MORE goodies from the Hershey Hotel and Salvation Army!

Today we received more items, donated by the Hershey Hotel, and delivered by the Salvation Army. Amongst other items,we were given perhaps 3 dozen rust-colored bedspreads that, unlike the green spreads, we can repurpose solely for lap blankets! Suggestion: Fold the comforter, placing side edges together. Measuring approximately 72" from the top edge towards the bottom edge, cut the bottom portion of the comforter off.

Of this remaining 72" piece, cut it in half top to bottom.

You will have two lap blankets of equal size. You need only clean finish two edges. Note how lap blankets of this size can cover an elderly person whether in bed or in a wheelchair; if it is too long on a particular day, it can easily be doubled by its user.

Of the remaining piece, cut the side pieces off. (They are relatively small and can thus be discarded.) There will now be a line of piping running lengthwise along this remaining piece. This third piece also makes a lap blanket. Wow; out of one comforter, we have THREE lap blankets!

We also received a donation of fabric and notions from a private donor--thanks, Joyce, for picking this up! Sisters, make sure you stop by the Rutherford House before going to the fabric store. We have a LOT of fabric now from which to choose. We are sew grateful for God's provision; we never have to want for fabric!

The Incredible Ministry of Salvation Army

By now you can see that we are very dedicated to helping out Salvation Army as much as possible this winter. That's because the more we see of their operations, and what they do every single day with little or no fanfare, the more we are impressed with their dedication and true missionary attitude. The areas in which they serve are practically endless! So please send them some money because utilities and vendors won't take prayers as payment! hee hee! (As a reminder, they anticipate a tremendous shortfall in their budget this year).

Baby, It's Cold INSIDE, Too!

Salvation Army needs 3,000 lap blankets by Christmas!! They will be given to the folks in nursing homes in greater Harrisburg as Christmas gifts. Please help us by either sewing, crocheting, or knitting blankets. The best size is at least 45" X 54", but can be any size close to these dimensions. Our favorite type to make is wool or corduroy on one side, and a pretty print on the other. We sew them up like a pillow case, turn them right side out, and stitch the opening closed. We either use prayer knots or sew a few stitches in the middle so they don't shift during laundering. Please wash the pieces before you cut them out because the fabrics shrink at different rates and it looks pretty bad when one side is all scrunched up and the other side can't lay flat because of it.

The drop off point is at their Edgemont office, 2328 Locust Lane (the entrance is at the rear of the building). YOU MUST CALL BEFORE YOU GO because sometimes they are very short staffed and may be out of the building so that no one will be there to receive your lap blankets. The number at Edgemont is 238-8678. The more lap blankets we are able to provide to Salvation Army, the less they will have to buy. And as we all know, they are stretched beyond all reason, yet continue to provide for our community. They really are "doing the most good!"

Needed: Bell Ringers for Salvation Army

By the way, the Salvation Army needs bell ringers. Last year they had to hire temps to ring the bells, and are hoping that they can get volunteers this year so they don't have to hire temps again. Please give Salvation Army a call to be a volunteer bell ringer at 233-6755. You can organize a group and all stand at the kettle together, rather than ring the bell alone.

The Ladies Auxiliary of Salvation Army's Annual Fashion Show and Fundraiser: Report

Sewin' Sisters Sowing sold $135.00 worth of soft goods and gave 100% of the money to Salvation Army. The ladies bought 3 lap blankets that were washable and dryable, an infant bibs set, a bonnet, and pre-packaged infant sets that were gift ready. They loved the size of the lap blankets, and the decorative stitching on the edges. The lap blankets were purchased for elderly men and women in their families. They were especially pleased to find some masculine prints. We learned a lot, and met some wonderful women that I hope we see again. We had a great time and are looking forward to helping Salvation Army at this event again next year. We anticipate sewing more lap blankets and infant items for next year's fundraiser.

