As we approach Veteran’s Day, it seems appropriate to remind you all of the opportunity to make patriotic quilts for wounded veterans or for family members of veterans killed in action. American Hero Quilts is one such group that does this. At our Bainbridge Island Quilt Fest in September, sponsored by the Bainbridge Island Modern Quilt Guild, there was a Sew In to make quilt blocks for a quilt to donate to this group.

Anyone could participate to sew simple 4-patch blocks, or string-pieced blocks to make a replica of this antique quilt using patriotic colors. The new blocks are much more vibrant in color, the antique quilt having faded with age. This project was coordinated by Marybeth O’Halloran and Barbara Kirk.

The American Hero Quilts organization was established in 2004 to provide recognition and appreciation to wounded service men and women who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Each quilt as a metaphoric hug and a way to express gratitude for their service to our country. There are now over 800 volunteers participating in the program, ranging from piecers, binders, quilters and other helpers, including generous contributors.  As of the first of the year in 2018, over 26,500 quilts had been provided to deserving men and women and their families. The quilts are sent to Madigan Hospital at Joint Base Lewis McCord, other Warrior Transition Centers in the US, and directly to bases in Afghanistan.

I recently taught at the New Mexico Quilters’ Association in Albuquerque. The big buzz at their meeting was the upcoming Balloon Fiesta, an annual event that takes place for nine days in early October in Albuquerque. The guild runs a booth at this event, where they sell tickets for their raffle quilt and have a variety of balloon themed quilted items for sale. It is their major fund raiser for the year. They had a balloon themed challenge and these delightful quilts were the entries. Members voted on their favorite at the meeting, hence the quilts just have numbers on them and the makers were not identified. I don’t know which one won, but I thought they were all pretty creative. The winning quilt received a prize. All the quilts were donated for sale at the upcoming Balloon Fiesta to benefit the guild. They were whimsical and fun.

Purely coincidentally, on the day of the Bainbridge Island Quilt Fest, there was a small fair with tables on Winslow Green for animal lovers. There were adorable kittens and a couple of dogs out for adoption, a pet food stand and more. One table had this beautiful quilted pet portrait. Raffle tickets were offered for $5, and the winner will be given the opportunity to provide a picture of their pet to be memorialized in a customized quilt made by artist Dawna Ellis.

I think Dawna does an incredible job at bringing these dogs to life on the quilt. The raffle is in aid the Kitsap Animal Rescue & Education organization. Dawna makes a variety of pet quilts for her clients and always donates 10% of her fee to a pet shelter or rescue organization of the client’s choice. She may be contacted at dawna.nest@gmail.com. Hanging nearby, was this delightful whimsical dog quilt, Mod Dog, made by Dana Dimmick Scarp and machine quilted by Gladys Schulz. The quilt pattern is by Colourwerx, designed by Linda & Carl Sullivan.

During my recent visit to Kodiak Island, AK, I went to the Baranov Museum. These two salmon quilts were hanging in the gift store for sale. Both are made by the same local artist, Sally Troxell. The fish panels are made from Shibori dyed fabric, printed with hand carved stamps using Daniel Smith oil-based water-soluble ink. Commercial prints surround the panels and the quilts were machine quilted on a domestic sewing machine.

The Reeds, depicts seven salmon swimming through the reeds.

The River, shows the salmon swimming upstream. The combination of watery colors punctuated with orangish-red make beautiful settings for both of these quilts. The quilting designs add to the pleasing effect. Salmon play an important part in this corner of the world and Kodiak Island is a hub for the fishing industry. There are reminders of this all over the place. In downtown Kodiak, the garbage cans are made to look like the salmon cans from the 1950’s. Here’s an example.

The large salmon sculpture by the harbor is made from marine trash from the ocean and designed to draw attention to ocean pollution and the damage that it is causing in the ecosystem. Iqalluk, Alutiiq Salmon was made by art students at Kodiak Middle School and High School with teachers Bonnie Dillard and Marcin Mazurek with support from KIBSD and the AK State Council for the Arts.