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It's official -- Sew for
HOPE is one year old. I
did a count this month and
am proud to report that
during the past year we've
donated
100 http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415,
afghans, and fleece
blankets to the resident
children of Big Bend
Homeless Coalition (BBHC)
and HOPE Communities here
in Tallahassee. Most of
the blankets were
handmade. Thank you to all
the caring individuals who
contributed to our effort.
Please keep us in your
thoughts and prayers as my
goal is to double that
amount during the next 12
months. In other words, at
this same time next year,
I'll be reporting that
we've donated 300 blankets
to homeless children. In September Sandi Dutton donated two rolling suitcases. She noticed them while out shopping and thought they'd make it easier to tote our stuff back and forth. Sure enough! Sandi, you've made that task a whole lot easier for me and my back. Good thinking and thank you. 
We know we've made it into
someone's heart when they
think of us while
shopping. I'm still
talking about Sandi now.
She has become such an
integral part of our
"hands-on" group. In
September she also
purchased a "teddy bear"
baby quilt for a resident
child. Plus, she took home
some donated crocheted
granny squares. Sandi has
been working hard during
this past month --
finishing one afghan and
starting another. Thank
you so much Sandi.
(Would anyone like to do what Sandi's doing and take donated yarn to make afghans? Let me know.)
Nancy
Price
arrived early, did a lunch
run,
and stayed late to
help clean up. That was so
great! She also got one of
our donated sewing machine
fixed, cleaned, and
running. We've given that
to Ashley, one of our
residents who moved into
her own home at the end of
September. Ashley will
also receive lessons on
how to use it, if she
finds she needs a little
extra help. Nancy, what a
great blessing you are to
us. Thank you so much.Mary DiGiovanni ,
Marty Quinn,
and
Sheryl Miyev,
worked on hand-tying
http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415. They completed two
and one other is half
finished. Thank you
ladies.From donated, partially made quilt blocks, Peggy Adair completely
laid out and stitched a
quilt top together all by
herself. She was working
so fast and concentrating
so hard that when I spoke
to her, she didn't even
hear me. But that's OK.
She got it done, it's
awesome, and so is she!
Peggy gets the Speedy
Gonzalez Award and yet
another thank you for a
job well done.A
heartfelt thank you to
Heather Whitehead
who brought back the denim
and red and white polka
dot quilt she had taken
home to work on. Denim is
pretty heavy and doesn't
need any batting, so
instead of quilting it, we
hand-tied it with
embroidery floss. (Pay
attention now) The very
first unfinished quilt we
were given is now
complete. Hip Hip hurray!
We handed it over the the
HOPE Community staff -
along with it's cute
matching baby pillows. We
took a photo of it and
will be putting that on
our website. Thanks go out
yet again to
Tracy Allen
who
recently found the
matching doll she made to
go along with that quilt.
It's a large doll made
entirely of denim --
complete with long curls
of denim hair -- so cute.
We appreciate your
continued support Tracy.
Heather also worked on a paper pieced quilt top that the ladies of the Havana Chapter of the American Sewing Guild had started. That top is now complete and Heather took it home to work on. She also took a partially pieced quilt top made from brightly colored blocks. We're anxious to see these projects completed. Oh, and I forgot to mention last month that she also brought back two http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415 that she hand-tied for us.
Heather's the best!Some months ago, we were given a large box of quilt tops which had been cruelly and (it seemed) randomly cut apart with scissors. We've had several volunteers, such as Marty Quinn ,
Carol Harrison,
Roberta Granville,
and
Marty O'Neill,
who have taken some of
those quilt tops home to
rescue. They added fabric
to them as necessary, and
finished them. Thank you
so much ladies. In
September,
Marty Quinn brought
back one of those http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415
that's now almost
finished. She started
having trouble with her
sewing machine or she
would have finished it. I
took it home to complete
the little bit of machine
quilting that was lacking
though I must admit that I
haven't found time to do
that yet. Then Marty Q
took home more quilt
blocks from the cut-up
quilt box.At the end of the day we turned in three handmade baby http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415 (one with two matching baby pillows), one double bed size quilt, and one bag of cloth napkins. To date we've donated 38 finished hand-made http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415, 31 handmade fleece blankets, nine 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 Big Bend Homeless Coalition. During the past month we've received many other generous donations. Shirley Williams
and
Sandra Iasiello
cleaned out their sewing
rooms and we reaped the
fabric benefits.
Michele Hackmeyer
passed along a large box
of beautiful quilting
fabric and several very
nice quilting books from
Richard Vowles.
These treasures had
belonged to his wife,
Kay Vowles,
who recently passed away.
Your gifts are greatly
appreciated and will be
put to good use.
Thank you!A Great Big Happy Thank You to Maggie Winkler
for the donation of a
sewing machine. What a
generous gift Maggie.
Thanks to Mary DiGiovanni ,
Sandi Dutton,
and
Peggy Adair
for meeting with me at the
end of September to
continue working on a
music quilt.
Peggy handed over a quilt
top from donated blocks
she took home the month
before. It's bright and
beautiful. Thank you
Peggy.
Back to our suitcases for a moment -- the large suitcase now contains twelve completed quilt tops which are paired up with their backings and ready to be quilted or hand-tied. The smaller suitcase is holding several other finished quilt tops which need to be matched up with a backing fabric. We'll take care of that during our October meeting. Thanks to Laninda Sande for passing along donations from Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, where she works. She gave them to Mary DiGiovanni, so I have not yet seen them, but Mary tells me there's a quilt, assorted fabric, an ironing board cover, and a package of crib size batting. Thank you so much Laninda.
What a wonderful gift.A great big thank you to Leslee Horner for her generous cash donation of $100. Leslee has also started researching grants that Sew for HOPE might be eligible for. Go Leslee. Go Leslee. Go Leslee. Special thanks to Heather Whitehead for creating and continuing to build our website. Please
do check it out at
www.sewforhopenow.com
We always meet the second Tuesday of the month.. So, our next meeting is Tuesday, October 13th 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 children residing at HOPE Communities here in Tallahassee. We are not a closed group like a sit and stitch. Interested persons are always welcome and experience is not required. If you live outside the area and would like to make a quilt for Sew for HOPE, we would love to mail you a bundle of fabric or a kit.. If you request it, I will also include the return postage in your quilt kit. We really need helping hands now. Remember, we are making simple utility http://www.sewforhopenow.com/?page_id=1415. We are not asking for perfection. Also, we are 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. A message to professional long arm quilters -- would you please be willing to quilt a child's quilt when you're in between projects? We would supply everything needed. I'd appreciate hearing from you. 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. WISH LIST: We could use a second steam iron. Gift cards to JoAnn's would greatly be appreciated so we can purchase quilt batting as needed. We need cash or stamps for postage. We still appreciate receiving fleece fabric in 1 1/4 yard or 2 1/2 yard pieces. We need knitting needles (especially size 8), crochet hooks, and 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 someone willing to service our sewing machines as needed. We also need a corresponding secretary to write and mail thank you cards. I send a Hallmark e-card to donors who have e-mail accounts. However, occasionally we need to utilize the post office and mail an old fashioned paper card. Please forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested 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 (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.) |
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