In our paper today there was this article. (I won't write the whole thing out, just bits and pieces.
VA hospital asks quilters to hold that thread. Minnesota quilters are stitching blankets faster than the injured soldiers and ailing veterans they are destined for are entering the hospital - and now there's a quilt surplus.
With four storage rooms piled high with quilts and other handmade items, the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System has put a temporary stop on accepting such donations.
And while quilters say they're skeptical of the supposed excess supply, they are willing to take their donations elsewhere.
"I find it hard to believe there is too much stuff," said Page Johnson, coordinator for the Southern Minnesota group Quilts of Valor which makes quilts for soldiers and veterans.
To handle the overflow, the agency set aside four rooms that are 3/4 full of donated quilts,lap robes, blankets, pillows, slippers and laundry bags, she said.
The temporary hold on the stitched blankets came as a shock to quilter Cathy Foxworth of N. St. Paul. Foxworth has quilted for eight years with the White Bear Lake group Ladies of the Lake. They give at least 12 quilts a year to the Minneapolis VA as part of Quilts of Valor, which has stringent standards for quilts they donate. However, most of the 125 or more quilts made by Ladies of the Lake are given to other groups, including children's hospitals.
Quilters throughout the state also got word that the Minneapolis VA put a stop on accepting their blankets because of the potential dangers from bedbug infestations. "That's wrong," said Ralph Heussner, spokesman for the Minneapolis VA. The agency always processes donated fabrics through high-heat dryers as a precaution. Heussner said he has never heard of any VA center having problems with bedbug infestations.
I guess maybe an excess is good news????? Perhaps there are less injuries in Iraq and/or Afghanistan?????
I thought it was just an interesting article. Edie