"Sew for HOPE" is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get. Sometimes we have residents who want to knit blankets. Sometimes we have little kids who want us to play. At times we have older children who want to help. And sometimes it's quiet with just 4 or 5 volunteers. Whatever we find on our blanket making day, it's all good.

In February we had a new volunteer named Natalee Barnes. We very much enjoyed her good nature and sense of humor. We hope she'll join us again. She and Mary worked on tying fleece blankets. Laninda and I quietly worked on the creamy yellow quilt. Since we're working with what we have, and what we have is donated fabrics, the creamy yellow quilt now has blue in it too. I suppose most of our http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415 will have a charming scrappy look. You know, that's what made our grandmother's http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415 so special. They were working with left over fabric and could not make a special trip to the piece-goods store.

At our Feb meeting we completed 2 fleece blankets. That might not sound like much, but we also turned in (to Big Bend Homeless Coalition) 2 purchased blankets, 6 handmade fleece blankets, and one handmade afghan.

A belated thank you to Suzy Smith for her donation of $25.00 to be used for building a storage closet. We also appreciate her help in getting us organized. Thanks to the members of S.O.S. Building Group for donating their time to design that storage closet. They will also be building that closet sometime in March. A Great Big Thank You to Don Vickers at Stone's Hardware in Havana for donating some of the supplies we need for construction, and for the deep discount on the rest of the supplies. We thank you "Vic", knowing full well that day after day you are asked to donated to community projects. Your generosity has not gone unnoticed. Thanks to Leona LeBlanc for the donation of a brand new Singer sewing machine. Wow! What a special and generous gift. We will honor you by making beautiful http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415 and baby blankets with it. You know we've received 4 sewing machines now. That's just awesome. Thank you to Kathy Roland for finishing her tied fleece blanket. Another thanks goes out to the ladies of Sweet Bay Garden Circle for voting to donate new scissors to our group. It's hard to sew and make blankets without good scissors. A heartfelt thank you to Dren Apgar for the donation of 3 small fleece blankets and some scarves she made with the blanket scraps.

We always meet the second Tuesday of each month. Our next meeting is Tuesday, March 10, 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 keep working on the yellow and blue quilt until it's finished. It's going to be very pretty. We still haven't started on the unfinished quilt Tracy Allen donated. That's the denim one with red and white polka dots for a little boy. And we always have ironing to do -- just like at home!

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 an 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 there anyone out there who would be willing to come and work with the resident ladies? There are a few who really want to learn to knit blankets for their babies?

To date we have made or collected 25 handmade fleece blankets, 8 crocheted/knitted afghans, 6 finished http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415, 4 unfinished http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415, 5"store bought" blankets, 5 used blankets, 8 knitted caps, 10 teddy bears, assorted clothing and household items, various toys, books and an assortment of toiletries. This is no longer an accurate count. This newsletter is being forwarded and generous people are donating directly to the homeless coalition. Also, people are responding to the BBHC newsletter which is sent out in the regular mail. Thank you to anyone from that category who I'm not able to thank directly.

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 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.  To give to our residents who are interested in sewing, we need basic sewing supplies such as: straight pins, needles, scissors, thread and thimbles. These items can be new or used. 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 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 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.)

February 2009     April 2009