Feeds:
Posts
Comments

March Madness

March 29, 2012 by Jan

Hi everyone,

Bet you were wondering “what has Quilts of Honor been up to – it’s been awfully quiet on the blog.”  I guess you could say I’ve been a little on the lazy side.  If someone would volunteer to follow me around and tape record what is going on, then I wouldn’t have to sit at this computer and try to make my brain work instead of quilting.

It’s been another whirlwind of a month and I don’t mean the weather.  We started off with a ceremony in Sutter Creek at the Gold County Lanes where we awarded a very deserving Veteran a long overdue thank you.  Boy was that different!  I got to speak on the bowling alley speaker that they usually say, “bowling ball stuck on lane 2.”  I felt like, Wow, this is something that they would stop all the lanes so we could honor our Veteran.  Sam and Kay made the quilt and helped with the presentation.  The recipient had big tears in his eyes and I got another hug.  I told you this is a good job getting all these hugs.

Next, we got all our quilts ready to send to Washington, DC for the Angels on the Battlefield ceremonies.  Eleven quilts were sent this year and we received our first thank you note from a recipient – a ParaRescue Medic.

I was invited to speak at the Oakdale Quilt Guild so off I went and now we have a new group participating with us which I hope will continue to grow with us.  We are looking forward to their Quilt Show on October 6th and 7th where we will have a QOH booth.

Then we held our Luck of the Irish Bunco Tournament to raise funds that allow us to continue doing what we do.  I cooked corned beef and cabbage for dinner and we all had a great time.  Nancy made awesome cupcakes that everyone is still talking about.

Next up, we honored 5 Marines – 4 of the Marines were all from one family.  They were brought to Valley Springs for a presentation ceremony at church.  They came from Reno, Manteca and 29 Palms and then we did a surprise QOH presentation to a retired Marine from Valley Springs.

The next night we drove to Turlock to award 6 QOH to 4 Active Army and 2 retired Veterans.  We all met at Cloth and Quilts who have supported us in so many.  It is a meeting place for the Quilts of Honor group and also offers longarm quilting.  The Turlock Quilt of Honor Group arranged the ceremony and without their help we would be lost.  Here is the link to the article in the Turlock Journal:  http://www.turlockjournal.com/section/12/article/14193/ 

See why I need a tape recorder?

Wednesday was our Quilts of Honor Sew-In and we had 16 volunteers attend.  It amazes me to see the groups come in from Turlock, Placerville, Concord, and Stockton.  God bless each one of you for always coming through for Quilts of Honor.  Sheila wins the prize for the peanut butter, carmel, chocolate pie she created – we all went nuts over it.  They worked on making presentation cases with our military services on the front panel; bound quilts; sewed on labels, and made signature blocks.

This weekend we will travel to Alameda to award three quilts to women veterans so get ready for another adventure.

As I get ready to close, I want to tell you the story of Timothy.  I received a call from a Pastor in New York who asked if he could take one of our quilts to a wounded warrior at Walter Reed National Hospital.  As we talked, he told me he takes a couple trips a month to Walter Reed and could deliver right then to wounded warriors.  I told him we would send him a quilt and see how it goes.  Timothy is a Marine who was wounded in Afghanistan.  He lost both of his legs and they had to remove bone from his back to save his arm.  I can’t imagine what his life will be like but when you see his picture and see that smile I know he will be fine.  Pastor Michael said Timothy and his family were very taken by the quilt and the presentation case and thanked us greatly.  We will be working monthly with Pastor Michael getting quilts to wounded Marines.

We have awarded over 50 Quilts of Honor so far this year which I think is great!  God Bless everyone who helps us continue our Mission.

Now — Get Ready for April!

Gail
Director, Quilts of Honor

Posted in Quilts | Leave a Comment »

Angels of the Battlefield – Washington DC

March 27, 2012 by Jan

The 6th Annual Angels of the Battlefield event was held March 14th in Washington, DC.  This event highlights the individual men and women on the frontlines of places like Afghanistan, who are saving lives and demonstrated extraordinary courage.  The Armed Services YMCA works with the military services to select Corpsmen, Medics and Pararescuemen from the Army, Army Reserve, Navy, Navy Reserve, Air Force, Air Force Reserve, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Air National Guard and Army Guard, who accepted the awards on behalf of their fellow corpsmen and medics for their dedication and commitment to service.

Quilts of Honor, for the third year in a row, was honored to provide our Quilted Hugs of Gratitude to the Medics that were being honored.  Following are photos of the QOHs that were sent to Washington, DC for the Angels of the Battlefield event.

