Eisenhower Quilts of Valor
Annual Veterans Day
Challenge
The Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum is pleased to announce its first ever Annual Veterans Day Quilts of Valor Challenge. Participants will have nearly a year to work on their quilts for submission. Quilts will be collected and put on display in time for Veterans Day 2010.
In partnership with the Quilts of Valor Foundation and the Kansas Quilts of Valor, the quilts will be distributed to wounded service men and women. Distribution points will include military and VA hospitals, CVN-69 USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and other veteran organizations.
This challenge is being organized by Jan Hottman, staff member at the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum. "Not only were quilts and blankets made on the homefront for troops during WWII, but support and concern for the troops was paramount to Eisenhower. This is one more way for us to carry on the legacy of the 5-star General and 34th President of the United States," states Hottman. "The Eisenhower boys helped their mother, Ida Stover Eisenhower, make quilts for the family while growing up in Abilene. He would understand the comfort and love of something made by hand."
The Quilts of Valor organization provides heirloom quality quilts for men and women who have been injured serving our country. They deserve to have a quilt that will be handed down in their families. Think of the quilt as a special hug from you to them. The quilts may be pieced, quilted, and labeled by a single person, group, or school. If you are not able to complete the quilting, you may submit the top with backing and label to be completed by volunteers.
Quilt entries should be a minimum size of 50" x 60" and include matching binding and backing. The backing should be a surplus of 4" on all four sides of the top. Standard/twin size pillowcases made from extra material should also be included. These pillowcases can later be used for storing the QOV.
What: A quilt challenge to make an heirloom quilt with pillowcase for every injured military personnel. A journal started by the quilter, to be completed by the person receiving the quilt, may also be included. The quilts can be made by individuals or groups, and you can make as many as you wish.
When: Starting November 11, 2009. Quilts, with pillowcases, and optional journals can be brought or mailed to the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum by October 22, 2010. The quilts will be on display from November 8-29, 2010. They will then be distributed to military and VA hospitals.
Where: The Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum
200 SE Fourth Street
Abilene, KS 67410
Phone: 785-263-6700
Toll Free: 877-RING IKE
More details:
Minimum size - 50”x60”
Maximum size - 72”x90”
Material - 100% cotton, pre-washed, good quality, not recycled, no juvenile prints (regardless of their age, they have been in training and/or in combat and are no longer children), most are red, white, & blue, but can be any color. Remember, 10% of injured are women.
Backing - 100% cotton, pre-washed, good quality, soft so as not to irritate wounds. Do not use sheets as they can stick to open wounds. If not quilting and binding before delivery, make each side at least 4” larger than the top.
Pattern- You are free to choose your own
Label - All quilts must have a label listing name(s) of piecers and quilter, city, state, date. If you wish you may include greetings, poems, or anything else. If not quilting, do not add label until binding is completed.
Pillowcase - Fabric pillowcase or a custom sized fabric case to hold the finished quilt.
Journal [OPTIONAL] - A journal/diary documenting the making of the quilt, what you were thinking while planning and ssewing, how and why you picked the fabrics and patterns. Leave pages for recipient to record their thoughts and feelings to leave for their descendants.
Postcard - Self addressed, stamped card for the chaplain or distributor to send back to you when they receive it.
