Valerie Funk of Osceola has designed, pieced and quilted a veterans-inspired quilt.
The quilt was intended to evoke emotion from its viewers. It is made from a combination of military uniforms and traditional fabrics. The queen-size quilt features many colors that blend from lights, earth tones and browns.
The cream colors at the top of the quilt represent the ray of hope the military gives to those they serve to protect. The browns and earth tones represent ground soldiers who have walked in their many endeavors.
The camouflage is from authentic military uniforms and represents soldiers in the branches of the military.
The centerpiece of the quilt features a silhouette of a soldier kneeling in the front of a field memorial of a fallen comrade. The soldier holds the dog tags of his friend, and represents the emotional scars surviving soldiers face when returning home.
The quilt is made with a combination of freehand and computer-guided designs. There are approximately a-quarter of a million stitches throughout the entire quilt.
The cornerstones of the quilt have names of the wars the U.S. has engaged in, and are quilted with the American coat of arms, which is an eagle, shield, arrows and olive branches.
The borders have a “Stars and Stripes” theme, and the center body of the quilt is quilted in an optical illusion that looks like a flag waving in the wind.
The quilt was made with the intent to honor those who serve or have served. The quilt was made by Funk with help from Debbie Edwards and Carla Black from Clarke County Piecemakers Quilt Guild.
It will be raffled on Veterans Day, Nov. 11. Clarke County Veterans Affairs (VA) will be auctioning it off at 5 p.m. by the flag in the courthouse courtyard. Tickets are available through Clarke County State Bank, Joella Perry 641-223-2121 at the VA office in the courthouse and Funk at 641-414-4879.