Sew for HOPE May 2010 Newsletter

We take fabric & yarn other people don't need any more & put it to good use.

We finish the quilts & blankets other people started & give them to children in need.

We appreciate all of our volunteers and would like to thank the eight who joined us in April for blanket making day at HOPE Community. Those individuals were: Sandi Dutton, Nancy Price, Lea Kornegay, Heather Whitehead, Peggy Adair, Maria Jimenez, Alila Buchanan, and myself. Several of our volunteers also brought in donations. Nancy brought in Disney stuffed animals and a woolen throw. Maria brought in an afghan that she made with Sew for HOPE yarn. Thank you Ladies. Ooo, and Peggy brought in freshly baked brownies. Uh Oh, now my mouth is watering again.

Thank you to Jackie Nyberg, from Chelsea House for sending in 14 large, crocheted Grannie Squares. Two of them were extra large and big enough to donate as preemie size afghans. We'll get the rest of the squares whipped up into afghans asap so they can help keep our HOPE children warm.

At the end of our April meeting we turned in 18 blankets. We had 11 quilts, one afghan, two preemie afghans, three fleece blankets, and one purchased woolen throw. We also donated five newborn size knitted caps, and three bags of household goods, clothes and toys.

To date we've donated 183 blankets in the form of: 91 finished hand-made quilts, 41 hand-made fleece blankets, 28 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:

Linda Brooks donated a large bag of thread. Can't make quilts without thread! Thank you Linda.

Continued thanks to Carol Harrison -- this time for two preemie quilts, one vintage quilt, and one quilt top.

Thank you to Ellen Hicks for twice filling up the back of my van with fabric donations. Such abundance is a great blessing. What we can't use of the knit and fancy fabric, we'll be selling at our craft-y rummage sale.

Thank you to Sandi Dutton, Heather Whitehead, and Marty Quinn 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.

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, 3rd Monday, and 4th Wednesday from 9a - 1p.
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, May 11th from 1 - 4:30 pm
We'll be visiting and having fun while making quilts 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
We will let everyone know when we set that date. Most of what we will be offering is fabric. But we will have other sewing, and arts and crafts type of things offered as well. If you have items of this nature you would like to donate, 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 quilts 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 approximately $2880. 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, 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)