When the total neared 2,000 boxes, Maj. Art LaFlamme sent out a message with the headline, "It's time we had a little talk."

He had initially thought that 50 boxes would a big success. Now, he's choking back emotion and jokingly complaining about the avalanche of good will that just about overwhelms him.

LaFlamme's simple idea was to get fabric and sewing supplies to Iraqi women who are in desperate need of such things for their families and who appreciate and use every scrap that comes their way. Clean out your quilting stashes, he told family and friends. Send them to Iraq. He figured while he was stationed near Tikrit and had an APO address, he would see how many IBOLs — his abbreviation for Iraqi Bundles of Love — he could gather and distribute.

His friends told their friends, he put up a blog (www.ibol.wordpress.com) word spread through sewing guilds and media stories, and pretty soon he had to ask for a warehouse to store everything that was mailed to him. He knew sewers and quilters and knitters were generous, but this was far beyond his expectations.

"Let me see a show of hands — how many of you wrote a warm, heartfelt note to me and stuck it in with (your) bundle, before closing it up and mailing it? One, two, three, four — that's what I thought," LaFlamme wrote on his blog. "Apparently, nearly all of you did. It's enough that you're helping with this project — you didn't need to go and get all flowery and mushy and thanky on me. I'm a hardened killer — I'm not suppose to be getting all choked up and stuff."

Hundreds of boxes mailed from Hawai'i have "aloha from Hawaii" stamped on the side. Someone sent a carton of homemade jam (who knew soldiers could get rhapsodic about jam?). One woman even made LaFlamme a T-shirt that said, "IBOL GUY" with a heart standing in for the letter O. He got out of regulation dress to wear it for a picture, with a big grin on his face.

So many of the comments on his blog are from people profusely thanking LaFlamme for his simple but profound idea.

"Thank you for giving us a way to make a difference, and making us all stand a little taller next to you. You're awesome!"

"So much of what is going on in our country depresses me. I needed to be reminded that good people can make a difference."

Many messages on his blog also exhort him to find someone to continue the project after he leaves Iraq this month, or at the very least, come up with another project they can help with now that this one is done. The IBOL Guy got everybody fired up. For now, he's trying to finish what he started before he heads home to his family in Hawai'i. The thousands of IBOLS (more arrive every day, and on Friday the total was close to 3,500) will be distributed to Iraqi women and sewing co-ops.

Lowering his guard for just a moment, the IBOL Guy addressed his blog followers, many of whom checked every day for updates and cheered as the tote board ticked ever higher.

"I've said thank you about a half a billion times, right? Make it half a billion and one — thank you."