i have to say...

291

That's the number of skirts that have arrived in my mailbox over these last few weeks!

I asked my boys along with one of their friends if they would help me to "show off" the pile.  Amusingly,  my oldest boy chimed in to make sure that I wasn't going to make them actually wear the skirts.  

Gosh, I hadn't even thought of that.  Might have been a good idea...

We stacked and stacked, and the whole time the skirts just toppled and collapsed.   The three piles were the best we could come up with, but even those are falling over against the boy's legs.  We wanted to lay them out on the front lawn, but the melting snow made that impossible.

My job is now to box up these skirts and get them to a gal who is leaving for Pennsylvania in one week.  She will drop them off there and they will be taken to a place where the next missionary group going to Haiti can pick them up.  The transport of these skirts is going to cost nothing.  NOTHING.  Can you believe that?

I want to thank each and every person who contributed to this Sewing Seeds project.  The skirts are beautiful and creative and I am sure they will put smiles on many little faces.  What a wonderful thing to use your gifts to bless another person in need.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

As soon as I have some, I will post pictures of the girl's wearing their skirts.  My friend whose cousin is a missionary in Port Au Prince has given instructions for pictures to be taken and sent to us.

I can't wait to see!

Have a wonderful Monday!

"Sow the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of my love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you."---Hosea 10:12

great news!

I am pretty sure that the Sewing Seeds skirts will make it to Haiti for no charge--free!

Can you believe it?

My friend whose brother-in-law is a missionary there, called me yesterday to say that a family from our area is heading to Pennsylvania  (this is where the missionaries are from and where extras are sent out) in two weeks.  They are traveling within one mile--ONE MILE--of the drop-off location for the skirts.

Awesome, if you ask me!

All I have to do is to package them in plastic bags, get them the family who is traveling in two weeks, and from there our skirts are heading to Haiti.  Missionaries from that area have been regularly traveling to Haiti since the quake and the skirts will make it there in their suitcases.

Isn't that great?

God is awesome and He even orchestrates the little things.

I hope this adds some sweetness to your day. 

It sure did to mine!

busy hands

Aubry and I finally--FINALLY--started working on our skirts this week.  She did as much sewing as I did and she was quite good at it.  Her seams are starting to straighten out.

She did manage to sew the tablecloth to one of the skirts which lead to some crying on her part, but I managed to convince her that it would make a funny story.  She is such a drama queen sometimes.  Wonder where she gets that?  :)

The pile of skirts for Haiti is getting big and I am so excited about getting them to their new owners.  My friend is starting to look into how we can transport these and I am hoping for something easy and inexpensive.  We will see...

How about you?  What are you working on these days?

sewing seeds update

The pile of skirts is really growing.  Everyday I receive boxes and packages bursting with such loveliness for the girls in Haiti.  This makes me smile!

I have decided to extend the deadline one more week, until March 12th.  So if you are behind with making your skirts (like me!) you can relax and breath and not worry about it (like me).  A number of people had asked about extending the date, so I thought it would be a good idea.

As soon as the deadline gets here, I will post pictures of the huge pile of skirts.

Have a great day!

a few things...

For some reason I can't access my email account, but I will send addresses to everyone ASAP.  It may be Sunday because my daughter and I get to go on a little trip this weekend!  Woohoo!

Also, in the Flickr group a couple of fantastic ladies posted information on how to enlarge the quilt dimensions and how to come up with yardage requirements.  Here are those links for those of you who have asked:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1339677@N23/discuss/72157623226233163/

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1339677@N23/discuss/72157623225832349/

I hope that is helpful!  Let's just say that math was not my best subject!  :)

I wish all a wonderful weekend!

sewing seeds for haiti

It is time for a new Sewing Seeds project! 

With the recent devastation in Haiti, there is a great need for all kinds of love to be sent to the people there.  Right after the earthquake I began wondering if we should do something about it in the form of Sewing Seeds , but I wanted clear direction.  A few days later I was at our homeschool co-op and one of the dads asked for prayer for a cousin of his who is a missionary serving a community right at the earthquake's epicenter.  I knew this was it!

My friends are Mennonite and so are the missionaries.  They serve in a number of ways, but they do serve lunch to over 100 schoolchildren every single day (that was the number prior to the earthquake).  Many of these kids are now without basic necessities.  I am so excited that we are able to help in this small way of making skirts for the girls.  I have gone back and forth on whether or not to add shorts for boys this time, but my heart tells me to stick with the skirts.  This leads me to believe that the boys will be taken care of in another way.  That's the way God works in my experience.  Do what He leads you to do and all gaps will be filled by Him.

