Quilts of Valor #NSD2022 by Janice Lynn

 If you know much about me at all, then you know I am a proud advocate for the organization, Quilts of Valor Foundation. If you're unfamiliar with them, they're a group whose mission is to wrap our military, past and present, in quilts of healing. The organization was started in 2003 after its founder, Blue Star mom, Catherine Roberts, had a a dream where a dejected soldier was wrapped in a quilt of comfort and his demeanor changed. At the time, her son was deployed in Iraq. She and her quilting group began making & awarding these comforting quilts and from that, Quilts of Valor Foundation was formed. The group will soon award its 300,000th quilt. Yep, that's 300,000 men and women wrapped in quilts to welcome them home and to let them know they are appreciated. 

Straight from the Quilts of Valor Foundation website, "

What is a Quilt of Valor?

A Quilt of Valor® (QOV) is a quality, handmade quilt that is machine or hand quilted. It is awarded to a Service Member or Veteran who has been touched by war.  The Quilt says unequivocally, “Thank you for your service and sacrifice in serving our nation.”

To use the term Quilt of Valor, Quilts of Valor or QOV, the quilt must be a specific size, must have a label with required information, it must be awarded (it is not a gift) and it must be recorded. "

If you've ever done much sewing, then you may be aware of how much work goes into making a quilt. Finding the right material, buying it, cutting it up to then sew it back together in your chosen pattern, sandwiching the top with the bottom with a batting in the middle, then quilting it. Much love goes into a Quilt of Valor. I sew with more passion rather than any real talent. Sometimes I feel as if I rip out more stitches than I leave in. Fortunately, there are many men and women who do have great talent and some of the quilts that have been presented are just amazing. Fortunately, like me, one doesn't have to have great skills to be involved. There are many, many ways to help, should you want to. One of those ways is the great National Sew Day that they sponsor each first Saturday in February. This year's #NSD2022 is on February 5th.  QOVF will be sharing videos of the day's events on their Youtube channel. Everyone is welcome to join in with the Sew Day in their homes and online. 

But I'm not a quilter, you may say. Do you sew? If not, maybe you'd like to learn? I encourage you to reach out to your local Quilts of Valor groups. I'm amazed by just how many of them there are, but if you're not fortunate enough to be near one and there aren't other sewing/quilting groups in your area, then check out Youtube. There are wonderful tutorials to walk one through the basics of making a quilt block. Yep, a quilt block, because you see, you don't have to make a commitment to making an entire quilt. The reality is, an entire quilt is a huge commitment and maybe some day you'll feel up to doing just that. For now, I challenge you to commit to making a single quilt block, two, three, or more if you feel so inclined. Any patriotic quilt block would be appreciated and used, but each year QOVF does a specific block drive. This year's is called the Floating Churn Dash. PDF2022-Floating-Churn-Dash.pdf

In my sweet Hallmark Wrapped Up in Christmas series, I write stories featuring Quilts of Valor. In the first, my hero received a Quilt of Valor made and donated by the heroine. That quilt changed his life and he wanted to thank her and thus their story starts. 

I'm truly a believer in that it is better to give than to receive and it is in giving that we achieve true peace and joy in life. I hope you'll join me on Saturday February 5th as I'll be sewing/posting/partying on my Facebook page. I'll be doing some fun giveaways that day, so don't miss out. :) @JaniceLynnAuthor

Janice's Wrapped Up in Christmas books from Hallmark Publishing are available!

Buy Your Copy HERE

USA Today, Wall Street Journal, & Publishers Weekly Bestselling author JANICE LYNN lives in Tennessee with her Prince Charming and their princes and princesses, her vivid imagination, an adorable Maltese named Halo who's the true royalty of the house, and bunches of unnamed dust bunnies that moved in after Janice started her writing career. In addition to writing romance, Janice is a nurse practitioner, a quilter, an exercise queen, a military mama, and an avid supporter of the Quilts of Valor Foundation. Just kidding on the exercise queen. www.janicelynn.com  The WRAPPED UP IN CHRISTMAS books are available at AMAZON Barnes & Noble WALMART & many other place where you buy books. WRAPPED UP IN CHRISTMAS #4 coming Christmas 2023.