Marcellene's Story

As some of you may have heard, last Wednesday September 17th, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. It's called a meningioma. The tumor is about the size of a shooter marble. It's above my right ear in the temporal lobe. It is not cancerous, but it is serious since it's pushing against my brain and causing side effects. My vision has been affected, my words get all mixed up, I have horrible headaches, and my memory is, uh, what was I saying??? I'm actually very glad we found this now and can get it taken care of. I am relived that we can get to the bottom (uh, top??) of some of the problems I've had for the past few years.

We are checking out different treatments and hospitals. At this point, I am leaning towards the University of Pittsburgh's new method of removing "hard to reach" tumors in the brain by going in through the nasal cavity rather than drilling a hole in your head. They've been able to remove baseball size tumors through the nose! If anyone out there has any experience with this type of treatment, please call me ASAP because inquiring minds want to know, and proactive gals move fast!!

To get updates on what I'm doing and where, please check out the blog. We have already mapped out a plan so that everyone in the core group of the Sewin' Sisters will take on my duties so we can keep on sewing! But the logistics of this are going to be extremely difficult to manage since Stephen requires 24 hour care. More than anything, please say some prayers for me and mine, and please do call and stop by. Here is a verse that has helped me through other catastrophic events in my life, and is helping us now:

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed, we are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not forsaken, cast down, but not destroyed. 2 Cor. 4:8,9

I believe in miracles, so please put me and mine on your prayer chains, and keep us in your hearts. Thanks a bunch!

-Marcellene

4716 pieces = $18,864.00 minimum value contributed so far in 2008

TOTAL DONATIONS for 2006: 252
TOTAL DONATIONS for 2007: 2500
TOTAL DONATIONS IN 2008: 4716

4716 pieces x $4.00/yard = minimum value of hand made soft goods to Greater Harrisburg of $18,864.00

Contributions
Bethesda Mission: 40 bedspreads; Ft. Hunter: 14 Christmas Stockings; Morning Star: 37 bibs, 13 baby blankets, 3 hats, 4 nightgowns, 12 pants, 2 pjs, 54 washcloths; Salvation Army: 37 lap blankets, 5 nightgowns, 5 walker bags, 16 dish towels, 8 disaster relief bags, 5 duffle bags, 28 personal care bags, 1 scarf, 38 washcloths, 2 hot pads, 8 dishcloths, 2 baby blankets, 2 baby hats, 18 baby washcloths, 3 child’s jackets, 1 child’s poncho, 3 baby hats, 45 baby nightgowns, 1 baby pants, 1 baby scarf. Items donated: 406

Rutherford House Storage Room Instructions

We are IN the Rutherford House!!! When you need fabric, trim, binding, lace, or whatever, just go in the main door, say "hi!" to Sandy, the Receptionist, click "guest" on the computer screen at the desk, and Sandy will direct you to our room. Be sure to wave to Peggy, the Executive Director as you go by! You may need to show Sandy or Peggy your generic Sewin' Sisters Sowing business card.

The fabric is sorted by fabric type. Be sure to look for the wool pieces that have been paired up with coordinating backs and are rough cut. Here is a picture of the shelves with the paired pieces; it is the third shelf from the bottom, and this shelving unit is next to the closet. That will save you a lot of time in sewing more lap blankets!

The closet has narrow shelves that works perfectly for all that ribbon and trim. Be sure to look in there. There is a Bissell hanging on the back of the closet door to use if in going through the fabric, a mess gets made.

There's a small file cabinet. The top 2 drawers contain ribbon and trim pieces. The bottom drawer contains large, clear trash bags. Please don't leave any food or drink items in the trash since they don't collect it every day.

On Monday at 10:30, Salvation Army will deliver a huge load of bedspreads to the Rutherford House, donated by Hotel Hershey. They are a weird peach color, and a bit thicker than the green ones. We will bundle these with twine and temporarily stack them in the craft room which is right behind our storage room.

Major Elizabeth Griner has arranged for a bunch of volunteers to cut out the rest of the green bedspreads for us on October 4th. They will deliver them to Rutherford House on October 6th.

