What a fun and productive weekend with nine teams of coaches and rookies and two individual quilters working on ten Quilts of Valor! The coaches arrived Friday morning for a time of orientation and then pressed and cut fabric strips and the foundation blocks in preparation for sewing on Saturday. When the rookies sat down to sew on Saturday morning, the coaches had prepared their sewing machines for a full day. It was as busy as a beehive with machines running, irons pressing, pins put in place and oohs and aahs as the quilt blocks started to go up.
As each quilt top is finished, they will be sent to longarm quilters who volunteer their services. They will then be returned and the coaches and rookies will meet to finish the quilts by binding and labeling them before they are distributed.
Thanks to the Island organizations and individuals who sponsored this event (American Legion Post 402, American Legion Post 402 Auxiliary, Bread & Water, Detroit Harbor Ladies Aid, Helene Meyer, Sievers, Washington Island Lions Club, Washington Island School Student Council, Women of Trinity Lutheran Church, and three anonymous donations). There is already talk of another Quilts of Valor event next year! None of this would have been possible without the work of Ellen Graf, who coordinated a successful weekend that began with finding support for the project, securing the fabric needed, putting into action Marianne Fons’ program for Quilts of Valor, “Under Our Wings” by gathering the coaches and rookies, giving quilting advice and much more.
