Friendship Quilters met on May 24th.  We learned a lot about batting and checked out finished QOVs which are bound and ready to award.

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Speaking of awards, we have been busy awarding quilts.

On April 4, Ruth awarded three Vietnam Vets with Quilts of Valor.  State Representative Tina Pickett was on hand and awarded one of them. George Eddy, Duane Walker and George “ Rusty “ Eddy pose with their quilts. State Representative Clint Owlett and Robert De Sousa representing US Senator Pat Toomey also attended. 

Debra awards Larry Baxter with a QOV at the VFW Veteran’s Appreciation Barbecue in Troy.  Baxter is a Navy veteran of the Vietnam War. 

World War II Vet recounts events of D Day 
William Cowles, chats with the Commissioners as his wife of 70 1/2  years, looks on.  Both Cowles and his wife are residents of the Personal Care Home in Sayre where they share a room.

In the background is a photo of Cowles as he was in WWII.  At 96, he is amazingly sharp and told us all that he was based in Dover, England and crossed the Engish Channel 8 times.  His anecdotes and stories of his service captivated us all.

Cowles receives the QOV and the customary hug that goes with it from Cathy Shoemaker.

• Friendship Quilters are making 12” inch blocks.
• Mary and Ruth are making tops.
• Faye has just finished binding 2 quilts.
• We are currently looking for a place to meet and to hold sew-ins.
• Friendship Quilters meet the 4th Friday of the month at the Riverstone for lunch at 11:00.  Meeting begins around noon. This month’s program is on batting.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• May 19, 2019: Deb will be awarding 2 QOV’s at the Troy VFW Veterans  Appreciation Barbecue
• June 16, 2019: Volunteers will be at the Bradford County Veterans Appreciation Picnic on June 16 at Mountaineer Park to award  5 QOV’s.
• July 13, 2019: QOVs will be awarded at the Haights  Pond VFW picnic

Since 2016, the Friendship Quilters of Towanda have been supporting Quilts of Valor. I had been a member of Quilts of Valor for 10 years making and donating quilts as an individual. When I moved to Bradford County I was pleased to join the Friendship Quilters of Towanda, a group of quilters who share ideas, projects and friendship.  Friendship Quilters also do charitable sewing.  Quilts of Valor seemed a good match for the group. We have members who donate fabrics, make blocks and quilts, long arm quilt and bind tops, make pillow case presentation cases and award quilts.   At first we were paying to mail them out to Quilts of Valor volunteer long arm quilters, but we are lucky right now to have a few local long arm quilters who are stepping up to quilt for us.  Each year the number of quilts we made and awarded kept growing and in 2018 we formed the Bradford County Quilts of Valor.

Quilts of Valor is a 501(c)3 foundation which was founded in 2003 by Catherine Roberts whose son was serving in Iraq. She founded the organization to give comfort to soldiers who had been touched by war with healing Quilts of Valor.  As of April, 2019,  217,932 quilts have been awarded to veterans from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. Presentations have taken place in the U.S., Germany, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan. We, here in Bradford County, are honored to be part of this movement to create and award veterans with Quilts of Valor.

Being part of the Quilts of Valor Foundation enables us to accept donations of money as well as fabric.  We have been fortunate to receive monetary donations from local organizations as well as individuals.  This money is used to purchase fabric for our quilts and has helped out our productivity.

We invite anyone in the community who wants to contribute fabric, time, talent or money to join us and help  with our efforts to cover our local veterans who have been touched by war.  Contact us to see how you can help.

For a $5.00 annual membership fee, you get a membership card, pin, and the monthly newlstter sent to you.  The donations help to cover administrative fees. If your time, fabric or funds are limited, you can certainly still help us out.

We look forward to hearing from you.  And… don’t forget that if you would like to nominate a Veteran who has served overseas and been touched by war, use the form provided on this website.

Carol Ullo, Chapter Leader