HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

In January when we met for blanket making day at HOPE Community, there were ten volunteers. Yeah!!!! We happily crocheted, cut fabric, ironed, and sewed. We did all this while clowning around and having a good time. Come join us.

This message is for those of you who suddenly remembered it was blanket making day, but you were afraid of coming late and being disruptive. You really wanted to stop by, but you didn't. Please, in the future, if you want to come, please do so. You can't be late. It's an open afternoon, with a fluid group of people who come and go as their schedule allows. Since many of our volunteers need to leave before 4:30, we'd love to have extra folks come and help clean up. And afterward, we'll all go to my house and clean up. No? Shucks!

Oh, and another thing, we don't cancel Sew for HOPE because of rain, sleet, or snow. We'll be there.

We love and appreciate all our volunteers, however, this month instead of running through the list of what everyone did, I'd like to focus on one little story. Nancy Price is a treasure to us. But this story isn't about Nancy. It's about the quilt top her neighbor, Jo Ann Quarrier, donated which Nancy carried in.  Oh! You should see it. It's a handsome thing. It's vintage in two shades of gray -- a light heather gray, and a darker, stormy sky gray. We immediately began our work.   Right there! That's what makes this group so exciting. In a nutshell; someone's mother, grandmother, or aunt, spent days designing her quilt. She spent weeks cutting up the fabric with her best pair of scissors. She spent hours laying out the pieces and rearranging them to get them just right. She spent months, using her precious time and stitching the pieces together. She got her quilt top finished. That's a big accomplishment, to get a quilt top finished. Then, for whatever reason, it was set aside. Then it was stored further away only to be forgotten and unused. Then along comes Sew for HOPE. Nancy hears about it and gets involved. She's excited about the work we're doing and tells her neighbor, Jo Ann. Jo Ann remembers that old gray quilt top her mother made. Knowing in her heart that she's never going to do anything with it, she donates it to be finished so it can be loved. http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415 are warm, comforting, and beautiful. And that's exactly what our homeless children deserve and need in their lives.
 
Thank you Jo Ann Quarrier for donating the quilt top mentioned above and also for the two small pillows. Bless you.

A humble and grateful thank you to Brooke Lochore and Goodwill of the Big Bend for the donation of work and storage space. This is an Attended Goodwill Donation Center, and we're also sharing it with our sister group "A Bag of HOPE". The address is 1108 W Tharpe Street. At the corner of Tharpe and Old Bainbridge. A Goodwill attendant works there from 8 am - 6 pm seven days a week. We are not working there yet, as we need shelving before we can organize our supplies. Our wish list now expands to include Lowe's gift cards for the purchase shelving and tables.

We will continue to hold blanket making day at HOPE Community on the second Tuesday of each month. We are working out a schedule for the new location, which we're calling "HOPE and Goodwill".

A loving thank you to my mom, Loris Seyler, who has graciously volunteered to be our corresponding secretary. You're the best mom in the universe.

Yet another thank you goes to our dear friend Roselind Woods. She has given us another small cutting mat and a very nice pair of scissors. We love good quality scissors. Roselind you are One Class Act.

At the January Quilter's Unlimited - quilt guild meeting we received one finished quilt from Rene Marchese. Thank you Rene. The month before she selected the quilt top which Marty O'Neill started. Rene made it a little larger by adding another border. She then quilted and bound it. Great job Rene. It's beautiful. Thank you.

Our favorite volunteer, Heather Whitehead, has sent a box of yarn to her sister, Melinda Fennell, in Spokane, Washington. Melinda is going to knit a baby blanket for Sew for HOPE. Thanks Melinda. We can't wait to see it.

Also, a sweet thank you to Heather for presenting us with another finished crocheted afghan. It's awesome an basket weave. So lovely. Not knowing how to crochet myself, I don't know how she did it. She's so talented and dedicated. Heather has been in Capitol Regional Medical Center Hospital for almost a week now. Yet she's busy crocheting baby afghans for Sew for HOPE and the children at HOPE Community. Wow Heather! You deserve a dozen red roses.Get well soon - and I'll see you in a little bit.

