Made with love: Veteran brings comfort to JBER community through her quilts

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Delma Edwards is making a difference in the Alaska military community, one stitch at a time.

After 24 years of service, she retired as an Air Force Master Sergeant in 2017. Edwards then packed her bags and moved to Alaska with her husband.

When she arrived, she began exploring different creative outlets to keep herself busy.

Edwards found her passion behind a sewing machine.

“It’s very therapeutic,” she said. “It helps you focus on creating something beautiful.”

Edwards opened the Eagle River Quiltworks shop in the JBER Main Exchange in the spring of 2024. She says it’s given her an opportunity to connect with others in the military community.

“I want to come back to my Air Force roots,” she says. “It warms my heart that I’m in a spot where I can do that.”

She’s become a familiar face among shoppers, offering free quilting classes for those interested in learning the craft.

“I would like to share it on base and bring some more people and kids to it so that it can help them during the long winter months,” she explained. “Then I decided, ‘Hey, you know, let’s share this.‘”

The Exchange Services Manager Dahlia Haliburton says Edwards’ classes give those living on base an avenue for creativity and maintaining their emotional well-being.

“It just gives [people] the opportunity to network and do great things for the JBER community,” Haliburton said. “She has done amazing impact.”

Edwards often donates quilts to local nonprofits and military families. She says each one is unique.

“It’s really an emotional piece of creation you’re making for a special someone,” Edwards said. “It was made with love.”

Sharing her knowledge with other crafters gives her a sense of purpose, she said.

“To me, it’s truly giving back in so many ways,” she says. “Once they start running that machine and they do the first stitch, it just warms my heart to see how excited they get.”

One of Edwards’s main focuses is working with military families.

“What people don’t understand is that the family also serves,” she said.

Her dream is to build a team of quilters and start a nonprofit supporting those families who have lost a loved one in the line of duty.

“We don’t want to forget those that are left behind.” She says. “This way it makes them feel comfort that they were a part of this too.”

Upcoming free sewing classes hosted by Eagle River Quiltworks will be announced on JBER Exchange’s social media pages.

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