Happy New Year! What a wonderful time of year. For me it's always a new beginning filled with hopes and dreams. May the coming year be blessed for you.

Even though our December meeting was a little on the quiet side, we still managed to donated 2 more handmade fleece blankets. A big thank you to Patty Applegate and Libby Penrod for those. We began construction of a sweet handmade patchwork quilt in shades of pale yellow. Now that we have batting and extra fabric, we'll get that quilt made in no time. One of the residents stopped by with his new baby girl. He was interested in knitting lessons. Three resident children came in to play and see what we were up to.

Thanks to Chris Rivers for donating pouches for our sewing kits. These sewing kits will be given to residents who need basic sewing supplies. Faye Davis gave us a Singer sewing machine. What a generous gift. Thank you so much Faye. Tracy Allen deserves a big thank you for volunteering to launder donated fabric. We make sure all the sizing and chemicals are washed out and that the fabric has been preshrunk. Judee Pouncey donated 7 of the cutest little teddy bears. Thank you Judee. The children at HOPE Communities will love them. A heartfelt thanks to Fairfield Processing for the gift of 6 packages of organic cotton quilt batting. We can't make http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415 without batting! Last but not least, thanks go out yet again to Martha Mitchell. This time she's donated fabric and batting scraps. Martha you're the best!

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, Jan 13, 2009, from 1 - 4:30 p.m. Regardless of experience all are welcome to join us on blanket making day. We have lots of work to do if we're going to get blankets made for all the homeless children at Big Bend Homeless Coalition. We'll continue cutting fabric and sewing strips together for making simple quilt blocks. We'll definitely work on that pale yellow quilt we started last month. That's going to be such a pretty handmade gift for a sweet baby girl. We have the unfinished quilt that Tracy Allen donated which we can work on. That one is denim with red and white polka dots, and will be perfect for a little boy. If you would like to help, but don't want to sew, we need someone to iron fabric. We also need a volunteer to work with the resident children 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 showed Eileen Prince this technique. She liked making them so much she completed 21 blocks with our donated fabrics. Thanks Eileen. Can't wait to see them.

To date we have collected/donated 17 handmade fleece blankets, 5 crocheted/knitted afghans, 5 finished http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415, 1 unfinished quilt, 8 knitted caps, 5 used blankets, 9 teddy bears, and an assortment of toiletry items. That's pretty good for such a new sewing group!

WISH LIST:  Helping hands (no experience necessary), muslin fabric, freezer paper (available at most grocery stores), fabric crayons,  jumbo rick-rack, knitting needles, basic sewing supplies such as straight pins, sewing needles, scissors, thread, and thimbles. We've received so much fabric that we now need to build a shelving unit to store our supplies in, so we also need cash or gift cards for Lowe's or Home Depot.

ADDRESS: Big Bend Homeless Coalition - we 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". Administration building is last building on right (brick). You must go to the administration building for a visitors pass.

Thanks for all you do,
Cynthia Seyler
850-539-5558 hm
850-556-1215 cell

December 2008     February 2009