Quilts of Valor Presentation and Quilt Show
By Sara Fridley
A Quilt of Valor is…
From the beginning, Catherine Roberts had definite ideas about standards of excellence for Quilts of Valor:
I knew a Quilt of Valor had to be a quality-made quilt, not a “charity quilt.” A Quilt of Valor had to be quilted, not tied, which meant hand or machine quilting. It would be “awarded,” not just passed out like magazines or videos, and would say unequivocally, “Thank you for your service, sacrifice and valor in serving our nation.”
Catherine Roberts’ Dream
Quilts of Valor Foundation began in 2003 with a dream, literally a dream. Founder Catherine Roberts’ son Nat was deployed in Iraq. According to Catherine:
The dream was as vivid as real life. I saw a young man sitting on the side of his bed in the middle of the night, hunched over. The permeating feeling was one of utter despair. I could see his war demons clustered around, dragging him down into an emotional gutter. Then, as if viewing a movie, I saw him in the next scene wrapped in a quilt. His whole demeanor changed from one of despair to one of hope and well-being. The quilt had made this dramatic change. The message of my dream was: Quilts = Healing.
The model appeared simple: have a volunteer team who would donate their time and materials to make a quilt. One person would piece the top and the other would quilt it. I saw the name for this special quilt: it was Quilt of Valor, a QOV.