The Internet Chapter of the American Needlepoint Guild

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Soldiers' Family Pillows

In 2005, wanting to show appreciation for the sacrifices made by military personnel, Yellow Rose Chapter EGA members began hand-stitching small 4" X 4" patriotic pillows designed to be used as a keepsake for the children and loved ones left behind by the soldiers departing for service of the U.S. The lightly stuffed pillows have a heart outline, the words "I love you," and two red, white and blue stars within the heart, and are backed with washable fabrics in patriotic and camouflage designs. Each pillow is presented in a plastic bag with a note explaining the purpose of the tiny pillow and expressing the stitcher's gratitude for their service. The soldier kisses the pillow and gives one to each of his/her loved ones to hold onto until he/she returns from war. When this project began, it was only about the children, but the wives and sweethearts requested them too, and then, the soldiers wanted one with everyone's kisses on it to take with him/her off to war.

In the fall of 2006, Yellow Rose began offering the project to all Embroiderers' Guild of America chapters. In November 2006, the project was offered to chapters of the American Needlepoint Guild. The goal was to have needlework chapters stitching for military units across the United States.

CyberPointers ANG has the directions and charts for stitching and finishing these pillows in .pdf form on the Yahoo group. If you make complete pillows, or only stitch pillow tops, you may send them to Valorie Perkins Rice, 2830 North Shingle Rd, Shingle Springs, CA 95682. She will see that they get distributed, or you may find a military unit in your area to donate to, or you may send them to Yellow Rose Chapter EGA by contacting them at yellowroseega.outreach@gmail.com.