Quilting to Honor & Comfort
- fabman556
- Nov 17, 2017
- 3 min read
Quilts of Valor Presentation
On Veterans Day we remember those who have served our country. The Springs Creative Open Hearts quilting group chose Friday, November 10 for a Quilts of Valor presentation to local veterans.
About QOV
A Quilt of Valor is the highest award a civilian can present to a veteran. The mission of the Quilts of Valor Foundation is to cover veterans with comforting and healing quilts.
QOV is a volunteer organization, founded in 2003, that creates and awards quits for military personnel as a means to comfort and heal.
QOV is an opportunity for civilians to show their thanks & gratitude to those who have protected our freedoms.
QOV acknowledges that not all wounds are visible.
To date, more than 136,000 quilts have been awarded across the United States.
There are more than 5,000 members and countless volunteers, but no paid staff at the Quilts of Valor Foundation.
All materials, shipping and other expenses are paid by those who create each unique quilt.
Springs Mills Ties to the Military
The relationship between Springs companies and the military has deep roots reaching back to World War I. Colonel Elliott White Springs served with the British Royal Flying Corp and the United States Air Service. He was ranked the 5th highest flying ace, earning the British Distinguished Flying Cross and the United States Distinguished Service Medal.
With the onset of World War II, Elliott Springs turned over the company's entire production capacity to the military.
In the spring of 1941, the mill received an Army contract to make Type Four Army Uniform Twill fabric. They made more uniform twill than any other company in the United States.
Early in 1942 the company began manufacturing fabrics for a variety of military uses, including uniforms, tents, gas masks and gun covers. All the Springs plants won awards from the U.S. Army & Navy for superior production.
By 1943 Springs was turning out all kinds of fabrics for the war: fabric for summer wear, army raincoats, decontamination cloth, gas masks, herringbone twills, and mattress covers for the Navy.
The mills ran overtime, sometimes seven days a week, to keep up with wartime production.
Today Springs continues to honor service of veterans through the association with Quilts of Valor. In July 2014 Springs Creative launched their first ever Quilts of Valor group, Springs Creative Open Hearts. To date this group has awarded 65 quilts!
Readers of this blog will remember the recent post about the quilt I created for this presentation. Everyone in the Springs Creative Open Hearts group worked very hard to create the quilts for this presentation, and I can assure you that these quilts are made with love and respect.
The event was opened with the singing of the national anthem, and the awards ceremony was uplifting and moving, with lots of smiles, tears and hugs as the veterans were wrapped in their quilts.
Their humility and gratitude were heart-warming, and several veterans claimed not to deserve their award. Trust me, guys: you deserve this and so much more for all the sacrifices made for your country.
Veterans being awarded quilts ranged in age from 28 (above) to 91 (below).
One of the Veterans honored was our own Springs Creative president, an Army veteran (below).
I was pleased to learn that my quilt went to the Navy veteran parent of a Springs Creative artist in our Design department. He visited 22 countries in his tour of duty.
Are you interested in connecting with the Quilts of Valor Foundation? There are many ways to support QOV; visit their website for more information: https://www.qovf.org/
Until next time, keep those sewing machines running, and thank a Veteran!
DTFM
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