River’s Edge Quilt Guild held their first meeting of the new year Jan. 8.
The guild members welcomed guest speaker, Lezley Zwaal , the founder and past president of the charity Quilts of Valour-Canada . She started this group in 2006 to “acknowledge the contributions of injured Canadian Armed Forces members.” This charity became officially registered in 2009.
Official count to date is over 6,400 quilts have been given to veterans from the Second World War, the Korean war, up to and including those who served in Afghanistan. These quilts provide comfort and acknowledge the sacrifice of life and limb that the members of the armed forces have provided for our country.
Lezley talked about the kinds of injuries that have happened to forces personnel including post traumatic stress disorder and how a quilt can help those suffering feel they count.
She talked about the many numerous ways individuals can become involved in this worthwhile endeavour from buying a hug mug to making blocks, to making quilts for individuals. Many long-arm quilters will quilt the tops for no charge.
The Northcott fabric Stonehenge line, Canadiana series, donates a portion of every purchase to Quilts of Valour-Canada.
The group still has many forces members and veterans who need a quilt. Recipients can be nominated by going on the website-quiltsofvalour.ca or by contacting regional representative Shannon McGilvery sk-north@quiltsofvalour.ca.
