TOLLAND, Conn. -- A Tolland woman is reaching out to the country's injured soldiers -- one quilt at a time.

Nancy Parker spends about five to six hours per day sewing red, white and blue quilts for wounded soldiers.

Parker is part of the program Quilts of Valor, created by a Delaware woman whose son was deployed three years ago to Iraq. Roberts began making the quilts to keep her mind off of her son's deployment.

"She started the foundation with the idea of organizing long armers and quilters," Parker said.

Parker makes the tops and backings for the quilts and the organization's long armers, who place the cushion between the two and sew them together.

Jason Cichon just returned from Iraq, and while he didn't need a quilt, told Eyewitness News that one of his comrades was injured.

"Anything like that is a comfort and then anything that reminds you of home, to know that people are thinking of you," Cichon said.

Parker told Eyewitness News that she began her own quilting business about a decade ago.

"I was doing it as a business, and it was not very satisfying," Parker said. "I just didn't like the pressure of 'have to make, have to make,' and I gave up quilting."

Parker said that a family member recommended Quilts of Valor to her.

"My older sister Carol, who lives in Maine, does a lot of Web surfing, and she said, 'Oh, hey, I found this organization and you've got to go read about it,'" Parker said.

Parker said she began quilting again for the organization.

"We have now, as of mid-January of this year, 7,804 quilts have been donated to injured -- psychologically or physically -- men and women in the service," she said.

Parker said she is currently working on her 22nd quilt for the organization, and that the program has become like a full-time job to her.

"I can usually do it probably in a week to 10 days depending on its intricacy …. Five to six hours a day," she said. "My first one went out to the VA center in Los Angles."

Parker said that the organization has about 300 quilters and 300 long armers throughout the United States, including eight volunteers in Connecticut.

She said the organization is always looking for more volunteers and that she is willing to teach people how to quilt.

Parker said the organization is also in need of financial and fabric donations to support the program.

She said only 100 percent cotton fabrics are used in the quilts.

"The concept is the soldiers have given their best; we want to give our best back," she said.

For more information about Quilts of Valor, visit the organization's Web site.

Contact Nancy Parker via e-mail.

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