“I want them to know I appreciate and love them,” she said. “I hope these quilts cheer them up a bit when they need it.”

For Coupeville resident Lynn Scoby, these words from a wounded Marine say it all: “I was hurt pretty bad in Iraq … and then I was shipped to Madigan for rehab. Well ma’am, I was pretty scared and none of my family was going to be able to come here to be with me. I was trying to be tough because that’s what Marines are, tough, but I was pretty shook up. To be honest ma’am, I felt like crying. When they put that quilt around me I felt like my grandma and my mom and all the people who love me were there hugging me. It was like going home.”

Scoby began quilting for veterans and organizing other quilters on the island to do so after she learned about the Delaware-based Quilts of Valor program.

“It struck an idea with me as a way to bring awareness of war to people who might not have family or ties to the military,” she said.

While the Iraq and Afghanistan wars often go unnoticed by people in today’s overly busy age, wars past are still vivid with Scoby.

“During Vietnam there were protests and more awareness,” she said. “But it’s too easy to forget about war.”

Fall of 2005 she took the idea to her quilting guild, Quilters on the Rock, and the local effort began with donations of fabrics and eager quilters. Whidbey quilters helped piece together more than three dozen quilts between January of 2006 and April of 2007 for donation to Quilts of Valor.

“It’s hard to sit at home and hear news about the atrocities of war,” Scoby said. “But this is something we can do that’s a way to help but keep the politics out of it.”

Scoby then found the Vashon Island-based American Hero Quilts project and organizer Sue Nedecker. The Whidbey quilters now donate their quilting to this group closer to home which cuts out a lot of mailing back and forth that was involved before.

“We like that we’re able to get the quilts to those who need them sooner,” Scoby said.

Since November 2006, Scoby has helped lead local quilters in the creation of 71 quilts that have been donated to injured soldiers, sailors and marines through the American Hero Quilts project.

No matter what organization Scoby is sending the quilts to, she knows they’re all the same — quilts of comfort at times when comfort is needed most. The American Hero Quilts are distributed to Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, the Veterans Administration Hospital in Seattle, Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and other burn units.

A dozen quilters gathered the first week of July for a quilting session at Sundown Quilt Shop in Coupeville. Most were Quilters on the Rock quilting guild members, but there were some civilians among the quilting troops.

A baker’s dozen quilts were pieced from the day, each with pattern names like “Old Glory” and “Patch Pizazz.” They were all red, white and blue, but the range of color goes beyond those three hues. Rich reds blaze from purplish shades to sunset fires. Deep sea blues flow to gentle pastel tones. Gilded golds accent in fabrics bearing Uncle Sam, American flags, bald eagles, yellow ribbons, Statues of Liberty, stars, stripes and fireworks. It’s everything from vintage retro to hip and happening.

The quilts are creations of obsession. Everyone gathered for the quilting party knows the addictiveness of their hobby.

“It keeps us out of trouble and out of the tavern,” quipped Clinton resident Evelyn Blair.

Blair has been a quilter for close to nine years. She quilts every chance she gets. Quilting for the veterans is a way she can continue quilting without having to deal with long arm quilting that can often prove physically daunting.

“This way I can piece, make tops and just have fun,” she said. “I’m a fan of jigsaw puzzles so this just fits.”

The women have varied experience levels among them. None admit to being a quilting pro, nor creators of perfection. They encourage anyone with an ounce of creativity and a passion for supporting the troops to join their cause.

“You don’t have to be an expert quilter,” Blair said. “All you have to do is be able to sew in a straight line.”

These gatherings are a time for giving each other tips, teaching technique, sharing ideas and even poetry and song.

“I’ve always enjoyed sewing but you don’t have to fit quilts the way you have to fit clothes to a body,” Clinton resident Ginny Mayer said.

It doesn’t even have to be a noble cause that brings you to the group.

“If I wasn’t here my other choice would be painting my garage,” laughed Nancy Menne of Greenbank.

The quilters feed their addiction for their art by quilting for many causes, other charities or to give to family members. The quilting is endless.

Scoby found quilting after following a life-long passion for sewing that began in her childhood.

“It’s creative and an outlet for insanity prevention,” she says of her self-described habit.

She quilts for the fellowship opportunities with other quilters. She quilts for the soldiers, sailors and Marines, and for the empathy she feels toward their service.

“They’re sons and daughters who become injured serving our country,” she said. “It’s a way to recognize and show appreciation for what they do.”

Patriotic pride is near and dear to many of the women. Quilter Ginny Mayer’s late husband, Bill, was a World War II Navy veteran. As was Elizabeth Caron’s husband Joseph who served in the South Pacific. Caron’s daughter also had a 20-year Navy career. Bobbie Tedrow’s late husband, Rod, and brother were Navy, and her brother-in-law was Air Force. Sharyn Mellor’s husband Andrew is a 21-year Air Force veteran who served in Vietnam and the Gulf War.

“I’ve followed him all over,” Mellors said.

This is the first time in years that Mellors doesn’t know anyone currently serving in the military. But after being a military wife who’s stood by during two wars, seeing a flag at half-staff continues to bring tears to her eyes.

“It hits the pit of my stomach,” Mellors said. “Now they’re all younger than my son. It’s a true calling, you know.”

Mellors sees the quilts as a good way to wrap those young soldiers up in love.

“They should know there’s people out there who support them and appreciate them even if we’ve never met them,” she said.

The quilts link them to their own past.

“My mother quilted and my grandmother quilted,” said Freeland resident Linda Jedlicka. “This is my way to connect with them.”

The connection is undeniable. In another letter from a soldier, the quilters received this plea: “Please tell all the people who work on these quilts not to stop, we need you and you keep us going in the hard times.”

When Elizabeth Caron arrived to the quilting gathering she didn’t know any of the other women, many of whom were unfamiliar with everyone else. But at the end of the day, everyone was stitching from the same thread, united by the bonds they pieced together that day.

“You can’t help but enjoy it,” Caron said. “When you arrive you don’t know each other but when you leave you’re good friends.”

The phrase “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure” runs true for Mellors.

“I’m making an applique quilt out of the scraps from everyone else’s work,” she said. “It’s a culmination of everything we’re doing here today.”

Scoby likes to think of all the quilts as a representation of the efforts being made for these soldiers.

“Quilts are made of a lot of little pieces that I’d like to think represent all the different hands it takes coming together to make