By KATE DANIEL

Every inch Joan Huffman stitched as she guided the red, white and blue fabric under the bobbing needle of her sewing machine contained a dose of empathy, pride and gratitude.

Huffman, a Penn Cove resident and Navy veteran, is one of dozens of volunteers and impromptu participants who took part in this year’s Veteran Quilt Sew-a-thon at the Whidbey Island Fair.

The event took place over the four days of the county fair, and involved several individuals contributing to the production of quilts to be donated to veterans admitted in Madigan Army Hospital near McChord Air Force Base.

Many of the volunteers were involved with groups such as Quilters on the Rock and Applique on Whidbey. Others, like volunteer Tiny Tillman, were friends of organizer Anita Smith.

“Quilts have always been made as a way you give your heart into fabric and you give it to someone,” said Smith. “When people make these, they’re giving their heart, they’re giving a ‘thank you.’”

Smith also plans to host monthly sewing meetings at Deer Lagoon Grange in Langley. The quilts crafted at these meetings will also be donated to veterans, and beginners are welcome to attend.

Though she has not yet decided which organization to work with in order to donate the quilts crafted during the monthly meetings, she has a couple of options in mind.

One possibility, she said, is American Hero Quilts, which allows the quilters to focus upon donating to vets in a specific region, such as North Whidbey. Another prospective avenue is Quilts of Honor, through which quilters present the gifts to vets in-person.

“It’s very personal,” Smith said.

Quilts crafted at the fair, sewn in a pattern known as a “disappearing nine-patch” were donated through American Hero Quilts.

Patterned and solid squares in hues of red, white and blue are sewn to border a patriotic centerpiece featuring an image such as the Statue of Liberty or a bald eagle. Huffman explained that they chose a fairly simple design in order to make the event more accessible for beginners, whom the volunteers happily assisted.

Several individuals who had never sewn before, including a handful of children, stopped in and tried their hand with a needle, Smith and Huffman said.

In addition to the practical skill of sewing, Huffman said participating in the event also helps children to learn the value of giving.

“It gets them in touch with being able to do a craft that I personally don’t want to see die with my generation,” said Smith.

Smith inherited the craft from her father, a tailor and WWII veteran. Smith recalled that she and her family had immigrated to the United States, fleeing a war-ravaged Germany.

Her father had been permitted to bring 100 pounds of luggage, and decided upon his sewing machine, which Smith later inherited.

“I look at this (sewing) as my way to give to America, and to a soldier of this country,” Smith said. “We were given an opportunity to come to a country that had hope.”

Huffman, who served for 21 years, said that as a veteran she feels the value of each quilt is immeasurable.

“It lets them know people care,” Huffman said. “It gives them comfort.”

A bevy of ‘thank you’ letters lined the edges of the sewing tables.

The quilters have never given a quilt for which they haven’t received a “thank you,” Huffman said.

One letter, penned by the mother of a disabled vet, expressed gratitude for the caring gesture. Although her son was still in a coma at the time of her writing, she said his family always ensured he was covered with the quilt, a reminder of his heroism.

Another, penned personally by a veteran, expressed thanks for a quilt he received while he was a patient in a hospital psychiatric unit, suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and depression. “I was initially shocked that anyone bothered to come down there because more often than not, soldiers without visible wounds from war are overlooked,” it read. “My shock quickly changed to a mix of relief and happiness. For the first time since returning home from Iraq, I felt like I hadn’t been forgotten.”

The quilters were present each day of the fair. Many sewed, cut and assembled for several hours each day in the fashion of an old-time sewing bee.

By Sunday evening, the quilters had nearly accomplished their goal to sew one quilt per day, amounting to four quilts total.

Two were finished, and another was nearly done, Smith said.

“There are no words,” Huffman said of the quilts’ significance to fellow vets.