ROBERTSDALE, Ala. – One of the harshest realities that soldiers and their families face is not being there for the birth of a child.

As the mother of a soldier, Barbara Landers understands this and she has been able to utilize something she is passionate about to help.

As the president of Stitch N Friends quilt club, which meets once a month at the George P. Thames senior center in Robertsdale, quilting has become more than just a hobby for Landers, it has become somewhat of an obsession.

“I’m all the time coming up with some project or another,” she said.

She and her group of quilters have made quilts for the crisis centers, police departments, fire departments, the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Department and various nursing homes.

But when she heard about a project called Quilts of Valor, which provides quilts to soldiers who have been injured, both physical and mentally, the project took on new meaning for Landers.

Her son, Capt. James Landers, is commander of the Naval Carrier USS Makin Island, stationed out of San Diego.

“He has served in Bosnia, Iraq and various parts unknown,” she said. “The thought of him being out there somewhere made this project very personal to me and we’ve gotten countless letters from people who have received our quilts. It’s just been a heart-warming experience.”

Through the Quilts of Valor program, the group has donated well over 200 quilts over the past two years to troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with other areas of service.

“We send quilts wherever the national organization asks us to send them,” she said. Nationally, she said, the group has donated over 58,000 quilts to solders.

Meanwhile, her son and 3,000 Naval and Marine personnel are set to deploy in October and Landers and her group have been called to do a new project.

“We were contacted about making quilts for all the babies born while their fathers are deployed overseas,” she said. Initially, when she was told they would need at least 50 quilts, Landers committed to just 25, but as of Tuesday, the group has completed 33 and plans to have the rest completed by the time they need to have them shipped off on Oct. 1.

“I love making these quilts and am determined to make it to 50,” she said.

Along with the quilts, the group is also making bibs made out of the Naval fatigue material worn by the soldiers on the ship.

Landers and the group’s vice president, Pat Hallberg, gave a presentation at the Center on Tuesday, showing off some of the Quilts of Valor, baby quilts and a special quilt that will be presented to the ship’s chaplain that, Landers said, will probably be given away to a soldier.

The Stitch N Friends group meets the second Tuesday of every month at 1 p.m. at the George P. Thames Senior Center in Robertsdale. The group also meets for a sewing circle once a month at Hallberg’s home.

The group is comprised solely of volunteers, who provide all the materials.

“We occasionally raffle off a quilt to raise money for materials,” Landers said, “and we certainly welcome new members and accept any donation one is willing to give.”

For more information about the Quilts of Valor program or about joining the Stitch N Friends group, contact Landers at 251-947-4436 or 251-978-9102 or Hallberg at 251-947-3265.