This fall I got to check off a bucket list item - having a quilt displayed at the National Quilt Museum! Even better, it was a quilt my friend, Nancy Cann, designed with QOVF's exclusive 250th Anniversary fabric. The exhibit features 12 Quilts of Valor® made from this special fabric for QOVF to honor the upcoming 250th Celebration of America.
Twelve quilters from across the US were asked to create these quilts and I am honored to be one of them. The quilt I made is called "Don't Fence Me In," made with sawtooth star blocks and rail fence rows. The pattern combines these two timeless blocks to create a traditional quilt with a fresh spin. I also think the quilt pattern title is appropriate for those of us who live in the Western US who value the vast land and beautiful vistas in our western states. It also matches the independent spirit of the Western US.
One of my favorite parts of the quilt are the sawtooth block centers made from QOVF's patriotic toile from their fabric line. It was also fun to longarm the quilt! I choose a design called Star Swirls from Urban Elementz and used a tan colored thread to blend into the background fabric.
The Countdown to American's 250th exhibit is on display until December 30, 2025, at the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky. Then the quilts will be awarded in a QOV ceremony in early January to area service members and veterans. To me, this is the best part of this exhibit. I am excited and honored to travel to the ceremony to award my quilt and help award the others, too!
QOVF in a nonprofit, non-partisan foundation that supports over 11,000 volunteer quilters across the US who make and award over 30,000 Quilts of Valor that honor and provide comfort and healing to service members and veterans. I was honored to serve as QOVF's Executive Director from 2021-2023 and currently work with my local quilt guild to support area QOV awards.
Through this work, I have learned first-hand how military service can impact those who serve. I've heard many stories about what our service members and veterans give and how that service can impact them in unexpected ways throughout their life. I've also witnessed how a Quilt of Valor can be a healing experience for recipients letting them know their service is valued and we are here to support them and thank them. I believe that we can all come together, setting our personal beliefs aside, and honor those who serve to protect our freedoms.
Quilts of Valor have a long history of offering comfort and healing. The first Quilt of Valor started with a literal dream where Catherine Roberts, QOVF Founder, dreamed of a distraught soldier who was instantly comforted when someone wrapped a quilt around him. At the time Catherine's own son was deployed and this dream comforted her and inspired her to make the first QOV's that were awarded at Walter Reed Hospital in 2003. For 22 years, this grassroots movement has grown and over 400,000 Quilts of Valor have been created and awarded.
A big thanks goes to Nancy Cann, who designed the quilts and coordinated the exhibit and to QOVF for this meaningful opportunity!
For more information about the Quilts of Valor Foundation and how you can get involved, go here.
For more information about the exhibit, visit the National Quilt Museum's website here.