Sew for HOPE June 2010 Newsletter

Thanks
We appreciate all of our volunteers and would like to thank the 15 who joined us in May for blanket making day at HOPE Community. Those individuals were: Peggy Adair, Margaret Bargie, Cindy Burdeshaw, April Chatham, Jerry Chambers, LeMae Devane, Sandi Dutton, Maria Jimenez, Lea Ellen Kornegay, Deborah Poindexter, Marty Quinn, Heather Whitehead, Darlene Wilke, Brenda Willis, and myself. Several of our volunteers also brought in donations. Maria brought in an another afghan that she made with Sew for HOPE yarn. April C. brought in four sewing machines to donate. Lea Ellen brought in a pillow and matching blanket that she's been working on, Peggy made and brought in gingerbread cookies shaped like dragonflies. Thank you one and all.

Thanks to all who were present for my little party. It was Peggy's idea to thank me for my service. It really felt good and I appreciate all the nice gifts I received.

At the end of our May meeting we turned in three http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415 and one afghan.

To date we've donated 187 blankets in the form of: 94 finished hand-made http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415, 41 hand-made fleece blankets, 29 crocheted or knitted afghans, two Summer-weight coverlets, 14 store bought blankets, seven used blankets, seven hand-made pillows, and one crocheted Bunny Love. 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 here in Tallahassee.

Additional blessings we've received since the last newsletter:
Thank you to Laurie Wischmeyer and Emily Telfair for working the Sew for HOPE table at Quilter's Unlimited (QU) Quilt Guild meeting in May. QU has been very supportive of our cause. At that May meeting Sheila Dambitis donated some lovely crocheted sampler blocks that will be made into an afghan. Renie Marchese gave us a southwestern quilt. Martha Tilden donated some flannel scraps. And many yo-yo blocks were turned in. Thank you ladies.

A kind soul named Lorraine gave us a sweet, handmade baby quilt she purchased at a craft fair. She also bought and donated new outfits for both girl and boy babies. And, she was having a "clear out" at home, so gave us a couple used blankets. They are appreciated as well.

An additional thank you to Emily for donating six crocheted afghans which came from her church group at Epiphany Lutheran.

Thanks again go out to Linda Brooks. This time she's given us three large, 3 drawer rolling carts. Boy did we need those. They will help us stay organized at "HOPE and Goodwill".

Thank you to Ellen Hicks for donating yet another (huge) bag of "Edna's" fabric, plus a cutting mat and a quilting board. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Thanks to Martha Mitchell for taking our raffle quilt around town with her and selling tickets for two months.

Thank you to Sandi Dutton, Marty Quinn, and Heather Whitehead for helping out at our additional Sew for HOPE meetings at our satellite location. That's at 1108 W Tharpe St. We share the building with Goodwill and "A Bag of HOPE" Project. Thank you to Libby Penrod, and Lynne Corbett for passing along fabric from their project that's more suitable for quilting than for the bags they make.

Thank you to Pennie Slaughter for her secretarial skills and for helping at our HOPE and Goodwill days.

A special thanks to Brooke Lochore and Goodwill Industries - Big Bend, Inc for this donation of work and storage space. Thank you also to the friendly and helpful men who work at this donation center. James, Jarvis, Jerry, and Kent are always willing to help load and unload vehicles.

Thanks to Heather Whitehead for creating and continuing to maintain our website. Heather also has made sure we're on facebook and that you can follow us on twitter.

HOPE and Goodwill Workday Schedule
1st Saturday 9:30a - 1p (that means there's a work day this Sat, June 5th)
3rd Monday 9:30a - 1p (that's June 21st this month)
4th Wednesday from 1p - 4:30p (that's June 23rd this month)
We could use a few more able bodies to lend a hand as there's room for 5 or 6 people to work at the same time.

Donations may be dropped off any day between 8a - 6p. Donations need to be clearly marked "Sew for HOPE" so they are not confused with Goodwill donations.

Next Sew for HOPE Blanket Making Day
Tuesday, June 8th from 1 - 4:30 pm
We'll be visiting and having fun while making http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415 and blankets for the babies and children at HOPE Community.

We are not a closed group and volunteers are always welcomed with open arms. Experience is not required and men are welcome too.

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

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 and sign in. That's the last building on the right and it's brick.

1st Annual Craft-y Rummage Sale
I'm sending out a plea for help with this sale. If we could have a couple of people head up a committee to work on this I would be forever grateful. We've accumulated enough stuff to make it worth while. Darlene Wilke has generously offered the use of her home for the location. Please, please, please contact Cynthia at 539-5558 or reply to this e-mail.

Raffle Quilt
Our current raffle quilt was made in 1985 by Quilter's Unlimited of Tallahassee. It's a queen size that measures 77" x 104". The colors are primarily beige, light blue, dark blue, and a dusty reddish color. The pattern is called "Weather Vane". Tickets are $1.00 each or 6 for $5.00. If you'd like to have your name put in the drawing, please call Cynthia at 539-5558 or reply to this e-mail. The June 10th drawing date is rapidly approaching.

Our next raffle quilt (The Yo-Yo Quilt) is in progress and will be quite lovely when completed.

Money from these raffles will be used entirely for tools and supplies so we can continue our mission to provide a hand-made quilt, afghan, or blanket to each child who passes through HOPE Community/Big Bend Homeless Coalition.

Wish List
We need a volunteer to head up fund raising. This is not a big job since most of what we deal in is "goods". We use donated fabric and volunteer labor to make http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415 and blankets for homeless children. But we still need to purchase consumables such as pins, needles, and other sewing supplies.

We're asking Professional Long Arm Quilters to do quilting when they're in between projects of their own.

We would appreciate local churches hosting quilting bees.

A Bag of HOPE
This project has raised over $3506.00 for children's projects at HOPE Community.
For more information please contact Libby Penrod at libbypenrod@comcast.net or Lynne Corbett at lcc0809@concast.net.

Thanks for taking the time to read our newsletter, please share it with others who may be interested.

Cynthia Seyler, Sew for HOPE Founder
850-539-5558 home
850-556-1215 cell (Do not leave messages on my cell. I live in a dead zone and sometimes messages die too)