The Stanwood-Camano Hero Quilters

The Stanwood-Camano Hero Quilters' next sew day is Saturday February 20th at the Stanwood Senior Center from 10-4. We meet in the Social Room next to the Thrift Store. The address is 7430 276th St NW Stanwood. For more information contact Sharon Szekely 360-387-4800, sharonsseams2b@peoplepc.com

We meet once a month usually at the Senior Center. A couple times a year at Aunt Mary's Quilt shop at Smokey Point. We always have lots of fun & good food. We also have a small cookbook of our favorite "sew day" recipes for sale.

News from Afghanistan

Sue writes:

The first shipment of quilts made it to Afghanistan! The superintendent responsible for staging at Bagram wrote to say that they were thrilled by the quilts. He said that "They are one of the most impressive patriotic things I have seen in my 23+ years of service.

An EMT aboard one of the medi-vac planes wrote to say that he wished he had been allowed to take pictures. He said that the wounded warriors were all covered with our quilts and it was a fabulous sight to see. Several of them read the label and just smiled.

I couldn't be more thrilled. This is what it is all about.

Upcoming AHQ Events - Vashon Island Sew-A-Thon and Pacific Beach Retreat

Vashon Island Quilt-a-thon:

There will be a quilt-a-thon for American Hero Quilts on Jan. 25, 26, 27 at the VFW hall on Vashon Island. The hall is at the top of Morgans Hill on Vashon Highway, just north of Burton. We will start at 9am and go until we drop. Please bring 2 1/2" strips of red, white and blue fabric and of course your sewing equipment. Please bring a lunch so that you can eat when you want to. For more info you can reach me (Margaret Bickel) at 206-567-4142 or at margbickel@aol.com


Pacific Beach Retreat:

A two day American Hero Quilt Retreat will be held at Pacific Beach Conference Center, Pacific Beach, WA, on Sunday, January 31, and Monday, February 1, 2010. For more information email ione@ionewhitney.com or call Ione Whitney at 360-908-4692.

We hope to see you at these events!

We want to hear from you!

If you have an AHQ event planned, or already had an AHQ event that you would like to tell us about, please email us at helpinghands@americanheroquilts.com. As we get more items we will try to post a calendar at the beginning of each month, letting you know about upcoming AHQ events.

Thank you to all those who have regular AHQ events and help keep the quilts rolling in! We look forward to hearing from you!

Debbie Mumm mentions us in her new book!

A new book by Debbie Mumm was published in September titled I Care With Quilts: Sewing to Make a Difference, and she mentions American Hero Quilts in the forward. If you are looking for fun and easy patterns to inspire you, this book will do the trick. Thank you, Debbie, for spreading the word of American Hero Quilts and we look forward to many fun (and productive!) sewing days with your new book!

Thank you for your support!

A big Thank You to all those who attended the fundraisers at Sound Foods today! We had a lovely tea in the afternoon and a party with wine and delicious appetizers in the evening. We hope everyone is enjoying their purchases from the silent auctions.

As part of the afternoon tea, AHQ presented a Naval service member with a quilt and reminded us why we were there. Thank you notes from prior recipients were posted around the room along with some of the quilts that will soon make their way to returning service members.

Thanks also to Sound Food Catering and Events for the food and a great venue, and to the amazing volunteers that worked the events.

Operation Quilt Drop to be held on November 7

For those of you not familiar with us, American Hero Quilts provides quilts to injured service members returning home through Madigan Hospital. This is a rewarding but costly endeavor. To that end, we are hosting fundraising events at Sound Foods on Vashon Island on November 7, 2009.

We will have a High Tea in the afternoon. The cost is $15 and two seating times are available:
First seating - Noon-2pm
Second seating - 2pm-4pm
Please call Sharon Aukland at 206-463-3334 for reservations.

At 6pm, join us for a party with wine, hors d'oeuvres and music. The cost for the evening event is $25.00 and no reservation is needed.

Silent auction items will be available at all of the events, so be sure to leave yourself time to do some shopping!

If you or anyone you know would be interested in supporting American Hero Quilts, please consider attending one (or both!) of these events. If you would like more information or have questions about the fundraisers, please contact American Hero Quilts at 206-463-5650.