DK Quilt Guild: A place for quilters to gather, share ideas, projects, and to make the world a better place, one quilt at a time. Join us and share your thoughts, projects, questions, and tips. Quilters here are at many different levels of skill. Beginners and non-quilters are welcome, too!
Quilts are powerful things. There are wedding quilts, baby quilts, graduation quilts, quilts given for all sorts of reasons and any number of occasions. And, then there are those special quilts we make because our hearts tell us we must so we can give them to someone we will probably never meet in this world but who will treasure our expression of love and caring for a lifetime. Those are the quilts our
DK Quilts for Detroit VA Hospital Service Project 2014 are about - each of us giving from the heart in our unique fashion, a simple quilt to someone we probably will never meet but who will always know that somewhere out there an American quilter cared very much about them and was grateful for their service even these many years afterwards.
Follow me below the orange free motion motif and I'll share the story of one these quilts that my heart told me I had to make.
In the late evening hours of July 13, 2008 Twinsburg, OH Police Department K-9 Officer Josh Miktairian gathered up his 4-legged partner, kissed his wife Holly and their 3-month old daughter Thea goodbye, and headed out the door to work. No one could have known he would never return.
Hours later, at 2:00 AM, during the course of a routine traffic stop for suspected DUI, Officer Miktarian was shot in the head 4 times at close range by a man licensed to carry a concealed weapon in the State of Ohio, in this case a 9mm. He had radioed for back up and responding units arrived on scene within minutes of the shooting but there was nothing to be done. Josh Miktarian was life flighted to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. When the suspect was apprehended less than 2 hours later, he still had Officer Miktarian's handcuffs hanging from one of his wrists.
Josh was a well-liked young man who loved being a cop. He had married the girl of his dreams and was over the moon with joy at being a new father, and had a true passion for music. He was still a member of a band with some of his school friends at the time of his death. In October 2008, those friends decided to hold a fundraiser to help Josh's wife and baby girl. The even was to be a concert at the Cleveland House of Blues, with a dinner and blind auction of donated goods and services.
I knew I had to participate. I knew I had to do one of those special quits we're all being called to do for a veteran in Detroit. This is my quilt for Josh:
I chose the music theme for obvious reasons, but fussy cut several blocks to feature stringed instruments as Josh was a guitarist. His group was a rock band who played many different insturments to create their sound.
I chose some wonderful wolf fabric to include in the star points in the primary blocks to represent his dog, who was retired from duty and given to Holly and Thea. I included an image of Josh and some details of his service as part of the quilt label. A local longarmer, Janice Kiser, was wonderful enough to contribute her services.
Josh's Mom fell in love with the quilt but couldn't really afford to bid much. A silent, loving friend made sure it went home with her, however, by placing the high bid of $500. It now hangs on her family room wall where, as she shared with the event organizers, she can "touch my Josh's face" whenever she needs to feel him close.
I never met her, nor Holly or Thea. Chances are I never will. I never met Josh. But, I knew I needed to send a gift of love out into the world and have been overwhelmed with the results it caused. That's real power, the kind of power each of us places into a quilt made with love and given to someone in need whom we'll never know in this life.
Please consider donating a quilt for this project. SaraR will be here next week with more specifics, but this is the latest info I have:
Here's the list of people who have pledged quilts so far. Please let SaraR know if we have the correct numbers for you or if you would like to be added to the list.
Sara R: 2 quilts
winglion: 2 quilts
Beadlady: 3 quilts
Pam from Calif: 1 quilt
Winifred3: 2 quilts
Ninepatch: 3 quilts
SilverWillow: 4 quilts
leu2500: 1 quilt
FloridaSNMOM: 1 quilt
madmommy: 1 quilt
Bridget: 1 quilt
NEPatriot: 1 quilt
Wood Dragon: 2 quilts
jlms qkw: 1 quilt
politik: 1 quilt
Elizaveta: 1 quilt
vtgal: 3 quilts
ERRN: 2 quilts
RUNNING TOTAL: 32 quilts, only 33 to go!
The designs can be very simple. The quilts can be tied rather than quilted, also. If you have orphan blocks, this would be a really good way to use them. Or if you have unfinished tops you would like to see go to a good cause, we would love for you to finish them for this! Wheelchair quilts are generally 36" wide to avoid getting tangled up. Lap quilts are generally 48" wide. A length of 60" is a good one for most guys
These are the only rules:
No references to politics or religion in your work -- the VA vigorously protects its patients from any kind of proselytization.
Pre-wash your fabric to make sure it won't bleed. If you want to go the extra mile, use a mordant like Retayne to set any loose dye.
Use polyester batting if possible so your quilt won't shrink in the hospital laundry.
Does anyone have pictures of their work to share? Please show and tell!
Would you like to write a future DK Quilt Guild diary? Please join in! Please volunteer within the comments. Thanks!
DKQG Diary Schedule:
03/23 -- trkingmomoe~Sampler Quilt Along
03/30 -- Sara R on the DK VA Hospital Service Project
04/06 -- OPEN
04/13 -- trkingmomoe~Sampler Quilt Along
04/20 -- winifred3
04/27 -- trkingmomoe~Sampler Quilt Along
05/04 -- OPEN