Quilters give injured veterans their handmade, heartfelt warmth

About a dozen ladies gathered that day in Woodland Hills for the monthly work party of the L.A. Veterans Quilt Project. Volunteers have stitched about 600 quilts for the project and donated them to local veterans wounded in the Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We want them to feel loved," said Karen Van Den Brink, a 61-year-old Encino resident who coordinates the project. "This is the way quilters do it. We don't write speeches. We sew."

Van Den Brink came up with the idea about three years ago, when she was president of the San Fernando Valley Quilt Assn. She heard about a group making quilts for the families of those killed in action and wondered: Why not do it for those who are injured?

"I grew up during the Vietnam years, and vets were treated very badly when they came home," said Van Den Brink, a retired special education assistant. "We don't want them to feel that way again."

More than 60 quilters of all ability levels have participated since the project began. For some, it is just an artistic outlet, but most say they do it out of a sense of service. Many of them know people who fought in previous wars or recently served in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Joy Fisher, a 71-year-old Northridge resident who grew up in West Virginia, has several cousins whose children served in the current wars.

"The whole country is going about its business, but they're paying a huge price," Fisher said. "This is just a way of showing some compassion. . . . Being injured can be a very lonely experience."

Donations from fabric stores, local quilt guild members and other members of the community have given them thousands of yards of paisley, plaid and heart-stamped cotton fabric to work with. Quilters usually take some of the fabric home, or use strips they have at home, to make tops that will cover a twin bed or the lap of a veteran in a wheelchair.

The quilters said they try to avoid designs that seem "old-ladyish." Red, white and blue motifs and floral prints are quite popular.

"You'd be surprised how many men like flowers," said Linda Leibon, 61, a Sherman Oaks resident who was putting a magenta border around pastel-colored blocks. "It reminds them of their mothers."