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Wilkes County Veterans History Project: Quilts of Valor

Veterans Monument Top Box

Quilts of Valor Photos

Lily Smith poses with Raymond Hayes, Vietnam Veteran

What is Quilts of Valor?

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.

Sew Blessed

Libby Whittington, owner of Sew Blessed Quiltworks works with a team of quilters to create Quilts of Valor for honoring local veterans in Wilkes County.   Download a copy of the form needed for nominating veterans here: