Happy Thanksgiving 2008

TOTAL PIECES DONATED IN 2006: 252
TOTAL PIECES DONATED IN 2007: 2500
TOTAL PIECES DONATED from Jan. 1, 2008 through Oct. 31, 2008: 5,533

5,533 pieces x $4.00/yard = minimum value of hand made soft goods to the Harrisburg area of $22,132.00
this year alone!
($22,132.00 does not include notions or labor -- it's a raw fabric value only).

I wanted to share the above with you because it demonstrates how God is providing us with what we need to continue His work. We are thankful that He has blessed us with donated fabric and notions. There is no way in the world that we could afford to sew at this level without God's blessing. These numbers represent thousands of yards of fabric, thousands of yards of trim, and thousands and thousands of yards of thread. Even if every single one of us gave every single extra penny (and we ALL have fewer of those), we would still not be able to put out this number of pieces. We are very thankful that He has called us to serve our community through sewing. And we are very thankful for your continued prayers!!!

In the past two months, we have sewn 103 bedspreads for Bethesda Mission, and 219 lap blankets for Salvation Army, in addition to hundreds of other items needed in the Harrisburg Area. But we need your help. A core group of 15 women have been doing the lion's share of the sewing. Salvation Army needs 3,000 lap blankets by Christmas to give to the elderly in Harrisburg. Even if you have never sewn with us before, please consider sewing, knitting, or crocheting a lap blanket. If you don't have time to sew, please pick up a lap blanket at the store when you are out and donate it to the Salvation Army. (No used blankets for this project, please). The lap blankets need to be at least 45" X 54". Just sew them up like a pillow case, turn them right side out, stitch up the bottom, and top stitch the edges. You can use either use prayer knots or sew a few stitches in the middle so they don't shift during laundering. 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 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. If you can't get to Edgemeont, you can drop off your lap blankets at my house and I'll be sure that Salvation Army gets them. And just in case you're wondering why the nursing homes need lap blankets, they do not provide lap blankets for their patients! If a patient has one, it's because a kind person gave it to them. We're running out of time, but not out of cold weather! WE REALLY NEED YOUR HELP!!!!!! Thank you in advance for helping to meet this serious need in the Harrisburg Area.

Here are a few Thanksgiving verses to enjoy while you are eating your turkey and your pie: I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. Psalm 69: 30. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. Psalm 95:2. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise; be thankful unto him, and bless his name. Psalm 100:4. Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God. Psalm 147:7

Happy Thanksgiving!

Change in Length of Lap Blankets

Howdy sewers! Salvation Army has requested that the length of the lap blankets be approximately 54" long. This changes the instructions (below -- in an earlier post) that allow the full length of the bedspreads to be made into lap blankets. You'll need to cut them to a length of about 54" to 56". The extra long ones won't work in the nursing homes and were returned to us for repair -- which we have done. Thanks for your patience. We are still learning!

Cutting (and Bedspread) Day!

Saturday, November 1 is our Cutting Day, as you know (we cut fabric on the 1st Saturday of the month, and we sew on the 3rd Saturday of the month). However, for this Saturday, we will finish the remaining bedspreads for Bethesda Mission's shelters, as we have fallen behind, and they have been waiting for us for a few months now. It is now cold, and they really need for us to finish up this project. We only have a few more; let's wrap this up!!!