May4th Sew-in

We have another sew-in scheduled for May 4th, at Prairie Shop Quilts in Batavia. On Tuesday we have some special guests from Great Lakes Naval Base who are coming out to meet us. They will be receiving what quilts we have completed for their RWW Program scheduled for the end of June.

Looking forward, as always, to seeing everyone. We have over 150 blocks that need to be assembled, and a couple more unfinished tops to get us closer to our goal.
Thank you,
Rita

Christmas in April!!

Today I received a VERY nice fabric donation from Quiltfabric.com. WOW is all I can say...maybe not :) Are we ever going to be able to "play" with fabric for awhile. I was asked to bring in show n tell, so I brought along 13 quilts---pretty proud of what we've done with what we get!!

Thank you, Chris.
Rita

SAVE THE DATE: May 22, 2010

Plans are underway for a HUGE sew-in on Saturday, May 22, 2010, 9 AM - 5 PM at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, 0S233 Church St., in Winfield, IL. Donna Kelley has been organizing this and could use our help. As she states: "...bring your working sewing machine and other gear!". WE ARE EXPANDING!!! She is joining forces with LOLQOV, so if you can give a few hours, please join us.

btw, she tells me food and drinks will be provided!

Rita (garipenn@att.net)

Another successful sew-in

Yes, another great sew-in today. We've got 5 quilts started(X-block)--not bad for a day's work! Like someone said, instant gratification with these blocks--they were fun. They just need the borders, backings. You're invited to my house next Wedneday for another sew-in. Let me know if you'll be joining us. It's awesome to keep seeing and meeting new faces!

I'll post pics when we have the borders on and before they go to be quilted.

Rita

April 6 Sew-IN Agenda

This month we have strips ready to make X-Blocks using my year-old template from Quilt Queen Designs. I just received an email from Patricia Pepe (owner of www.quiltqueendesigns.com) who wrote: "I like to support any group involved in making quilts for soldiers and their families. I would like to send you some 'Flying Free' patterns along with some templates
for your group to use to make your Quilts of Valor. This is a popular pattern with other groups for this type of quilt."

So, thank you to Patricia and hope to see you great volunteers on Tuesday!

Have a Happy Easter,
Rita

Please join us!

We are hoping any interested quilter can join us for our next sew-in on Tuesday April 6th. We are once again hosted by the generour owner of Prairie Shop Quilts, Bonita Deering. We start at 10 AM and sew till our fingers bleed! (Not really) Most of us have packed up by 2 0r 3, but even if you can join us for an hour, we'll put you to work. We can always use pressers and cutters.

We like to bring a dish to pass, or sweet treat to share. Last time we had so much food! But, seriously, we really only care that you bring YOU and help for a bit.

Did you know that scientific research indicates that volunteering and helping others releases "feel good" endorphins? So, helping is really quite selfish and selfless at the same time!

One more done!

This is the quintessential Quilt of Valor Quilt. Barb Vlack from St Charles pieced it, and I finished it on the longarm. What soldier wouldn't love this as a reminder that we truly appreciate beyond words his (or her) service to our country?

More lives touched...

Here are some more pics from a few weekends ago. The soldiers wrapping themselves in their quilts was the highlight. Here is an explaination of the RWW Mission, as told by the gentleman who puts these fabulous events together...








Sailors who have recently returned from a mobilization or deployment as an individual augmentee are cordially invited to attend a Returning Warrior Workshop (RWW) with the guest of their choice. The events are held at a nice hotel away from military bases and every day distractions. The goal is to give loved ones a chance to reconnect. All lodging, meals, conference fees, and miscellaneous expenses are covered at the RWW to include: dinner Friday night, three meals on Saturday, and breakfast and lunch on Sunday. Workshops are held three to four times a year in various locations throughout the Midwest. What is RWW and why is it needed? The Returning Warrior Workshop (RWW) is a weekend for military personnel that have deployed in support of combat or combat support operations. Taking care of people is one of the Chief of Navy Operation's top three priorities. The RWW focuses on three major goals - honoring the warrior and guest for their service, providing information and resources to assist in the process of family and community integration, and finally teach and assess those who might be experiencing normal symptoms associated with combat stress.

Subject matter experts lead Warriors and their guest through a series of presentations and table top discussions that address post combat stress and transition to civilian life. These difficulties for the Warrior and family may include lack of sleep, lack of intimacy, financial problems,loss of emotional control, erratic driving, and increased use of alcohol.

Value of Reserve Forces to the Fleet

The RWWs help the Navy Reserve achieve our vision of "Anywhere, Anytime. Ready Now" by taking care of the needs upon return from stressful deployments, which help with retention for maintaining combat readiness.
The reserve Sailor brings both civilian and Navy skill sets to the active duty command, increasing their value to the fleet.

Objectives of RWW

-Validate the contributions of the Sailor and the Sailor's family.
-Motive Sailors and family members to use experience to achieve transformational growth.
-Open a dialogue to discuss combat stress and lay the groundwork for crisis intervention.
-Reward the Sailor and family member for their sacrifice to our country.
On Saturday night of each RWW, we hold a Banquet of Honor dinner. There we present awards to the services members and spouses. We would like to also present each quilt of our service members with a speech.

All wrapped up!

This picture about says it all! This was taken in August of '09 in Chicago for a troop return party. Just to know that these boys enjoyed and appreciated the quilts we made them makes it all worthwhile...

March 2 Sew-in

As promised here are pics from the Sew-in yesterday-thanks to Cheryl Parker and her camera!
As you can see, theres lots of sewing, tons of fun, and LOTS LOTS LOTS of food! Also thanks once again to the wonderful Bonita, owner of Prairie Shop Quilts who is always a gracious hostess, and lets us park our behinds as long as she gets some of the eats!!!

First Posting!

Today the Land of Lincoln Quilts of Valor Group just had a fantastically succesful sew-in where we had 13 sewers/cutters/pressers and enough food to feed the same army we are trying to cover with quilts! One of the gals took pics, and I hope to have them soon so I can show you how much fun we have!

This will be the spot to check with new activities. More to come!