i have to say...

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!

my adventures with lucy

So far my time with Lucy has been limited but I have spent some time reworking my schedule and Tuesday night should once again be a crafting time for me.   Tonight's the night and I am looking forward to it!

We did manage to make some skirts for the Sewing Seeds project.  Aubry and I are going to make one together and she gets to pick out the fabrics all by herself--no advice from mommy this time!  I promise!

A new baby boy meant colorful burp cloths were needed.  It is funny to make something so bright and cheery knowing that they will be a target for baby spit-up in days to come.  Let it go, Randi, let it go.

My Darla quilt top is finished and ready to be sandwiched and quilted.  The layout is super simple since I wanted it to be about the fabric designs rather than the quilt design.  The size is perfect for a lap quilt and I intend to get tons of use out of this once fall and winter come our way again (hopefully not too soon!).

I am little nervous about the quilting since my success in that area has been minimal, but with Lucy leading the way my confidence is up a couple of notches.  Hopefully next week I can post some progress!

Happy sewing!

finally a friday!

Ah, Friday is here!  A long, unplanned weekend stretches out before me and that puts a smile on my face. 

Sewing Seeds is on it's way and I am so thankful for your support!  When we get some pictures of the kids in their new duds, I will post them here on my blog.  Please continue to pray for Bella's time in Costa Rica, that it will be fruitful.  I love to see kids (young adults) giving themselves to people who need them.  It is quite inspiring.

Next week is a big week here in "Casa I Have To Say"!  My oldest daughter comes home from her missions trip on Wednesday (I haven't seen her in 6 months!!!!) and Fresh-Squeezed Fabrics celebrates it's one year anniversary.  Me thinks a give-away is in order!

Have a great weekend!

sewing seeds

I am so excited to announce a new Sewing Seeds project! 

"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

Sewing Seeds started two years ago when my oldest daughter went on a missions trip to Africa.  In an effort to support her and help the kids she would be blessing while she was there, we managed to gather 118 handmade skirts for her to stuff into her suitcase.  The sweet people who visit my blog made this possible!

As far as my blog is concerned, this is the #1 topic of email and inquiries that I get:  ladies wanting to know if we need more skirts.  I have been patiently waiting for a new project to turn up and it has in the form of my friend Kimmie's daughter Bella who will be traveling to Costa Rica this summer for 2 weeks.  Bella is following in the footsteps of her parents who have a tender heart towards missions and orphans, which is evidenced by the fact that they have 7 children, one homemade and six adopted.  They are truly a precious family that loves God and seeks to follow Him in practical ways.  If you need encouragement or prayer, Kimmie is your go-to-girl!

This project is much like the last one in that we are asking for your help in gathering skirts and shorts for Bella to take to the kids in Costa Rica.  I love to think of the kid's faces when they receive something of their own.  Something lovely and new. I think this a perfect way to show them that they are loved.  All of us pulling together will be able to make a lot of kids smile!

So, could we ask you to consider making a skirt (or two) for a little girl?  Most sizes are needed and can be used.  I figure that each skirt will cost approximately $10 to $15 to make and 2-3 hours to put together, depending on your sewing abilities.

One idea is to make a skirt in your own daughter's size and let her pick out the fabric.  This makes it a mommy/daughter endeavor! 

Here are some links to skirt tutorials:  tiered skirt tutorial, easy skirt tutorial, lazy days skirt pattern, twirly skirt tutorial, and the drop-waist twirly skirt tutorial.  Wow!  There are lots of choose from!

If sewing is not your thing, a pair of shorts for a boy will be perfect.  A sturdy pair of jean or khaki shorts will be perfect for a hard-playing little boy to wear this summer.

We will not requesting particular sizes (except to ask for clothes for kids ages 13 and under) or a goal amount because we trust God to take care of that.  He knows what is needed and will bring that about.

We need to have the skirts finished and mailed by June 29th so that Bella can get them ready to transport.

Please pray about this...

If you are interested, please leave a comment saying so (please make sure that your email address is correct so I can respond to you) and I will send you more information and Bella's mailing address.

