Editor’s note: This story first appeared in the Sunday, December 8th Print Edition of Sapulpa Times, but was found to be incomplete. The full story, with all of its photos, are included here.
On Saturday at 1 p.m, a reception was held at Quilt Styles, Sapulpa’s only quilting supplies shop, at 18 S. Water St. for 29 lucky veterans. Each veteran received a machine-pieced, machine-quilted, patriotic quilt donated from Quilt Styles and her large customer base surrounding Sapulpa.
The winners are:
- Weldon McCall who served in the Army, referred by his son, David.
- Bryan Warren, who served in the Army, picked up his quilt on Wednesday.
- William Rodgers, who served in the Air Force.
- Jerry Swepston, Marine, who also teaches USMJROTC at the high school.
- Ron Pogue, who was there for the party.
- Bill Briden, US Navy, picked his up at the party.
- Ervin Hoffman, 91, a former Marine, who picked up his early on his way to his grandson’s game.
- Bill Halfred, who served in the Army.
- Delbert Ray, US Army, picked his quilt up.
- David Carter, US Army, picked his quilt up.
- Mike Webb, US Army, received his quilt.
- Darrel Crossno, Army, received a quilt.
- Ray McLaughlin, US Army, picked his quilt up at the party.
- David McCall, Army, picked up his quilt.
- Lottie Wilds, US Navy/USNR, received a lovely quilt.
- Bo Carter, US Army, received his quilt on Saturday.
- Denzil Stamper, US Army, picked up his quilt on Thursday.
- Robert Mullins, US Army, received his quilt at the party.
- John Kitchen, a Marine, picked his quilt up on Thursday.
*Travis Gregory, Donnie Bevins, Rick Blankenship, Rondal R. Cook, Gary Pierson, Mike Davenport, Shane Savage, Bill Coyle, Randall Gibson, and Charles Thompson had not picked their quilts up by closing time Saturday.
In August, one of Cathy Jacobs’ quilt shop customers suggested that she and her shop sponsor quilts for veterans. To say that Cathy embraced this idea is to not give her enough credit. It was definitely a labor of love, with patchworkers buying specially-selected, discounted fabric (and batting) and piecing their quilt-tops together, quilters donating their long-arm machine quilting services or paying for the quilting services of others, veterans and their families coming together to receive a quilt, and the end product is 29—twenty-nine—large, patriotic quilts for 29 lucky veterans. Each veteran drew a number from a hat corresponding to a lovely quilt from the collection. There were eagles, flags, Mount Rushmore, red, white and blue color schemes and other national talismans dedicated to each quilt.
Imagine what Cathy and her gang could do if they had a bit more time! Cathy said that next year she plans on starting earlier and having the quilts ready for November 11, Veteran’s Day.
Cathy Jacobs owned Quilt Styles in Glenpool for four years and moved to Sapulpa five years ago. She makes dozens of quilt-tops a year. Her shop is a glorious place to come for inspiration with its high-quality fabrics, threads, notions, books, kits, classes, and passionate quilt shop customers. Creative advice abounds.
A quilt is, specifically, a layered cover, sewed together by machine or by hand, through the layers. A quilt square is a unit of pieced together fabrics that is the basis for most quilt patterns. Cutting and sewing pieces of a design together is called, “piecing” or “patching.” A quilt-top is the flat, pieced-together fabrics made into a design, which is not yet quilted. The batting is the inside layer between the quilt top and the backing, which provides the warmth and texture to the finished product. The backing is often a solid piece of cloth (although it can be pieced together) that provides the bottom layer of the quilt and usually provides the name of the quilter and the date of the quilt. Quilting is the act of sewing the layers together, either by hand or by machine. Quilting can be simple or quite elaborate, depending on the talent and choice of the quilter.
According to 2010 statistics, over $3.6 billion a year is spent on quilting and supplies in the United States.
