We are excited to be hosting the 5th annual QOV-Kansas Retreat.
April 27th through April 29th
Quilts of Valor-Foundation (QOV-F) started with one blue star Mom, Catherine Roberts, from her sewing room in Seaford, Delaware. Our local Quilts of Valor-Kansas (QOV-KS) was started in Feb 2006 by Katy Vickers (QOV-F member since Nov 2004) along with Cassandra Carson (QOV-F member since Oct 2005 ) and two others. After the Prairie Quilt Guild Quilt Show in Wichita KS in June 2006 membership to QOV-KS blossomed and has been evolving ever since!
The mission of QOV-KS follows the mission of QOV-F: to cover ALL those servicemembers and veterans touched by war with quilts called Quilts of Valor (QOVs). This Foundation is not about politics. It is about people.
NOTE: As of 03.30.12: 61,983 QOVs have been awarded according to QOV-F website: http://www.qovf.org
The Goal of QOV-KS is to provide a way to get more people involved in making Quilts of Valor (QOVs) on a local scale.
What is a QOV? A Quilt of Valor is an heirloom, a heritage quilt that the wounded service member can pass down, along with his story to future generations in his family. Made of high quality 100% cotton quilting weight fabric, a QOV usually measures from 55-72" wide to 70-90" long and is machine quilted to allow for frequent washing. Each QOV has a label which identifies the quilt as a Quilt of Valor with the recipient's name, name of piecer and name of quilter and is laundered prior to presentation. The presentation case is a pillowcase which matches the QOV's fabric.
Where does a QOV go? Currenty QOV-KS sends the vast majority of our QOVs to Ft. Riley, KS. We recently added the Robert Dole VAMC here in Wichita to our list of recipients. So unless the QOV is branch specific for non-Army, it stays here in Kansas (97% of the QOVs made by QOV-KS do stay in Kansas!). Otherwise, we send them to one of the major military hospitals to get to the right branch of service.
Who are the recipients of a QOV? The QOVs are awarded to those who have received a Purple Heart and those who have no physical wounds, but are being treated for PTSD. Right now QOV-KS is concentrating on OEF/OIF Veterans. Maybe once we get all of them covered, we can go back and start covering our other Veterans.
Where we meet: Our local sew-in is held on each second Saturday from 10AM to 3-4PM at Tyler Road Baptist Church, located at 571 S Tyler Road, just north of Kellogg/54 in west Wichita KS.
"How can I help?" is one of the frequent questions we are asked.
- Individuals may make a tax deductible donation to offset the cost of making and shipping the QOV. (Currently, one QOV costs approximately $200 to make and an additional $50 to ship.)
- Individuals may help by completing a quilt top, joining us at our monthly sew-in to work on QOVs, or through machine quilting as a long arm quilter.
- Organizations: (Civic groups or businesses) may help by sponsoring a completed QOV.
