EGF DONATION

28 PREEMIE HATS (14 ARE VALENTINE HATS)
2 BURIAL WRAPS
11 BLANKETS
4 BURIAL SETS
THIS IS MY FIRST DONATION OF THE YEAR, IT'S ALL BOXED UP AND READY TO GO.
IT WILL BE ON IT'S WAY TO EGF. NOW I GUESS I START ALL OVER AGAIN.

Online Charity Crafting

Hi again!

I would like to work on a comprehensive document that would give people information about the culture of online groups that craft for charity. I think it'd be a neat way to see how crafting is meeting modern technology, how the online world has embraced networking for the sake of charity, and things like that. I'm thinking I would put the document on a CD instead of printing it (to go with the online theme) and sell it with proceeds going to charity.

With all of that said, I'm going around to different online charity groups that I know of and I'm asking for the following:

1. Who started this group and how did it happen?

2. How did you spread the word about your charity to get more members?

3. What is your mission statement? In other words, do you all craft the same things or is it more free-style?

4. If anyone has created any patterns that they use for charity, I'd be happy to include those in a special charity patterns section, but the pattern must be yours.

Please e-mail me at homespunhelpers@gmail.com with any questions, or if you want to answer that way. And if you know of any groups I should send this to, let me know!

An idea

Hi everybody,

I am embarking on a project and I thought some of you might want to do something similar.

The general idea is to set a goal for yourself for the year regarding how many items you will make and donate for charity. If you meet that goal, you ask people to send some amount of money to a charity that is close to your heart but that would benefit more from a monetary donation than from something that can be made. As an example, I have set the probably insane goal of making and donating 1,000 items this year. I am asking people to "sponsor" me, which just means that if I succeed, they would donate $20 to the American Cancer Society.

I think it will be a good motivational force for me and maybe fun for the folks that choose to play along. Just thought I'd pass on the concept to you :)

More comfort scarves

Handmade with Love Especially for You was busy in December! We distributed around 100 scarves to two shelters for abused women, Rainbow Services in San Pedro CA and our newest recipient, 1736 House in Torrance CA. Here are a few of the scarves we delivered.

And it looks like January will be a great month for contributions. My box of scaraves to deliver is already overflowing. However, we never have enough scarves to fill the need. Rainbow Services serves more than 300 women; Richstone Family Center serves 1500 women and at least an equal number of children; 1736 House is the biggest agency, with three locations throughout the Los Angeles area. They serve victims of domestic violence, women and children. The children want hats. So we will add hats to our repetoire.

Please join us. We prefer you make scarves 5 inches x 60+ inches, using a soft yarn since many of the women use the scarves for comfort, not for winter warmth or to make a fashion statement. Hats should be bright and colorful. All sizes, especially geared to middle teens. Making and distributing these scarves has been very rewarding. We need you.

items 1 & 2 in 2009

I've finished up a couple of bereavement items. The blue gown was made last year, but I lined it yesterday. The pink set I started and finished over the last couple of days. Both were made using Toni's burial gown pattern.

Clutter Control

When I was tidying my sewing room, I found some drapery fabric and some twill, so I decided to make some drawstring bags. The bags are easy to make and will be sent to a medical mission coordinator, and she will add the shoe strings to the bags.

My two-day sewing binge resulted in 61 bags and used 10 yards of fabric. The room is still a mess, somewhat smaller now, but at least I accomplished something.