Major Elizabeth Griner said they will need 3,000 lap blankets by Christmas to give to the elderly. Even though it's not likely that we can sew 3,000 lap blankets, we can sure make enough to save them quite a bit of money so they won't have to buy so many blankets to make up the 3,000.

So when the cut bedspreads for Bethesda Mission get delivered to the Rutherford House on October 6th, we need to stop working on all other projects we have on-going, and concentrate 100% on getting these bedspreads done. Then we need to concentrate 100% on getting as many high quality, durable, and attractive lap blankets done as we can.

That gives us about 3 weeks to finish up whatever sewing projects you might be in the middle of, or the opportunity to use up all that gorgeous fabric sitting on the shelves over there at the Rutherford House to make lap blankets. When we run out of the fun stuff, we'll go back to cutting up bedspreads and making lap blankets out of them. But please, no more sewing on smocks, walker bags, personal care bags, clothing, etc. We MUST do as many lap blankets as possible, and we ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY must get the Bethesda Mission bedspreads done. (I think we are about half way there).

We're beginning to run short of 1" bias binding, which we need for making the Bethesda Mission bedspreads and the lap blankets made out of the side pieces of the bedspreads. We have a lot of flat lace that can be used (in the closet) when we run out of the bias binding. I have asked Jennifer from RSVP to try to get us more 1" bias binding. Please put a notice on your bulletin boards at work, church, gym, or wherever, or a notice in your church bulletin, for 1" or larger bias binding (or seam tape, whatever you call it). We can use blanket binding, but it's a bit trickier to make it look nice. We can also cut the blanket binding in half, which makes it a bit easier to sew, and doubles the amount of blanket binding available. If worse comes to worse, we can make our own bias binding, but I'd rather be able to spend the time making lap blankets instead of bias binding, eh??!!

Thank God for providing us with such a nice storage place, and lots and lots of fabric and notions, and for all that we need to do the work He set before us. Please don't go to the store and buy any supplies unless you are sure we don't already have it at the Rutherford House, or unless you just like to spend money! hee hee!! Just give me a call if you aren't sure what's over at the Rutherford House.

And I thank God for my sewin' sisters!

Together we can, and have made a big difference in the Greater Harrisburg Area. Let's keep a lot of folks warm this winter through our prayers and our sewing!

September 2008 Project Report

CUTTING DAZE In June, we cut out fabric for 6 hours. In July, we cut for 10 hours. That's right -- 10 HOURS!! In August we cut out for 7 hours. Although we stop briefly for lunch, and sometimes even dinner, we use every available surface to diligently lay out the fabric to create tops and backs for all sizes of blankets, walker bags, and with what little is left over, personal care bags. The strange thing is how much fun we have! Nobody likes the cutting part of sewing because it takes so long, and it HURTS! But we giggle and laugh or way through the mountains of fabric until everything that CAN be cut up, IS cut up! There is a huge sense of accomplishment when we look around at the projects that can be completed instead of just piles of fabric everywhere. The sewing is getting done in about half the time it took before we started cutting days, which means we can, and have, doubled our completed projects. Thank you to our core group of about 15 committed sewin' sisters!!!!!

ASTOUNDING NUMBERS!! Just take a look at our numbers: In 2006 we did 252 pieces. We paid for EVERYTHING that year. After we began to get some media coverage, we began to receive donated fabric. What a difference that made! In 2007 we did 2500 pieces! As word got out about what we do, we began to receive even more donated fabric, so that in 2008, from January through the end of August, we have donated 4310 pieces! We are sew grateful to God for blessing us with fabric and notions. On our own, we could never have purchased that much fabric, but with God, all things are possible! Now here's the kicker: if you take 4310 pieces at a median price of $4.00/yard, you get a minimum value of hand made soft goods we donated to Greater Harrisburg of $17,240.00!! That doesn't reflect what the retail value would be; it's just the approximate raw fabric value. Can you imagine? We are astounded! We don't even know how we are doing it!!! We couldn't do this on our own without Divine Intervention, for sure! All I can say is thank you for your prayers -- they're working!