Posted in Quilts | Leave a Comment »

Great Time at Turlock Quilt Show and QOH Workshop

February 27, 2012 by Jan

What a month February has been – it’s good there are only 29 days this month – I’m worn out already.  Every day I wonder what today will bring.  It is truly incredible how fast we are growing and how excited our recipients are to receive their quilts.  When I see their faces light up when they receive their quilt or see them hug the quilt close to them, I thank God for all of you who help us continue our mission.

Our Ceremony in Turlock was so awesome.  The Turlock High School Color Guard, in dress blues, began by marching down the center aisle of the quilt show to a drum cadence carrying our beautiful American Flag.  Everyone stood at attention just as they turned the corner and posted the colors.  Then Marsha Borelli Silva sang the National Anthem.

For the Quilt of Honor presentation, I called each recipient’s name and the era they served.  Lynne and Maryann prepared the QOH, handed it to the recipient, and they turned in a circle for all to see.  I shook each recipient’s hand and thanked them for their service and sacrifice to our country.  I got hugs and kisses – wish you could all get that.  I often say this is the best part of the job.  We awarded 13 QOH to veterans of WWII, Korea and Vietnam.  One recipient was 97 years old and we sang happy birthday to him a day early.  All the recipients sat in chairs waiting their turn as family and friends watched with glowing pride as their loved one received their quilt.  Marsha then got up to sing a very special song she had written to honor ALL veterans called, “America.”  She also sang “God Bless the USA”, and by the time she finished, every veteran was standing and everyone was singing.

It was a beautiful ceremony.  Maryann and the Turlock Guild did a wonderful job setting up the event and treated us so special.  The Turlock QOH Group is what true American spirit is all about.  Thank you all for your support of QOH.

Thanks also to Marsha Borelli Silva for making our ceremony so special by singing for us.  Marsha and I went to school together.  We used to play duets together – her on the piano and me on my trumpet.  We have always fit together.  Her love for patriotism shows in the songs she writes for our veterans.  In the future, we hope to keep Marsha busier as part of our QOH family.

We had a great two days at the Turlock Quilt Show.  On Sunday, Maryann and I actually chased a veteran wearing a Purple Heart Cap around the show until we finally caught him.  I shook his hand thanking him for his service and asked him to accompany me back to our QOH booth where we awarded him a QOH.  Little did I know his wife had just been to our booth and told us about her husband and asked how she could get him a quilt and asked how she could help us with our mission.  They came back together later and he was hugging on to his quilt so hard – he wasn’t letting it out of his arms.  We had another lady come by our booth and ask how she could help and that she had a boyfriend who could surely use a QOH.  We told her we could set it up and it didn’t take long for her to bring him to our booth.  We spoke for awhile and asked him if he could come up to Valley Springs on February 22nd to receive his quilt.

What a weekend.  We barely got the shop back together in time for the QOH Workshop that next Wednesday.  The DAR ladies from Jackson were coming to see what we were all about.  Dad Belmont was cooking for the Workshop.  He made beans and coleslaw and we had 30 people – 22 of those were “worker bees”.  I had just finished quilting 7 QOHs that were going to the Angels on the Battlefield event in Washington, DC, so they were lined up for bindings.  The Turlock Group had brought bindings so everyone was busy stitching away.  We honored our fallen warrior, Johnny Brooks, as it was his birthday and a year since he had passed.  We sang for Johnny – we are so blessed to have Flo in the QOH Family.  Then came our ceremony.  Nick, from The Valley Springs News came by as he had heard we were awarding some quilts.  Our first QOH went to Glenn whose girlfriend had set him up.  He was so taken with everything – Laurie couldn’t make it as she had to work but Glenn took pictures and texted her so she could be a part of it all.  He told us that it meant so much to him to have his quilt.

Then came our big surprise for Carl.  Flo had made a quilt top and had everyone sign it, including Carl.  She had created the quilt for Carl to thank him for his 20 years in the Army and for all the help he is to QOH.  Carl has made over 25 tops since joining with us in the fall of 2010.  He can take a block and create a masterpiece.  I began with “this veteran has done so much and has served 20 years in the Army” and he still didn’t get it until I said his name.  He was so surprised – you could see in his face what it meant to him – he so deserved it.  God Bless you Carl for all you have done for us.

So, as you can see, February was just as good as January.  Can’t wait to see what March will bring.  We are preparing the quilts for Angels on the Battlefield.  When they are finished, we will display photos on the web and blog for all to see.  Each group is represented.

