Cherohala Quilters

Liberty Lane Quilters

Quilts of Valor

Quilts of Valor – how Cherohala Quilters got involved . . .

In the spring of 2008 a group of quilters in a neighboring town invited our guild ~ the Cherohala Quilters ~ to join them for lunch and to share a show-and-tell of all things quilt and quilt-related. When we drove up to the site of the meeting, there were several glorious red, white, and blue quilts draped along the railing leading into the building. During the course of the meeting, a volunteer coordinator for their guild’s Quilts of Valor group showed off their beautiful quilts, and discussed how those quilts are handmade locally and sent to servicemen and women who are injured in the War on Terror.

Many of the members of our guild were touched by this program. We have retired military personnel in our guild, as well as spouses and children of men and women who served in the military. Several members of our group have family in the military now, or did at one time. Many of us have friends in Iraq or Afghanistan too.

After our meeting, we talked about how worthwhile this program is. The response I got was overwhelming when I suggested we start doing Quilts of Valor in our guild! Fourteen ladies ENTHUSIASTICALLY volunteered to help cut out, piece, press, trim, quilt, and donate to accomplish this task. That number reflects over two-thirds of the active members of our small and newly-formed guild!

After making one little effort to get this project started, everyone was so excited about it that we all can’t wait to get together every month to continue the work on each quilt. I have NEVER had the privilege of working with such a dedicated, thoughtful, energetic, and kind group before. If you’ve ever organized a group task, you probably dread asking people to do particular tasks. In this group, all I have to do is hint that something needs to be done, and I have volunteers galore! Truthfully, the spirit of cooperation to get these quilts done has been a gift in and of itself to each of us.

We have formed so many bonds of friendship among the women working on these quilts – bonds that we would never have had the opportunity to create if we hadn’t come together to make these quilts! While making these quilts is our way of giving back a little to all who protect our way of life in the United States, I want the recipients to know that we get back far more than we give, in ways large and small.

Here are some of the quilts this group has completed for our heroes.