SEW MUCH FABRIC, SEW LITTLE ROOM Which brings us to the difficult situation of where to store all this fabric? Even though we turn the fabric over VERY quickly, that's still a lot of fabric to store. Most sewin' sisters are storing some of the fabric in their homes, but up 'till now, most of it has been stored in my sewing room, formerly our living room. We live in a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment, and with all these bedspreads for Bethesda Mission, things got out of control. When the fabric was in every room of our apartment, and then moved out to the garage, I had to draw the line. The garage is my husband's MAN SPACE! Even though my husband is as committed to this ministry as I am, that was asking too much!! We've been searching for storage space for months, but couldn't find the right conditions such as FREE with no bugs or critters. Jennifer Fetter from RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program) took up our cause and connected with Peggy Scrobola from the Rutherford House to brainstorm where we could store all this fabric. By the grace of God, and the goodness of her heart, Peggy offered a room to us for storage at the Rutherford House! We will be "moving in" Wednesday, September 10th!! They also have a huge room that we can use for our events such as Sew Much For Charity, and the FREE FABRIC days!! So we won't even have to haul the fabric all over town anymore, either!! We are VERY grateful to Trinity United Methodist Church for allowing us to "temporarily" use their facilities for the past 2 1/2 years; we couldn't have done it without their support!! But it will be terrific to finally find a "home" for all our stuff. Staging of fabric donations will still be done in my home, and we will continue to have sewing and cutting days in my home, too. See what your prayers are doing? We have no idea where this whole thing is going, but we don't want to go anywhere without your prayers on our behalf. So please keep those prayers coming!!!

SOWING IN THE SUN was a blast! We got great news coverage from FOX 43, which brought us several more fabric donations. It was great to see Chuck Wingate of Bethesda Mission, Majors John and Elizabeth Griner of Salvation Army, and Jennifer Fetter of RSVP chatting and laughing while stringing ribbons through our personal care bags and cutting out tons of bedspreads. Swatara Township was a huge help throughout the planning and execution of the event, and Kathy Fouse of Pennbrook Lion's Club presented us with boxes and boxes of the shirts we need to make smocks for Salvation Army. Though it wasn't as well as attended as I would have liked, those that did come were sewers who truly appreciated the amount of work and skill that goes in to what we do. It was great fun and we hope you get to come next year!

Mothers, Daughters, and the Celery Green Dress

Once upon a time, there was a mother who thought that all daughters should know how to sew. So the mother taught her daughter to sew when she was ten years old. The daughter loved to sew so much that she began to teach other daughters how to sew. Before she knew it, a sewing circle was born. All the daughters in the sewing circle (for all women are daughters) sewed many things to give to the poor in their town.

Now there was another mother who had two daughters. She wanted her daughters to sew with other women, and when she learned about the sewing circle, she decided to check it out. The mother and her daughters had so much fun that they went to the sewing circle whenever they could.

One day the mother of the little daughters found a pretty, celery green dress at Salvation Army. She thought, “My daughters will really enjoy this dress.” So she bought it. Alas, the dress was too small for either daughter to wear. But they were so delighted with the celery green dress that they brought it to the sewing circle to show it off. The sewing circle daughters all oohed and ahhed over the dress and were intrigued by how it was made. After much discussion, the daughters all decided the dress had been hand made in the early 70s. But when the mother and her little daughters went home that day, they forgot to take the celery green dress with them.

The sewing teacher held the celery green dress for the little daughters when they came back to the next sewing circle. She hung the celery green dress on a nail in the wall, and admired how it brightened the dark wood paneling that surrounded her sewing room. When the mother and little daughters came to the next sewing circle, they said to the sewing teacher, “Let’s leave it here! Then everyone can enjoy it!” So they did.

