Sometime ago I got a donation quilt in from M. Smith of Clinton, IL.  The quilt was awesome and in red, white and blue.  I was thinking it needed to go to the Quilt of Valor project.  Well one of my blog readers, Doreen, is the coordinator of QOV in the neighboring county.  I contacted her and asked if she would be interested in the quilt….of course, she was.
Doreen explained that presentation day for the quilts was a ways away and wondered if it was okay if the quilt waited that long to be donated. Â I didn’t have a problem with that at all.
Presentation day came just a bit ago.
Doreen sent me this note.  It read, “Today I had the presentation of the quilt you gave me for Quilt of Valor to a resident of an assisted living facility in Fairbank. The great picture I took of the Veteran did not get saved on my phone. I don’t know what happened so I am sending you the one I do have. I was given permission for you to use on your blog if you want. The Veteran is reading the names on the label of those who made his quilt. The quilt was donated to you by M. Smith of Clinton, IL.
The Veteran was in WW2 and is extremely proud of the quilt. His family from MN came down to see him receive the quilt as well. They are so impressed and thankful that people make such beautiful quilts to donate to various causes. Thank you so much for thinking of our group.”
I asked Doreen if it was okay if I told people that her QOV group needed more quilts.  Doreen responded by writing, “Jo, it would be wonderful if you did mention our need. What we do with quilt tops donated, we finish them up and award them to Veterans outside of our county as I keep getting request from QOV to award quilts in other areas. Right now I have at least 7 waiting for quilts. We received a small grant to make quilts for Veterans in Chickasaw county so I am limited with that money, but, we do have a few who try to help with the other counties needs.  To see the Veterans get tears in their eyes when they receive a quilt and say they thought people forgot about them is so humbling. All most of them only wanted was to have someone thank them for the time they spent protecting our country. Thanks for your help.”
If anyone else has quilt tops that they are no longer wanting and wants to see a veteran honored in this way, Doreen and I will work together to see that you top gets finished and given to a deserving veteran. Â If you have a quilt top that you would like to donate please contact me and I will help get your quilt top where it is needed.
It makes me so happy to see this. Â Thanks to Doreen and to M. Smith. Â Your work is surely appreciated.
Don’t you just love reading blog posts that make your heart happy. Â I sure love writing them!!
Hello I’m fairly new to quilting I loved this story and would also like to donate a quilt top to your group to give a ww veteran
Such a lovely thing to do x Tracie
Is there a certain size requirement for QOV quilts?
our area has a QOV quilt program as well – it is a worthy cause.
Ahhh thanks for that! Great post!
That pic of the lovely veteran reading the names is so priceless! This is why we do what we do for QOV!!
Jo, the size requirements for QOV are the minimum size is 55″x65″ and the largest size is 72″x90″. I greatly appreciate your mentioning of our group as we would like to see ALL Veterans receive a quilt. This November we will award quilts to Veterans in Chickasaw County, Waucoma, and some from neighboring counties. I met this morning with some of the Veterans who will be receiving quilts and am so impressed with their patriotism and devotion to our country. The Veterans truly appreciate the time and love we spend to make quilts for them. Thanks for helping us with these projects. M. Smith thank you for your wonderful quilt. It is truly loved!
What a beautiful quilt, M. Smith! Thank you Doreen for sharing this picture of the presentation.
But, of course, the star of this event was the veteran who received the quilt. A WWII vet?! There are precious few of The Greatest Generation left. What a moving moment to see him getting this quilt in honor of his service to our country.
Thank you, M. Smith, for making the quilt top. Thank you, Jo, for quilting it. Thank you, Doreen, for arranging the presentation. As part of the “grateful nation” who appreciate the service of these military veterans, it is wonderful to learn about this presentation event.
Jo, This post does make your heart happy & with an overload of bad news, thiis makes all of happy & challenges me to get busy & make another QOV. Thanks!
Jo, I would love to donate a quilt top, but have a few questions. Size requirements? Do they need to be Red , White and Blue? and most important, do we send them to you or directly to QOV representative?
Quilts of Valor is such a worthy cause and the veterans always seem to appreciate them so much. You may be aware of the block drive that Alycia in Colorado is spearheading, but other QOV groups are welcome to make blocks and quilts for local and regional needs as well. Alycia is featuring a block I designed for QOV, and the tutorial can be found on my blog here: http://thecolorfulfabriholic.blogspot.com/2016/08/lcts-for-qov.html or on her blog at http://alyciaquilts.blogspot.com/2016/08/quilts-of-valor-block-drive-time.html
QOV is a great charity to donate time, fabric or quilts to. I have just completed two quilt tops that will be donated to my local QOV. It makes for such a great feeling knowing that the recipients get such great joy and warmth from these quilts of beauty.