"Sow the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of my love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you."---Hosea 10:12

Since the  missionary group is Mennonite, I ask that all skirts be at least knee length.  This is not their request, but rather mine out of respect for their customs.

Here are a couple of skirt tutorials:

tiered skirt tutorial

tiered, ruffle skirt

I am only linking the tiered skirt tutorials because of the lengths needed on the skirts.  Please feel free to use a pattern of your own and make it any child's size that you want to (keep it knew length or below the knee).  I always make the skirts in Aubry's size and that way it feels more personal.  Basically, do as you please.  :)

***In regards to postage, there is a possibility that the skirts will be transported for free. I will let you all know as soon as I know. 

If you would like to make a skirt (or two or three) please leave a comment on this post.  If you leave your email address I can send you my home address so you can mail the skirt to me.  The deadline for skirts is Friday, March 5th.  

Blessings to all of you!

***Please feel free to link to this post and to download the graphic for use on your own blog. 

Thanks!

friday things...

Doesn't it make you happy to see the new growth on the trees just waiting to burst open in spring?  It does me!

Well, it seems that a Sewing Seeds project for Haiti is in order!   I will post more information next week once I talk to my friend and get a few more details.  Thanks for all of your support and helping hands that make this possible!

I don't know if I mentioned this, but I will answering all questions about the quilt-along in the comments section of those posts.  Everyone is invited to answer questions and encourage others, so don't feel like it has to be just me.  If you want to say something, go for it!  Also, you might want to check out the flickr group to see the progress of some of the quilters.  There are some lovely fabrics ready to be cut up next week!

Well, I am off to start my weekend.  We have never homeschooled on Fridays so we always have 3-day weekends. I am spoiled, I know!

Enjoy!

are you up for this???

I have a good friend who has a cousin living in Haiti as a missionary.  They are located right at the earthquake's epicenter.

My question is whether or not a "sewing seeds" skirt project might be in order for the little girls in this area.  How many will be able to participate?  If you are interested please leave a comment and I will let you know what I decide.

***Sewing Seeds is a project that I occasionally organize here on my blog to collect and distribute handmade skirts to little girls in areas where there is need.  Africa and Costa Rica are two places we have sent skirts to.  In the past we have also included shorts for the boys, but we may stick to the skirts this time.  Let me know what you think.

This mission serves a meal to approximately 100 children every day, so the need is great.  There is a possibility that some missionaries will be able to transport the skirts to Haiti at some point, or I will have to also ask for a little help with postage (I will contribute too, but I don't think I could manage the whole amount by myself).  Of course, if we have to mail the skirts it will take a while before that can happen because of the devastation in that area.

So, what do you think?

Should we do it?

I am leaning towards YES.  :)

sewing seeds

***Edited to add women's skirt tutorial links.  Thank you for directing me to these, ladies!

Back in May we collected lots of beautiful handmade skirts and new pairs of shorts for my friend Kimmie's daughter to take to Costa Rica and distribute.  The organizer of that missions trip has asked Kimmie if we can collect skirts (no shorts needed this time) once again for a trip coming up in November.  Even though this is late notice I felt that since the organizer asked, we should see what we can do.

"Sow the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of my love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you."---Hosea 10:12

This time the mission will take place in Temuco, Chile and will focusing on ministering to the Mapuche Indians.  None of the people are taller than 5 feet, so we can focus on smaller sized items for women and children.

If you would like to  help, please leave a comment so I can give you the address to send the items to.  The final date for collecting skirts is November 1st, so we will need to be quick on this one!

Here are some links to skirt tutorials:

Twirly Shorts

Tiered Skirt Tutorial

Easy Skirt Tutorial

Lazy Days Skirt TutorialTwirly Skirt Tutorial

Drop Waist Skirt Tutorial

Women's Swing Skirt

Maternity Skirt

Well, that's the scoop on skirts! 

I hope you all have a blessed day!

sewing seeds update!

I am so happy to announce that the latest Sewing Seeds project has been a huge success! 

Bella has left for Costa Rica with a stash of 176 skirts and 53 pairs of shorts.  Simply awesome!  I know that many girls and boys will be blessed because of the sweet people who came together to gather such abundance.  I am thankful to all of you!

You have to visit Kimmie's (Bella's mom) blog post to see their newest addition to the family helping to sort the clothes.  I tell you, this kid is a star!  What a cutie!

Have a great Monday, everyone!