Here are some photos of Bella on previous missions trips and a photo of a town they will be visiting this summer:

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!

sewing seeds--no sewing required!

Earlier this summer my daughter traveled to Africa to work at an orphanage.  This was a life-changing experience for her and also a blessing for the kids.  As many of you know, we were able to gather over 125 handmade skirts to send with her as part of project called Sewing Seeds.  The girls who received the skirts were thrilled to have something new and lovely and all their own.  (Please see the photo album in my sidebar to get an idea of who the kids are).

This time I am hoping to do something special for the boys in the orphanage and possibly something for all of the kids.  Another group will be traveling back to the orphanage in either November or January (Danika will not be going with this group) and we are hoping to stuff their bags full of two things:  denim shorts for the boys and shoes for all of the kids.  So many of you have mentioned that you would like to take part in this if we ever did it again, so here I am asking for you help.

With the fall clothes on the racks these days, the summer clothes have been relegated to the clearance shelves, and this works in our favor!  Here is what is needed specifically:

Boys shorts: most of the boys are ages 1-8 and all of them could use a pair of shorts.  Shorts made of denim or another durable fabric would be perfect.  If you are unsure of what size to buy, I suggest you buy for your own children's or grandchildren's size since this worked out perfectly last time.  My hope is to collect 50 pairs of boys shorts.

Kid's shoes:  the weather in Africa allows for summer-type shoes year around.  Sturdy sandals of some sort would probably be ideal so that socks are not needed.  The girls range in age from 1-13, while the boys range in age from 1-8.  I would love to collect 100 pairs of shoes.

If you are interested in contributing please leave me a comment or email me. 

The thing that I love about doing this is watching everyone come together to help the kids.  Together we can bless a large group of kids who have many needs, not only by giving them shorts and shoes, but also by letting them know that someone cares for them.

"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

***I would like to have everything by September 30 if that is possible!

***Gently used shorts or shoes would be great too.

Thanks!

sewing seeds update

We have received an amazing 49 skirts!  Thank you doesn't begin to express what Emily and I are feeling and thinking about the sewing seeds project.  The best way for me to sum it would would be to say that we have been blessed by all of the women that have participated and prayed for this. 

At this point I expect that we will meet our goal of 75 skirts, and we may even surpass it a little bit.  Thank you for making this successful!  I can't wait to post a picture of the lovely girls in their new skirts!

A group of ladies who mailed skirts this week enclosed a sweet note in their package and I just loved this part of it:

"You can't imagine how much joy it brought us to select beautiful fabrics and create these cute skirts, imagining them on twenty-five lovely girls.  Would they laugh and smile when they recieve them?  Will they twirl around?  Will they feel special and pretty?  These are all things that came to mind as they were created.  Many prayers have been said over these skirts..."

The girls will be blessed indeed!

Thank you to Robin B., Autum, Denise, Stacy, Anita O., Morning Glory, Karen and Jolyn, who have sent the latest batch of skirts!  All of the lovliness is stacking up!

***Oh, don't forget about Let's Get Real Monday!  Hope to see you there!

sewing seeds update

So far so good on sewings seeds!  At last count we were very close to having 75 skirts!  We may even go over that number a little bit.  This is a huge blessing and I am very pleased at the thought of stuffing Danika's suitcase full of beautiful skirts for the girls.  I love it!

Unfortunately, I don't think it is going to work out to gather things for the boys.  Since Danika is only allowed to take one suitcase for the kids, the only other option is to pay to have the items shipped, and this turns out to cost $900.00 through UPS.  Obviously this is not going to work.  At this point, I am just going to set the things for the boys on the backburner and if anything changes, I will let you know.  There has been so much support for this that I just hate to set it aside with so many people willing  and wanting to help.  We will see...

On my sidebar I have added a little button-link for sewings seeds and above it I am keeping track of the skirts recieved so far.  Eight little skirts have arrived in my mail and I am so thankful to Susie, Jessica, Bea, Judy G., and Kayla for sending them!  When they have all arrived, I will post a picture of the whole pile!

Thank again!