Now there was another mother whose daughter was a school principal at a small private school. The daughter was a very good principal and had many wonderful events for the children in the school. Each spring the children celebrated May Day with flowing formal gowns for the girls, and dress up clothes for the boys. The mother of the principal made dresses for the little girls, 70 dresses in all! The mother was proud of her daughter who ran such a good little school, and the daughter was proud of her mother who made so many beautiful dresses.

Sadly, one day the little school had to close. With a heavy heart, the daughter took the pretty dresses that her mother had made to Salvation Army. She knew she’d never see those dresses again. But she could sew, and she thought she’d fill her days with sewing. Then her children had babies, and her days were filled with grandchildren instead! So the daughter-who-was-a-principal, and was now a grandmother, decided to give her stash of fabric to a sewing charity she read about in the newspaper. This made her children very, very happy since there would be more room in their mother’s house for the babies! The daughter-who-was-a-principal wasn’t so happy to part with her fabric because sewers love to have lots of fabric around just in case they want to sew! But she packed up her fabric and notions and delivered them to the sewing teacher who ran the sewing circle.

What a surprise! The father of one of her students in the little school was there to help bring the fabric into the sewing teacher’s house! She had fun talking about old times with the father about his son and what he was doing now. Then the sewing teacher invited the daughter-who-was-a-principal into her home to see where they sewed. The daughter-who-was-a-principal entered and stopped dead still! There on the wall was the celery green dress her mother had made! She asked the sewing teacher where the dress had come from. The sewing teacher told her the story about the mother who bought the celery green dress for her little daughters and how much they loved their celery green dress.

The daughter-who-was-a-principal held the little celery green dress to her bosom. She pressed it close to her heart and remembered happy days. The sewing teacher asked her if she’d like to have the dress. But of course, the daughter-who-was-a-principal didn’t want to take it away from the little daughters who enjoyed the dress so much. The sewing teacher assured her that the little daughters would love for her to have it. The daughter-who-was-a-principal struggled with her decision, so the sewing teacher told her to enjoy the dress and the happy memories it brought. She suggested she send a card to the little daughters, thanking them for listening to the still small voice and keeping the celery green dress that didn’t fit. The daughter-who-was-a-principal was full of joy and was happy to thank the little daughters for their gift.

So you see, the mother who made the celery green dress for the little daughters in the little school that the daughter-who-was–a-principal ran, never knew how many people would be touched by the celery green dress. And the daughter-who-was-a-principal never knew how much joy the celery green dress would bring to a mother and her two little daughters. And the sewing teacher never knew she’d get to meet the daughter of the mother who made the celery green dress! And the daughter who became a sewing teacher thanked God for her mother who taught her to sew.

The moral of the story is, “Let us not be not weary in well doing, for in due season, we shall reap if we faint not!” Galatians 6:9

This is a true story. It happened today, September 3, 2008.

4310 Pieces = $17,240.00 minimum value contributed so far in 2008

TOTAL DONATIONS for 2006: 252
TOTAL DONATIONS for 2007: 2500
TOTAL DONATIONS IN 2008: 4310

4310 pieces x $4.00/yard = minimum value of hand made soft goods to Greater Harrisburg of $17,240.00

I am sew grateful to God that He has blessed us with enough fabric to do more sewing than any of us ever thought possible! When I think about some of the major health concerns in our group such as plastic knees and hips, cancer, heart problems, strokes, diabetes, arthritis, and others, and the fact that we all have families who depend on us, some of us have full time jobs, and others work part time, some do charity sewing for many additional sewing circles, our cars break down, our houses need repairs, we go to church and help out there, we help our neighbors and friends with all sorts of things, and on and on! I do not understand how we do what we do!!! Each month that we've been doing this, I have been astonished at how much we have accomplished. Aren't you???

We set out to make a difference in the Greater Harrisburg Area. Look at the PEOPLE these numbers represent. They have been touched and enriched by what we have sewn into their lives through our needle skills and through our prayers. I am truly honored to be a part of such an anointed group of women. Can't wait to see what God has up His sleeve for us next!!