Quilts made from the heart help mend broken soldiers
Posted on Wednesday, September 5, 2007
A group of quilters in northwest Arkansas is making a difference in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
For about two years, Calico Cutups, a Bella Vista quilting group, has been cutting up quilt blocks and making quilt tops to send to wounded and injured troops in Iraq and Afghanistan as part of the Quilts of Valor program.
Calico Cutups got started with the program when member Donna Roche attended a quilting show in Wichita, Kan. The QOV members held a quilting bee and handed out brochures asking people to donate 12 1 / 2-inch quilting blocks.
“ I got really excited, ” Roche said. When she got back to Bella Vista, she talked to the Calico Cutups and all the other quilting groups or quilters she could think of in the area. As a result, the Calico Cutups collected and mailed more than 300 blocks to Kansas.
Members of the Kansas group said they couldn’t keep up, so they suggested starting a quilting bee in northwest Arkansas.
Roche, members of the Calico Cutups and area quilters started their bee about a year ago and have sent 85 quilts to injured or wounded troop members.
They are working on another 35
They are working on another 35 quilts, which will be ready to mail soon. The biggest expense is the cost of mailing the quilts. Roche said she just mailed 10 of them a couple of weeks ago and had to pay $ 27. 50 for postage.
Anyone who wants to help can donate money for postage, fabric, quilt tops, 12 1 / 2-inch quilt blocks and lightweight batting.
Checks for postage should be written to Donna Roche, Quilts of Valor, and mailed to 15837 Kedzie Circle, Rogers, AR 72758. Roche has an account at Arvest Bank just for the QOV donations.
All the fabric, quilt tops or blocks have to be made of cotton. The colors have to be red, white and blue. People can bring these items to the Calico Cutups meeting at St. Bernard Catholic Church, 1 St. Bernard Lane, at 1 p. m. the fourth Wednesday of the month.
It takes 12 blocks to make one quilt. Each quilt has a label telling a little bit about the quilt and giving thanks and prayers to the men and women for their service.
So far, the quilters have sent quilts to Germany; Camp Lejeune, N. C.; Delaware; South Dakota; Camp Pendleton, Calif.; and San Diego.
They recently sent a quilt to a burn unit in San Antonio, Texas, where a Rogers policeman was recovering from burns received in Iraq.
Roche said it is easy to understand why they are participating in this program. She recalled a note from a veteran that another quilter told her about, which said, “ Whenever I wake up from my nightmare, I cuddle up in my quilt and feel safe. ”
Another story Roche shared was about a service member who started crying when he received his quilt and said it will be a keepsake for his son and family for generations. Other comments can be read on the Quilts of Valor Foundation Web site at www. qovf. org / quoteables.
If anyone knows of other local military personnel who have been wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan, call Roche at 925-2622. The quilters especially want the local men and women to receive a quilt, she explained.
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