A group of women are meeting at Goss Baptist Church to create quilts of thanksgiving to present to veterans.
A total of 18 quilts, all with patriotic patterns, will be presented before Veterans Day. Many of the quilts are being made by family members.
According to one of the quilters, Paula Matthews, the project began back in May with the women meeting once a week.
For Debbie Bonds, this is her first quilt, and she made it for her husband, Richard.
Goss Baptist Church will hold a special veterans service at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 10. At the service, each of the veterans will receive a special certificate and a Veteran’s Bible as a thank you for their service. After the service the program will continue in the Family Life Center where each one will receive a quilt.
Matthews said it was something the women wanted to do to give back for what the soldiers have done and to honor the ones who are still living. Each quilter purchased their own materials and fabrics.
Carrie Whitehead, who is making one for her nephew, Wesley Purvis, said not only the serviceman are affected but the families are, too. She said her father was in the military, and she remembers being in three different schools when she was in the ninth grade.
Not only are the women working on quilts for veterans but they meet to work on other quilts as well. The women are working on a coffee cup quilt, which each main square representing a month. Some of the women have been meeting since 2005. The members of the quilting group consist not only of members at Goss Baptist Church but some come from other areas, such as Picayune or Petal. They meet once a month to quilt together and enjoy each other’s company.
Matthews said quilting is harder than sewing; it is more of an exact science.
“It has to be exact to make the patterns line up,” she said.
She said there was a time when most quilts were hand-sewn; most of the ones being made for the veterans have been made using a sewing/quilting machine.
Each of the quilts being given to the veterans will have a special patch in the corner with the soldier’s name, recognizing their service.
The Veterans’ Service at Goss Baptist Church will begin at 11 a.m. on Nov. 10. Following the service there will be a fellowship meal where the ceremony will conclude with the presentation of the quilts.
Pictured Above: Jan Watkins from Picayune works Oct. 22 at Goss Baptist Church sewing pieces for her quilt. She travels once a month to Goss to quilt and enjoy fellowship with the other women in the group who are making quilts for veterans. The finished pieces will be presented during a special veterans service at the church on Nov. 10. | Photo by Susan Amundson