*March 16th is our “Luck of the Irish” Bunco and corned beef and cabbage dinner to raise funds for QOH in Valley Springs.

*Turlock will be having another QOH presentation on March 26th to current Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom recipients at their Guild’s evening meeting.

*On March 31st we will have a booth and award quilts at the Women’s Veterans History week in Alameda.

So, stay tuned for more adventures.  Thank you to the QOH crew who helped at the Turlock Quilt Show.  I couldn’t do it without you.

God bless until our next Blog post,

Gail

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Delta Quilters Honors a Warrior

February 23, 2012 by Jan

Delta Quilters recently presented a Quilt of Honor to Army Private Eric Berg, grandson of Joy Berg.  Eric was wounded in Afghanistan (receiving a purple heart) and was hospitalized in Kentucky and Tennessee for 6 weeks for the injuries he received from an IED blast.  Eric’s entire unit was wounded and fortunately there were no casualties.  Eric will be returning to Afghanistan with his unit in the near future.

The ladies in the photo are his Mother and Aunts who all live in Reno, NV.

Delta Quilters QOH Group
Susan Denton, Dee Yamtick, Sally Swalley, and Anita Rohmam

Eric with his Mom and Aunts

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

Off and Running in 2012

January 31, 2012 by Jan

What a way to start 2012!  We had 22 volunteers at our January 25th Workshop.  What a group we have turned into.  We worked on bindings for the quilts – some stitched the bindings to one side and others hand stitched the bindings down.  Then we also had our “pillowcase crew” – Edy and Barbara – with their sergers.  Flo had precut all the pillowcase kits so they could get a jump on stitching them together.  They finished 25 dedicated military pillowcases.  We now have another crew – our envelope crew – Shirley and Diane, who completed over 50 envelopes for the back of the quilts.  We sure have some talented workers.  What I love the most about our workshops is the camaraderie.  Everyone tells what has happened since we last met.

We do show and tell of everything that we have received.  And, we eat – you never know what I’ll decide to cook.  Dad Belmont is the same way.  This time we had enchilada casserole and Sheppard’s pie and yes, Carl made one of his famous cakes.

I want to thank all who so generously donated money for me to go to Washington DC and play Taps at Arlington.  I feel so honored to be able to do this but it means even more that the QOH family is helping me and will be a part of my journey.

One of our first quilts given out this year was to a Vietnam veteran I had met over a year ago.  We met through a mutual friend and as we struck up a conversation, he told me how he was spat on when he came home.  I knew then there would be a QOH for him one day.  So, Bert and I drove to Gardnerville to present a QOH to him with his family and friends present.  The first thing he did after he removed the QOH from its pillowcase, was to wrap it around himself with a smile as big as Texas.  When I told him there was a letter on the back for him, he removed it from its envelope and began to read.  In all the times we have given quilts, I’ve never seen anyone read the letter – his wife started to cry and he looked up at me and said, “this is the nicest thing anyone has every done for me.”  I would say his statement shows just how much our quilts mean to those who receive them no matter what conflict they have fought in.

On another note, don’t forget to send in your recipes for our QOH cookbook.  Remember you can honor a veteran with a page in the cookbook.  Please send all the information to Carl at msged@earthlink.net.

The Quilts of Honor group of Delta Quilters made a presentation this month to a Purple Heart recipient who had been wounded in Afghanistan.  And, the Quilts of  Honor Turlock group awarded two quilts to Purple Heart recipients.  The Turlock QOH group will be having a QOH awards ceremony at their Quilt Show on February 18th.  Hope you all can come.

So you see, we are off and running for 2012.  Stay tuned for more adventures.

Thank you all so much for your continued support.

God bless,
Gail

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

The End of 2011 – The Beginning of 2012

January 11, 2012 by Jan

We ended December 2011 with so many great adventures that I saved this one to start out 2012.

On December 30th, Quilts of Honor went on a road trip to Thornton Commons in Stockton, CA where, along with Karl Ross Post 16, we awarded 19 Quilts of  Honor.  The Karl Ross Post posted the colors and Teresa sang the national anthem.  I hope one day you will be able to hear Teresa sing – what a gift she has and to also be a veteran makes it mean so much more.

