AHQ at Innovations Tacoma

It was a good outing at Innovations, A MachineQuilting Cconference in Tacoma. Almost 100 quilts were turned in and labels sewn on them so they are ready for delivery to the injured service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Thanks to everyone who helps in the American Hero Quilts Project.

Upcoming AHQ Sew Days

Sorry for the late reminder but here are changed dates for sew days through the end of the year for Jackson Park:
Jackson Park - Bremerton - 10 to 2
Oct. 4 - tomorrow-Monday
Nov. 1
Dec. 6

Other upcoming sew days:
Pacific Fabrics - East Bremerton 1 to 7
Oct. 5 - Tuesday
Nov. 2
Dec. 7

Pacific Beach Conference Center - Pacific Beach, WA
Oct. 10, Sunday 9 to 9 or ?
Oct. 11, Monday 9 to 6

Mark your calendars for 2011 Sew Days at Pacific Beach
April 10 & 11
June 5 & 6
Oct. 2 & 3

For more information about any of the above sew days please contact Ione Ewert Whitney at 360-908-4692

And also a reminder for those in the South end:
Evergreen Quilting
4106 South M Street
Tacoma, WA 98418
253-476-9800
AHQ Sew Days on the 4th Sunday of the month 10 o'clock

Stanwood Hero Quilters' Sew Day - August 21

Our next Sew Day is Saturday August 21st at the Stanwood Senior Center from 10-4 in the Social Room. 7430 276th St NW in Stanwood. For information contace Sharon Szekely 360-387-4800, sharonsseams2b@peoplepc.com

Our Upcoming Sew Days:

Sept 18th, Standwood Senior Center

Oct 23rd, Stanwood Senior Center

Nov 20th, Aunt Mary's Quilt Shop, Smokey Point

http://community.webshots.com/user/sharonsseams2b
http://sharonsseams2b.blogspot.com

Quilts from Debbie Mumm

We were thrilled when Debbie Mumm mentioned American Hero Quilts in her recent quilt book "I Care With Quilts." After the book came out, Debbie sent us the quilt "Stars of Honor" pictured on page 74.

We felt that there were several options for this wonderful quilt. We could use it for a while when we gave talks about American Hero Quilts. We could raffle it to raise money. We could send it to a wounded warrior. We realized that Debbie and her organization should have a say as to what she would like to see happen to the quilt.

Just as we were getting ready to ask her, we received notice of a young man horribly wounded and his mom was asking for a quilt for him. We told Debbie about him as an example of where the quilt could go. What a generous woman she is. She sent us a second quilt to send to the young man and told us to use the first for talks and a raffle.

Kudos to Debbie Mumm and her generous heart.

If you haven't see the book "I Care With Quilts" be sure to check it out. It is wonderful. As you can see by the pictures the quilts are lovely.

- from Sue

Stanwood-Camano Hero Quilters - June 26

The Stanwood-Camano Hero Quilters will be meeting on Saturday June 26th from 10-4 at the Stanwood Senior center.

7430 276th St NW Stanwood.

We will be working with 5" squares making quilt borders. There will also be some quilts that need bindings hand sewn.

Always good food & fun!

Contact Sharon Szekely 360-387-4800

sharonsseams2b@peoplepc.com

Thank you from a soldier's wife

At 6:30 one morning, toward the end of April 2010, Sue, the founder of American Hero Quilts received a phone call. Sue answered and the lady at the other end of the line asked if this was American Hero Quilts. Sue replied that yes, it was. The lady said "I want to tell you a story about my husband and his quilt."

He got wounded someplace in Afghanistan. When he got home his quilt had notes pinned to it.
The first note said "Dear Soldier, you were given this quilt at Bagram AFB. Be well, you are a hero." From there he went to Germany and was there for quite some time.

The second note said, "It was an honor to care for you. Your quilt is beautiful. As the quilt says, you are a hero. " The 3rd note is from Andrews AFB, it said "Welcome home hero, your quilt is beautiful. Thank you for serving our country." Then he went to LeJune. That note says, "It was an honor to take care of you."

Though he likely wouldn't remember much of that trip, his quilt became a chronicle of his journey home.

The lady said her husband was home now and Sue asked how they were doing. She replied, "It's easier to take care of my husband now that we have a hospital bed at home. But today was a good day, I think he recognized his mom." She wanted to know how to wash the quilt. She didn’t want to ruin it. Sue told her several ways to wash it and told the lady if the quilt was ruined to call and another quilt would be sent. The lady’s response was, "Oh no, that wouldn’t do, it wouldn’t be this quilt. My husband won’t let go of his quilt."

An amazing reminder of our purpose. Thank you to the AHQ volunteers. Please check back for upcoming sew days and other AHQ events. If you are interested in learning more about American Hero Quilts or would like information on how you can help, please visit our website at http://www.americanheroquilts.com/.

Sewing group at Pacific Beach

Thanks, Everyone, for a wonderful couple of days. We had quilts at every stage of the process, and managed to get a ton of work done. Many quilts started, and several finished and ready to send in. How inspiring to be with so many dedicated AHQ quilters! See you in October!