Fellow Quilters,
This is a special year, marking a couple of noteworthy anniversaries.
QOV founder Catherine Roberts with Chaplain John Kallerson
Twenty years ago, Catherine Roberts founded Quilts of Valor after a vivid dream moved her to present a quilt to a wounded soldier. The seed was planted, and by 2012 more than 50,000 quilts had been awarded to veterans and service members.
That year, Northcott was moved to help this growing and honorable organization. Using the popular Stonehenge brand, Northcott’s Design Director Deborah Edwards and Stonehenge creator Linda Ludovico collaborated to design the first collection supporting QOV – Stars & Stripes aids QOV in the United States, and Oh Canada supports Quilts of Valour Canada. It quickly became a quilter favorite and has been used in a large percentage of QOV quilts ever since.
Each and every year a new Quilts of Valo(u)r collection is designed that complements the previous ones. These collections are inspired by the noble work of Quilts of Valo(u)r and honor our great country while recognizing our brave service personnel for their sacrifice. Deborah says the collections have continued to evolve but have always maintained their roots, with patriotic designs in the Stonehenge tradition.
Fast forward to 2022. Currently more than 313,000 quilts have been awarded in the US and Canada. To recognize the 20th anniversary of QOV and the 10th anniversary of the Stonehenge Quilts of Valo(u)r collections, Deborah and Linda have designed a special 10th anniversary QOV collection.
The Stonehenge Stars & Stripes 10th Anniversary (top) and Oh Canada 10th Anniversary (bottom) collections
In addition, Northcott has planned a year-long celebration with a variety of fun events, and you are invited and encouraged to participate in as many of them as you wish. There are 2 sets of events – the US events use Stars & Stripes and the Canadian events use Oh Canada. Each set includes a Celebrate 4th of July/Canada Day event, a Wear Your Patriotic Pride event and a 10-month quilt-along. Let me tell you a bit more about the stunning quilt for this event.
I was thrilled and honored when Northcott approached me to design a special block-of-the-month style quilt to be used for the quilt-along portion of the year-long celebration. You see, I have always enjoyed working with these fabrics to design QOV quilts. Not only do the various fabrics play well together, but they speak to my heart. Over the past 10 years I have had the good fortune to witness just how impactful these QOV quilts are to the recipients. I am humbled and deeply moved by their gratitude. I simply cannot make it through a presentation without a box of Kleenex tissues.
With that in mind, I set about designing a multi-block quilt that incorporated the fantastic 10th anniversary collection, including the 2 panels, AND was QOV-sized – yes, you can participate and then donate your finished quilt to Quilts of Valo(u)r. A win-win!
Label panels 24″ x 43″
In this quilt design I wanted to showcase the preprinted block/label panel that Deborah designed. Not only can these blocks be used as quilt labels, when used on the quilt front, they are also a place for embroidered or inked sentiments. I placed them in 4-patch blocks, alternating them with cream background and added simple appliqued hearts to reflect our heartfelt thanks. If desired, the hearts can be replaced with additional sentiments or lovely quilting motifs.
For the Brave is 66 1/2″ x 80 1/2″
The 6 different pieced blocks were chosen to showcase the various fabrics and to complement the 4-patch blocks and each other. Sashing was added to eliminate bulky seams where blocks meet. The cornerstones at the sashing intersections make assembling the quilt easier and extending them into the border provides continuity and balance.
With Glowing Hearts is 66 1/2″ x 80 1/2″
It was important to me that the quilt design incorporates an option to showcase the large panel from the collection. This was accomplished by replacing one set of pieced blocks in the quilt center with the panel. Do you like lots of piecing? Go with the all-blocks version. Just a taste of piecing? Opt for the panel version. Either option – the central panel version or the all-blocks version – is a fitting tribute to those who have served our nation and defended our freedom.
When is the quilt-along, how much does it cost and how do you participate? I’m glad you asked!
1) The quilt-along runs from March through December 2022. It is a monthly event – the block video and newsletter for each month will be posted the first of the month starting March 1st.
2) There is no cost for the QAL (sign-up is free) however you will require a copy of the pattern to follow along. You can purchase it from your local quilt shop (preferred) or my website. Contact your local quilt shop to purchase a kit containing the fabric and pattern – choose the panel option or the all-blocks option (or both!). The pattern has instructions for both options. Many shops already have their kits ready and waiting for you. Here’s the list of participating US shops and Canadian shops.
3) Sign up for Northcott’s For the Brave newsletter or With Glowing Hearts newsletter to receive the monthly (starting in March) newsletter with information and links to the quilt along video, creative contest, monthly giveaways and more. Those who sign up now will receive a welcome email with Frequently Asked Questions. Participants can subscribe and unsubscribe at any time.
4) Sign up for my For the Brave QAL newsletter or With Glowing Hearts newsletter for my monthly posts. You really want to do this – just ask the participants of my last 2 QAL’s. In my posts I share extra tips and tricks to help you successfully make each month’s block. While the monthly how-to videos are a fantastic visual on how to construct each block (you’ll be able to watch these on my YouTube channel, and Northcott will also be sharing them), there are some details that require more information – close-up photos, detailed descriptions, etc. – that are too hard to show in a video.
5) Want to win some great prizes? Complete each month’s block made with the Stonehenge QOV fabrics and post a photo by the last Thursday of the month on Instagram with #ForTheBrave2022 or #WithGlowingHearts2022 to be in the running for one of two $150 prizes each month. Yowza!! That’s a nice prize! But wait! There’s more!! There will be 3 grand prize winners at the end of the QAL in January 2023. Prizes have been generously supplied by Janome, Accuquilt, Olfa, Aurifil, Quilter’s Dream batting, Love of Quilting magazine and Northcott. Thank you sponsors 😊
Here’s a quick recap:
US participants: Sign up for my For the Brave QAL newsletter here
Sign up for Northcott’s For the Brave newsletter here
Purchase your fabrics and pattern from a participating shop here
Visit Northcott’s website here for details on all the For the Brave events
Have questions? Find answers here
Canadian participants: Sign up for my With Glowing Hearts QAL newsletter here
Sign up for Northcott’s With Glowing Hearts newsletter here
Purchase your fabrics and pattern from a participating shop here
Visit Northcott’s website here for details on all the With Glowing Hearts events
Have questions? Find answers here
Please help me support QOV and honor our service personnel by participating in this worthwhile and creative event. Together we’ll blanket them in love and comfort 😊
Let’s quilt-along together,
Patti
It is also Quilt Block Mania day – yay! That means a new batch of free quilt block patterns, including one by yours truly. If you’re popping in from another blogger’s site, you can subscribe at the link on the right.
pattispatchwork-blog.com 