Shelley Chappell knew exactly what she wanted to do.

Her goal: to make a quilt for each and every one of the 66 Lake Highlands men and women currently serving in our Armed Forces.

How did she know there were 66?

She simply referred to the Lake Highlands Military Moms poster tacked up on the front door of Quilters Connection, her shop located at the corner of Plano Road and Walnut Hill.

With an assist from employee Sharon Wilhelm, a seasoned Quilt-A-Thon organizer, the event to benefit the Lake Highlands military personnel recently saw 20 volunteers show up to start the first phase of the process.

According to Chappell, there was no shortage of hands on deck.

"The quilting world is quite a grapevine," she explains. "Lots of people heard about the event and registered, and then even more volunteers just showed up! We even had a waiting list because we had to turn some volunteers away. These folks just want to say thank you to our military personnel.”

Not only was the labor of love a volunteer effort, but all the fabric and batting was donated by customers, manufacturers, and their representatives, as well.

Prior to the start of the sewing and piece work process, each quilt top, which consists of all the fabric and notions needed for a multi-purpose twin size quilt, was already cut into a variety of shapes thanks to Wilhelm and her husband.

The "kits" were then packaged into pizza boxes, easily accessible to all workers. The theme of the material chosen for the quilts was "American Traditional Log Cabin," but depending on the type of fabric used and each individual artist's interpretation of the piecing, every finished quilt will be unique.

One recent meeting netted nine completed quilt tops. But Shelley knows that in order to complete all 66 quilts and get them distributed, more events will need to take place in order to move the process along. There are usually four sewers for every one presser, and once the 66 tops are intricately and uniquely completed, the process of batting and binding still has to take place.

Chappell and her staff are working on a plan for completion and distribution. “I’ve been working on this project in my mind for a year, but I honestly hadn’t thought through to the completion and distribution," she says.

"After talking with Rhonda Russell and the Military Moms, who were tickled pink with the project, we know that we’ll present the completed quilts at a future meeting. From there, each soldier will be able to choose the quilt they want."

Quilters Connection hosts a myriad of classes and events such as Fat Tuesdays and the upcoming November 15th Cast Party, which will premiere many new materials, patterns, tools and gadgets that quilters love. The store keeps Chapell busy, working six days a week and often Sunday afternoons, as well.

But the military quilt project is dear to her, so she's always willing to give up class time for this volunteer effort.

Chappell welcomes volunteers from the LH community to participate in the next quilting event which, depending on the number of participants, could net another 8 -12 quilt tops. Rest assured, that will surely bring the warmth and comfort of home to our soldiers much sooner.

For information about Quilters Connection and how to get involved in the Quilt-A-Thon benefiting our LH soldiers, visit their colorful website here.

To get in touch with Shelley Chappell contact her at 214-343-1440 or by email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Readers can view the 2009 Lake Highlands Heroes poster by clicking here.

This Veterans Day, LH Today salutes all the men and women of our Armed Forces and the commitment and sacrifice they offer our community and country!

Photo (below right) of volunteer Mollie Tabell and Shelley Chappell, Quilters Connection