Thank you to the Mission Quilters at Epiphany Lutheran church for their hard work and donation of 14 http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415. What a huge gift for the HOPE Community children. Love, hugs and kisses to you.

Thank you to Colette Vallee who heard our plea and has given us a pair of scissors.

A special thank you to Barbara Sherman. She has finished and donated eight quilt tops. They are so cute. All newborn and baby size. Each one is a perfect little jewel. Barbara also donated a sewing machine, and some batting. Barbara's going to keep working with us and using up her left over quilting fabric. Can't wait to see your next batch.

We've started a raffle to raise some operating capital.  The item is a hand made, hand quilted, queen size quilt. It measures 77" x 104". The colors are primarily beige, light blue, dark blue, and a dusty reddish color. The pattern is called "Weather Vane". It was made in 1985 by Quilter's Unlimited. It has just been freshly laundered. Tickets are $1.00 each or 6 for $5.00. If you'd like to have your name put in the box for the drawing, please give me a call or reply to this e-mail. The drawing will be held on June 10th of this year.

At the end of Blanket making day in January, we turned in one handmade quilt (a mermaid quilt made by Peggy, Stacie, and group), two matching crocheted baby afghans (made by Sandi Dutton), another baby afghan (made by Heather - lovely little thing looks like flowers and petals), 2 pillows, some long underwear, and a woman's jacket.

To date we've donated 52 finished hand-made http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415, 34 handmade fleece blankets, 20 crocheted or knitted afghans,  two summer-weight coverlets, 13 store bought blankets, seven used blankets, and five handmade pillows, We've also received a small mountain of stuffed animals, toys, clothes, and household items which have been passed along to the kind folks residing at HOPE Community.

As of today, our sister group, "A Bag for HOPE" has donated $1700 to HOPE Community. This money comes from the sale of handmade bags and this money is used for books, supplies, and field trips for resident children. For more information on that project, please contact Libby at libbypenrod@comcast.net, or Lynne at  lcc0809@comcast.net. (that's a lower case L).

We're looking for professional long arm quilters who are willing to quilt children's http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415 when in-between projects? We would supply everything needed of course.

If you're a member of a church group or social organization please consider having a blanket making party or a quilting bee as one of your monthly programs. Please call or e-mail me for more information. We have free quilting bundles available for you to work with.

If you live outside the area and would like to make a quilt or afghan for Sew for HOPE, we would love to mail you a bundle of fabric, a quilt kit, or some yarn. If you request it, I will also include the return postage in your package. We really need helping hands now. Remember, we're making simple utility http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415 and blankets. We're not asking for perfection. Also, we're not asking you to hand or machine quilt. If you'd just like to stitch a quilt top together and return it to us, that's fine and very much appreciated. In addition, they can be very small. A preemie size is only 17" x 22" (or thereabouts). We also are accepting yarn and crocheted granny squares.

WISH LIST:  Volunteer to head up fund raising. Lowe's gift cards for the purchase of shelving and tables. We need, sewing machines, an ironing board pad and cover. We need quilting supplies such as: rotary cutters, self healing cutting mats, gridded rulers, quilting pins, seam rippers, and all sizes of quilt batting, or gift cards to JoAnn's to purchase those items. We still appreciate fleece fabric in - 1 1/4 yard or 2 1/2 yard pieces. We always need  basic sewing supplies such as: scissors, straight pins, needles, and thimbles. Tools and supplies are given to residents who are learning a new skill. We need zippers for residents who need slacks repaired. We need cash or stamps for postage.

We always meet the second Tuesday of the month. So, our next meeting is Tuesday, Februay 9th from 1 - 4:30 pm. We'll be visiting and  while making http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415 and blankets for the children residing at HOPE Community here in Tallahassee. We are not a closed group like a sit and stitch. Interested persons are always welcome and experience is not required. Men are welcome too you know!

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, founder
(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.)

Special thanks to Heather Whitehead for creating and continuing to build our website. Please do check it out at  www.sewforhopenow.com

Please forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested.