What a success!!!

Our "Sew and Share" day was a huge success!! I am still organizing the items made and/or donated during the day today. We started around 9:30 this morning - cutting, sewing totebags and pillowcases and quilt tops then tied some quilts, and accomplished so much! We started packing up around 4:00 this afternoon. It took two trips to get all the stuff back to my house. Of course, part of that was the fact I took my sewing machine, my tool box, lots of fabric, batting, etc. The only "down-side" of going to a "sew-in" or a retreat is all the stuff one has to bring to use when sewing. But sew we did and tomorrow I'll give you a full update on all that was made and donated and the great lunch we had and other fun stuff. About 8:30 p.m. tonight, I could barely move I was so tired but the phone rang and there's something about a phone call that can recharge one's batteries. After that I had a little more energy and have been tallying all the items and then will take photos so that you can see what we will be sending off to those affected by the flooding in Iowa. Going to work on a little crazy quilting for myself for a bit and then it's off to bed. We had such a good day!!! Just makes me smile!

Twas the night before "Sew and Share".......

It's only a few hours til we start sewing. Ever the nightowl, I am up always up 'til the wee hours of the morning. Earlier tonight, I was trying to pull things together and load stuff in my car but found myself very distracted by the wild weather that passed through Minnesota this evening. Once again, my dog, Kaiser and I retreated to the basement. I mentioned this in my other blog a week or so ago as my husband chose to stay upstairs then while sirens were blowing. This time there weren't any sirens and no tornadoes near us but I wasn't taking any chances. First the clouds were dark, then rolling, then came wind, and then it looked kinda green and then came the rain. We were spared here but other places near and in the Twin Cities were not so fortunate. Anyway, it was rainy weather that brought me to this blog, so best I get to it and share photos of items that arrived the last four days.
The Women's Club Tourist group of Henderson donated the five quilts pictured in the photos below plus lots of personal items and coloring books for the kids.

I realize that my picture taking skills are seriously lacking but a sheet thrown over my couch was the nearest thing I could find for a backdrop. The important thing is the colorful quilts. My friend, Deanna, made the super soft fleece blanket.

My friend Doris doesn't sew so she bought this pretty bath set. Doris committed the rest of our Bible Study to help with food, knowing that they would all be willing to help. They are planning a fabulous lunch for those of us who will be stitching, plus they plan to help us cut, iron, whatever we need help with!!!

And then yesterday, I received a package from Cheryl in Anchorage, Alaska and I had no idea it was coming. When I opened it, it was like one of those cans with the cloth covered wire snake that jumps out at you. The box was filled brim full with these cute fleece tote bags and..............

.........28 little "teepee" bags. We will be able to fill these with personal hygiene items that can go to the Crisis Center!

Well, that's all for tonight. I think I have everything I'll need to take to our marathon sewing session. I'm leaving the kitchen sink behind as there is already one in the community room kitchen. Tee hee!

Keeping it all together!

Well, it is time to update you on how I am "keeping it all together"! And that is an interesting thing as there is more to a sewing day than setting the date and sewing. Once I had set the date and began the plans for the sewing day, I learned something new almost every day. There has been a bit of work to getting this all set up but it will be a lot of fun for those of you who participate and I can tell that it will be a successful event on Saturday. As of right now there are almost 40 people involved in either sewing, providing lunch, donating fabric, donating personal items and donating tote bags, pillowcases, quilts and more that they have made and have either mailed or plan to drop off on Saturday.
This week I made contact with the United Way in Iowa City, the Crisis Center in Iowa City, two churches in Cedar Rapids, plus my sister and a couple of quilting friends in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area. Following conversations with these contacts I have a more concrete idea of what items will go where and they are as follows:

1. The Sew and Share Flood Relief project is primarily about making items for those in need. However some people have donated money and so any monetary donations will go to the bank account at First State Bank in Henderson and then checks will be written to Johnson County United Way which covers the Iowa City/Coralville area and surrounding communities. All funds donated there will go to people in need. No administrative costs will be taken from the funds sent. An anonymous donor has underwritten all administrative costs for the period of flood relief efforts and this allows all funds to go to those in need. If you wish your funds to go to any other United Way please indicate so on checks written for flood relief.

2. The Crisis Center is in need of specific items such as cleaning items, equipment and personal hygiene products/care. The tote bags we make will be filled with some of these items plus we will be making small personal care packs. There will also be tote bags that will contain colors, coloring books, etc. for children. Some pillowcases will also be sent. All these items will be boxed and delivered to the Crisis Center in Iowa City and delivered by July 27th.

3. The quilts, pillowcases, dishtowels, and other items we make will go to specific families in need. These items will not be distributed immediately as many people do not have homes to go to yet. Some are staying with relatives and friends. They have only begun to clean their homes and in some cases do not even know if their home will be salvageable. Storage is at a premium in the IC/CR area so these "soft items" will remain here and will not be sent until August at the earliest. (Note: There was a suggestion that we could donate the items we make to the Goodwill as flood victims have been given vouchers to go and select items needed to replace lost belongings. However, this is not an option for the items we are making as once donated to Goodwill or the Crowded Closet - a thrift shop in Iowa City - anyone can purchase whatever is donated and that's not our purpose here.) At this time, I have connections to several families that have lost their homes and/or belongings. There are many more and so with help from the churches and quilting friends in the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area we will see that these items go directly to people who need them the most.

And one last thing..........I have to say thank you to my son's girlfriend, Stacia, as she is the one who is going to deliver the items to the IC/CR area. I was counting on her before I actually asked if she would help and her response was like that of the rest of you who are participating - "I would be more than happy to take whatever you need........every little bit helps." She also made the same observation that makes me forge ahead with this project that "this is such a tragedy for the people who lost everything and it seems that once it is off the front page everyone forgets about it but these people who lost their homes and businesses will be recovering and rebuilding their lives for a long time." So what little we can offer may be just the thing that someone needs so whatever you can do to help is very much appreciated!!!

I think that's all for tonight. Goodnight, Sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite! (How many of you said that when you were kids?)

Video of flood damage

It's quite late but I just checked my e-mail and had a message from my brother-in-law in Iowa City. He forwarded the following site that shows the massive flood damage in the Cedar Rapids area. Those of you who are stitching and those who will sew next Saturday are making items that will certainly be needed.
Here's the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c63v9aQCg14

It's almost noon Pacific time.........

I promised to post photos by noon. I didn't make it in the Central Time Zone so I'm thinking Pacific time right now. :-) And that makes me think that hot as it is here that it would be lovely to be near the ocean right now!!! Ah, reality check! SO, to the business at hand - I have photos of some of the projects that have been made for our "Sew and Share" project. The horse themed corduroy quilt show below was made by my friend, Kate.


My friend, Pandora, made two sets of pretty pillowcases. Kate and Pandora are crazy quilting friends, that is, we are in a crazy quilting group. You might also call us "crazy quilters" if you heard how much laughter goes on when we are all stitching together!


My friend, Janet, from South Carolina, made four pillowcases - two for the kids and two for the ladies. Janet and I connected over a "flannel pillow" I made several years ago and she needed to know how I did some of the stitches. That's a good story, I'll share one day.

Janet also made these lovely tote bags from tapestry fabric. I am getting excited about this little venture "Sew and Share". It is great to be able to help others and at the same time, give us all a reason to stay connected!!! Time for lunch! I'll take a sandwich out on the porch and imagine the ocean is just around the bend (isn't that silo I see actually a lighthouse?)!!!

A little update.......

Wow! the last couple days have been really busy with details for this little "Sew and Share" project. I have already received some items and will take pics tomorrow and get them posted by noon. For those of you just learning of this project, there are two ways to "Sew and Share". For those who are nearby, we will gather to sew at the Community Room at City Hall here in Henderson. Not to worry if you're no where near here, just take a bit of time and stitch up a tote bag, make-up bags, a purse, a pair of pillowcases, a kid's quilt or baby blanket (tied is great, we're going for usability here), or anything you can whip up (even crocheted dishcloths) that will help those trying to rebuild their homes and lives in the flooded areas. Even if you can't be here with us, perhaps you can make a point of sewing something that day that will make someone else smile!
I spent a great deal of time yesterday and today preparing flyers and a mailing to local churches and hope that will result in good participation on the actual day of "Sew and Share". While the focus of this "Sew and Share" project is on the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area there are many areas affected by flooding. I happen to have a sister and some quilting friends in the area that can see to the distribution of the things we make. Additionally, I have had some monetary donations come in so yesterday I set up an account at the local bank. For anyone wishing to make a donation you may send it to
First State Bank
239 Main St.
Henderson, MN 56044
All funds collected there will be sent to United Way in Iowa City.

Here are a few samples of the flannel/fleece quilts I've made recently. They are good examples of how quickly we can stitch together something warm and comfy at our "Sew and Share" day. The larger flannel/fleece quilt on the right came about because I needed something warm last winter when we were having some heating issues in our new house. I had some flannel remnants I loved, cut them into 6 1/2" x 9 1/2" rectangles, sewed them together in random order (56 blocks) and backed it with fleece. It was the perfect thing to keep the draft away (it's since been fixed).



Since I enjoyed making that one, I decided (as noted in my previous post) that I would make a baby quilt as a raffle prize for the quilt show we did at the Lehigh library this past weekend. In no time at all, I had stitched together the 35 blocks needed for the baby quilt, backed it with the fleece and then my daughter and cousin, Patty, tied it with yarn.

Then this past Tuesday I started the two quilts shown below which will be raffle prizes for the Scott County Historical Society kid's event this coming Sunday. I was only asked to do one, but offered to do one for the girls and one for the boys. Hopefully, knowing that ticket buyers will have a chance to win one or the other that they will be encouraged to buy more chances.











It took 54 blocks for each top and one hour per top to sew the blocks together. Then there's the smoothing, pinning, folding over the fleece for binding, etc. but still I started them on Tuesday evening and was done (yarn ties stitched in place) by 9:00 last night (Wednesday). Sooooooo, I think we can make some of these at our "Sew and Share" day along with pillowcases, totebags, and whatever else we come up with. And if you cannot make it to the sewing day because you are too far away, then grab your flannel scraps and stitch up a quilt on your own. You can send it my way and I'll see it gets to someone in need - or - take it to a nearby crisis nursery, women's shelter, etc. There's need for help in Iowa but there is always need everywhere so I encourage you to do what you can wherever you live.
One last note, I will be setting up an account where donated funds can go as some of you have already sent or plan to send funds. When I have all the info the account will be set up at First State Bank in Henderson, MN and all funds will be there until forwarded to those in need. On the recommendation of my sister in Iowa City, she felt that the United Way office in Johnson County would be a good place to send those donations as they can get them to those in need. This whole project is evolving so if you have any suggestions or advice please leave me a comment. Thanks!
Sandi