a matching pillowcase or include the fabric when you give us your unfinished quilt top. Each of our QOVs is shipped in a pillowcase to give the hospital bed a nice touch with the quilt. And the pillowcases can later be used for storing the QOV. *Pillowcases are standard/twin size.

If you need additional information on how to donate orphan blocks or quilt tops to our cause, please contact Nikki McDonald at nkiblueeyes@yahoo.com.

What is Quilts of Valor?