YATES CENTER ? Construction of a quilt requires time and patience just as much as fabric and thread. The Town Hall Quilters of Yates Center add a special ingredient to their very special Quilts of Valor: love.
?Nothing is more important than saying thank you to those who have served,? Connie Schmidt, who started the quilting group in Yates Center, said.
?My time is so little to give to someone who has sacrificed so much.?
Quilts of Valor is a national program that donates quilts to veterans. The program began in 2003 and has since delivered more than 230,000 quilt to veterans in all 50 states and five countries.
The Yates Center group, which includes mostly members from Yates Center but also Allen County residents, is one of only two quilt groups in southeast Kansas that produce Quilts of Valor. Only 16 groups in Kansas are certified for the project.
So far, the Town Hall Quilters have donated five quilts. Three more have been completed and will be donated Tuesday.
The donation typically includes a ceremony, which includes family members. The veteran can share a few words about his or her service.
?I?ve always had tears listening to the veterans talk,? quilter Vanessa Driskell said. ?Even though it?s just a quilt and it?s something very small compared to what they?ve done, it?s a way to say thank you.?
Sometimes, a veteran chooses not to share their story, Linda Steiner said.
?They don?t want to tell you what they?ve seen. All of them fought for the freedoms we have today and sometimes you don?t realize how precious that is.?
Cindy Adams sews a piece for a Quilt of Honor project.
CINDY Adams didn?t know how to thread a sewing machine until she took a class from Schmidt. Now, she?s one of the most enthusiastic quilters.