Then we started the awarding of the quilts.  Each recipient was called by name and two of the Karl Ross Honor Guard members held open the QOH for all to see, then folded the quilt like a flag, walked over to each recipient and thanked them for their sacrifice as they saluted them.  Not one recipient had a dry eye after receiving their quilt.  One recipient asked the person sitting next to him, “did you know we were getting these?”  He replied, “H### no but isn’t it nice.”  We are still getting responses even from family members that they were so honored that we honored their parents.

There were three females:  a Marine, a Navy driver of a PT boat, and an Army nurse.  The men ranged from WWII to Vietnam.  The stories were awesome.  There was so much history in that room and we will probably never see and hear so much again.  We made some very deserving veterans a lifetime honor.

Thank you to Karl Ross Post 16 for making it such an honorable ceremony.

We are setting our schedule for some yearly events so be ready – you never know where Quilts of Honor will end up.

Our workshop for January will be the 25th – hope to see you there.

Do you have a favorite recipe?  We are beginning work on a Quilts of Honor Cookbook.  This isn’t going to be just a cookbook, we are also going to include quilt pictures, and have pages where you can honor of memorialize a loved one.  Carl, an Army Veteran, has graciously volunteered to master this for us.  You can send your recipes, photos, or questions to Carl’s email:  msged@earthlink.net.   Let’s make this a QOH Cookbook to be proud of!  Check with your friends – they might have a great recipe or maybe they would like to honor a loved one.

Our first QOH Booth and the unveiling of Lady Liberty will be at the Turlock Quilt Show, February 18-19, at the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds – please come by and say hello.

We are always looking for volunteers.  If you would like to help (and you don’t have to sew), email myself (gail@quiltsofhonor.org) or Jan (jan@quiltsofhonor.org) and we’ll sign you up.

God Bless you.  May we have another productive year and continue to honor our veterans with our Quilted Hugs of Gratitude.

Gail Belmont
Director
Quilts of Honor

Posted in Road Trip | Leave a Comment »

Our Last Workshop for 2011

December 29, 2011 by Jan

Our last Workshop of 2011 was a memorable one!  I’ll try and explain a little of our day:

First, we all got together and decided what projects we were going to work on and who would do what.  We had to select 19 QOH to be presented at an awards ceremony on December 30th.  After the quilts were selected, I took pictures while Carl held them.  Barbara logged them out on the computer database.  Jan, Shirley and Dianne attached the fabric envelopes holding our QOH thank you letter to the quilts, folded each quilt and placed them in their presentation cases.

Our next task was making pillowcases (presentation cases) for the different branches of the service.  Each case would have either an Army, Navy, Air Force or Marine emblem.  Barbara and Edy brought their sergers – they cook on those machines!  Carl, Mom Belmont and Flo cut fabrics and they were off and running.  Carl and Edy decided to call our workshops “Gail’s sweatshop”.

In the meantime, Myra and Sheila were stitching bindings on quilts and Marsha and Linda were sewing on labels and making more fabric envelopes.  Maryann and Barbara cut backings for tops waiting to be quilted.  So, as you can see, we didn’t stop.  Everyone was busy!

I made stew for lunch and Carl brought an awesome corn chowder soup.  And of course we never go without deserts like brownies, pies, cakes and cookies.

As an added special event, we honored a Marine Purple Heart recipient from Lockeford, CA – Wash, as he is known to most people.  Wash was wounded in 1944 and came home on a hospital ship to San Francisco.  When he woke up in the hospital after being wounded he said he thought he was in heaven – everything was white.  Wash told us some great stories and to hear these stores from a war hero was an honor.  The one story that I’m sure we will always remember was about a 4 year old girl who lived in Guam.  Wash had given her a rag doll his mother had sent him from the States.  Sixty years later, Wash tried to find the little girl who was now a grown woman.  Well, guess what.  They found each other and are now friends and his story and that rag doll are a part of history.  Our other guest was Col. West, also a Marine and a Purple Heart recipient who was awarded a QOH in November.  He wanted to be with Wash to see him honored.  Both Marines told everyone in the room how Honored they were to receive a quilt and that they were going to show their quilts to everyone.

We completed 17 pillowcases (presentation cases), prepared 19 quilts to be awarded, bound 4 quilts, and boxed two quilts for shipping.  I would say we went out with a bang to end 2011.

I want to thank all of you who continue to support us and for the donations that help us continue our mission whether it be embroidery thread, fabric, olives, wine, Bunco gifts, pomegranates, books or money.  It all helps support us throughout the year.

Stay tuned for 2012!

God Bless and Happy New Year,
Gail

Posted in Quilts | Tagged , | 2 Comments »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 61 other followers