On the way to "Sew for HOPE" I am always filled with excitement to see who will be there and what we can get accomplished in only 3 1/2 hours. This is fun! In March we had three volunteers from the community: Mary DiGiovanni, Nathalee Barnes, and myself. One friendly resident stopped by and helped us finish tying a fleece blanket we'd been working on. And we were visited by two of the sweetest little girls. (It's nice when we have teddy bears on hand to give away.) So, along with the blanket we finished, we also turned in a fleece blanket that Kathy Roland finished. Thank you so much Kathy. Several months ago we received the wonderful gift of a stack of quilt blocks. We worked on those by adding more fabric and making them larger. They're now one step closer to becoming 2 or 3 baby http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415. We had a little assembly line going with the quilt blocks, and that makes quick work of any project.

During this past month we have received many generous donations and I pray I don't forget to mention anyone. Diane Kistner donated a finished quilt that's fairly large. It's hand quilted and will make a handsome gift for a teenage boy or girl. Thank you Diane. Once again Martha Mitchell has made a wonderful donation. She gave us two surprise boxes. Inside was a ton of quilt fabric, lots of quilt blocks, and many quilt tops in various stages of completion. Boy! What a nice gift. Thank you. Kathy Gilbert has given us two panels of cute and bright fleece fabric. Thanks so much Kathy. It's great to have the fleece on hand at our meetings. That way, when residents or helpers stop by, and they don't know how to quilt or sew, they can still help make blankets. For those, all you have to do is tie knots around the edges. Thanks again go out to Judee Pouncey for her continued support. This month she donated a handmade baby quilt, a receiving blanket, some toys, baby clothes, and household items. Judee, Judee, Judee. Our gratitude goes out to S.O.S. Building Group. They completed our storage closet and it's utterly fantastic. It's so roomy with lots of shelves. My husband, Phil, hasn't complained, but I know he'll be glad to have that mountain of quilting supplies out of the living room. Thanks for not complaining Honey. Once again thanks to Vic at Stone's Hardware in Havana. He donated and discounted supplies for that closet. He's a great guy. Thanks to Mary DiGiovanni and Chris, at Big Bend, for helping to paint that closet. And finally, big hugs for Louise Henderson. I've been to her house three times now to pick up toys, fabric, and batting. Lots of batting. When you put all her donations together they completely fill my van. Thank you Louise. I'm blessed to know you.

To date we have made or collected 8 finished http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415, 27 handmade fleece blankets, 8 crocheted or knitted afghans, 6 "store bought" blankets, and 5 used blankets. We have also received a massive amount of toys, clothes and household items which have been passed along to the kind folks residing at Big Bend Homeless Coalition. The generosity of the citizens of Tallahassee and the surrounding community is beyond comparison.

Now to look forward -- we always meet the second Tuesday of each month. Our next meeting is Tuesday, April 14, 2009, from 1 - 4:30 p.m. Regardless of experience all are welcome to join us on blanket making day. Even though we have lots of work to do, we have so much fun while doing it. We're going to continue cutting fabric and sewing strips together for making simple quilt blocks. We'll continue sewing quilt blocks together to make beautiful quilt tops. We always have ironing to do. So if there's someone who doesn't get enough of that at home, please stop by. :o) We will always try to have a fleece blanket to work on because they're so easy.

If you would like to help, but don't want to sew, please stop by for a few hours, or even a few minutes. We will find a job for you that you're comfortable with. We still need someone who can work with the bigger kids who stop by after school. We have a very simple hand drawn and colored quilt block project that's appropriate for all ages. Also, we can offer easy lessons to adults who want to make simple, no stress, no math quilt blocks at home. We'll even give you a bundle of fabric to work with. Chris, our knitting teacher, will not be able to join us for a while. Is anyone able to come and work with the resident ladies? There are a few who really want to knit blankets for their babies.

If you're a member of any group or social organization please consider having a blanket making party as one of your monthly programs. It's fun, easy, and inexpensive. All you need is fleece fabric and a good pair of scissors. Please call me for more information.

WISH LIST:  Helping hands (no experience necessary). We would appreciate more knitting needles, especially size 8. We would like to have some more yarn available to give to the residents who are learning to knit. We need basic sewing supplies such as: straight pins, needles, scissors, new thread and thimbles. Some of these items will be given to residents who are interested in sewing, or learning to sew. We really need someone who would be willing to service our sewing machines once a year, and to do repair work when they break down.

ADDRESS: Big Bend Homeless Coalition - we always meet in the cafeteria
                  2729 W Pensacola St
                  Tallahassee, FL  32302

Directions - drive west on Tennessee Street, turn left onto Appleyard, cross Pensacola, take the first left onto Municipal Way, pass the jail on the right, look for a small sign by the entrance on the left that says "Tallahassee Coalition for the Homeless". Please stop by the administration building to sign in. That's the last building on the right and it's brick.

Thanks for your precious time and for all you do,
Cynthia Seyler
(850) 539-5558 home
(850) 556-1215 cell (Please don't leave messages on the cell. I live in a dead zone and usually don't receive them in a timely manner.)

March 2009     May 2009