New Thanksgiving Experience

I read so many heartwarming stories and well-wishes on Facebook over the Thanksgiving holiday. It’s been wonderful to read through them all. Although several of us had a totally different from “traditional” experience, I’m grateful an abundance of gratitude resonated across my online community.

In my home, some traditions stayed the same…

Someone always takes a pinch from the rising yeast rolls!

Anyhoo…

I’m part of the Facebook group, Quilt of Valor, and over the past few days, a member shared what her family did over Thanksgiving. She said it’s a new family tradition - a "Thanksgiving Collaboration" - started this year. I thought it was such an amazing project that I wanted to share with you!

Three generations contributed to the endeavor. They made the quilt blocks, then they assembled the top, sewed it together, created the border, and then she loaded it in her longarm quilting machine! One of her last entries stated the quilt was DONE (meaning QUILTED) before “time to get the dinner on the table.”

Thank you, Lori K. (Washington), for letting me share your pictures!

“We” – Momma & me, with my husband "supervising" – worked on the border for one of the three quilts Gail and I assembled from the blocks created by Lori and Dona (sent from California). It's one quilt from the "Just One Block" Community QOV project. We had a grand time while creating a new Thanksgiving experience.

Next year, I will have a longarm quilting machine and Momma will see a quilt TOTALLY finished while she’s here visiting over Thanksgiving!

Have you wondered?

Steps toward making one QOV:

1. Purchase fabric for top, backing, and batting
2. Pre-wash/dry/press fabric
3. Cut out
4. Sew pieces together making blocks
5. Assemble blocks, attach border
6. Load into quilting machine
7. Quilt
8. Bind
9.  Label
10. Wash/dry finished quilt
11. Create presentation case to hold the quilt (a pillowcase)
12.  Have quilt blessed during church service
13. *Present Veteran with quilt

One week worth of work, that’s it, to do #1-12.

At least 52 quilts per year!!! And, that’s only if I made the quilt top myself! If others make them and send them me to quilt, I could do so many more in one week/month/year! How wonderful would that be!?!?!

*Number 13 may be a few weeks, or a specific future time with multiple finished quilts when many Veterans receive quilts at once, like during an American Legion special event, or to answer a call-out. For example, my Region 4 coordinator needs 50 quilts before February 1-2, 2014, for presentation to Naval Reservists Returning, RWW Honor Banquet in Austin.

Without having a quilting machine, the minimum time to create a quilt from start to finish is 30 days. That’s only 12 per year, if I’m lucky!

This is why I started the funding campaign to help finance the long arm quilting machine…will you donate a dollar?

Thank you!