#SewToShare - Personal Progress: June 2015

Well, I'm trying to chip away at my summer goals list.....slowly, but surely!

Cook more, especially with my children.

Sew curtains for my youngest daughter's room. (FINALLY!!!)

Fresh paint for several rooms in our home. In Progress....and more added!

New skirts for my girls.

Sew "Busy Bags" & Totes for the foster closet. In Progress, A BUNCH!!!

Read some chapter books aloud to my kiddos.

Gifts for our local Animal Shelter.

Participate in library events.
Sort my patterns. ALL of them! 

Visit the zoo.

Help my youngest daughter, now 5, sew her first "something".

Create a pattern/tutorial for a special medical comfort item.

Sew some adult sized bibs for my grandfather.

Make new oven mitts, potholders and such for our kitchen.

Go on a picnic.

And, take a few naps! ;) Never Enough!

Hmmmm. 

Seems I've added waaaaay more than I've finished! ;) Oh well!

Update my 10 year old's scrapbook.

Rip the carpet from my stairs, sand and paint them. 

Take of the giant mending pile. 

I'm sure it will continue to grow....

Here's a few pics to share with you of my cutting progress. Since I tend to do my donation sewing in "batches", I've done a BUNCH of cutting!!!! These are the piles prepped and waiting for me to stitch...

A few remaining ballerina dolls I found under some other items.

A bunch of bibs.

I got carried away cutting "Busy Bags" for the foster care closet and these are the ones all set to start sewing. 

The below stack still needs a bit of fusible fleece interfacing....I just ran out. TWICE! lol!

A nice stack of security "blankies" that I'll get to at some point to maybe go with the bibs. 

 And more Teeny Tears diaper gifts than I can count! I think I may end up doubling my original goal of filling 1 bushel sized basket! :)

A bit more family sewing is on the list for the day. Prepping some PJs for my girls headed to camp, and some super hero pillowcases & valances for my boy's newly painted and decorated super hero bedroom. The fun never stops! ;)

How's your summer sewing going? 

Any "Sew To Share" goodies to tell us about?

LQS Support - MidSouth Sewing & Fabric

I had the pleasure of meeting some of the sweetest women this week!

I visited a "new to me" local quilt shop called, MidSouth Sewing & Fabric. I've been looking for a shop I will fill comfortable with servicing one of my beloved machines and this shop had been highly recommended to me by several trusted seamstress friends. I had a bit of time without the kiddos, and took advantage of it by stopping in. Boy am I glad I did too!!!!

The shop is adorably decorated and fully stocked with gorgeous, high quality, designer fabrics. I could truly spend hours looking at & stroking every print! They even have a "Yard Sale" section with fabrics priced as low as $5 a yard!

 Additionally, they are Authorized Dealers of a variety of high-end machines, including Juki and Brother. Yes, I spotted a couple to add to my wishlist very easily! ;)

They also provide a variety of embroidery services and regular classes, and if this picture doesn't make you want to join the fun, then I don't know what would! :) I can't wait to get to know this crew better! And maybe I'll slowly begin to overcome my intimidation with quilting as well!

 Well, if getting to spend my morning getting to know these sweet ladies and stroll through their lovely shop at a complete leisurely pace wasn't enough, there are those HUGE boxes that they are standing by. Yep. They sent those home with me FULL of beautiful, embroidered gifts for children in foster care! Take a peek at what was inside.....

21 of these absolutely squishy & adorable "Nap Time Buddy" pups!

Another 21 of these sweet bears with jackets embroidered with the perfect little quote, "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff"!

 20 heart embroidered ball caps...

21 T-shirts.... 

AND, 21 beautiful, plush stockings that I will be stuffing full for donation near Christmas!!!

 The T-shirts and ball caps are being dropped off with my friend Becky who coordinates donations for our foster care closet as our local TFI:The Forgotten Initiative advocate. The stuffed friends have been added too (and piled high!!!) my donation boxes for the FLUFF Project and will join the other donations that will find their way to a special child in foster care with our next delivery!

I am so very excited and thankful to have made this local connection within the sewing/quilting community and so very grateful for their generous gifts! I know each will be well received and appreciated....and those animals will get lots of love I'm sure!

If you are in the greater Knoxville area, I definitely recommend taking the time to drop by this lovely shop! They participate in a variety of activities and shop hops, so there's always something fun to join in on. You can find them in "The Gallery" Shopping Center on Kingston Pike, near West Town Mall. You can also find them online HERE!

A Bit of Encouragement!

Had to share some heart filling encouragement with all of you!

First, I received a message from a friend who is a fellow foster parent and sits on a review board. When a child's case is up for review they have to be at court for this hearing. Court is a rather intimidating place that typically doesn't say "Fun times ahead!" to most. ;) Well, here's the message I received....I'll let it speak for itself.

"Kristy, we had Foster Care Review board tonight and I wanted you to know that you all made 5 girls very, VERY happy tonight. One of my cases was a sibling group of 5 girls ranging from 2 to 12. They all took a ballerina tonight and they were just so excited and happy. They are beautiful dolls and you did a great job. Please share this."

Very happy & full heart upon reading that!

Then, I received this letter in the mail from the Juvenile Court Judge....

My favorite part is the last bit....

"Thank you for your organization, Hopeful Threads' continued support of our program. Your stuffed animals are some of our favorites."

GOOD STUFF!!!!

Really good stuff!!!!

It matters. Every. Stitch. Matters. 

In BIG, BIG ways!

Thank you!

Find out how you can be a part by clicking the image below. 

The FLUFF Project

June. Off to a great start + summer goals!

We have had a great start to June & our summer break so far!

Monday, we had the privilege of delivering 166 stuffed friends to our Juvenile Court to be gifted to children in foster care. I've already received warm and encouraging messages about how well received our FLUFF Project donations are too! 

 That's right, to date, we have delivered 1,189 stuffed friends for children in foster care! 

Sooooo exciting! And I can't wait to make more! 

I have several stuffed friend patterns on my "To Sew" list for the summer! It's always hard to narrow down which one to sew next, I love them all! 

That's just one of the many things on my goals list for the summer though...in no particular order, here are some of the (maybe a bit lofty) things I hope to accomplish over the next few months.

Cook more, especially with my children.

Sew curtains for my youngest daughter's room. (FINALLY!!!)

Fresh paint for several rooms in our home.

New skirts for my girls.

Sew "Busy Bags" & Totes for the foster closet.

Read some chapter books aloud to my kiddos.

Gifts for our local Animal Shelter.

Participate in library events.
Sort my patterns. ALL of them! 

Visit the zoo.

Help my youngest daughter, now 5, sew her first "something".

Create a pattern/tutorial for a special medical comfort item.

Sew some adult sized bibs for my grandfather.

Make new oven mitts, potholders and such for our kitchen.

Go on a picnic.

And, take a few naps! ;)

Whew!!! I'm already tired just planning it! :)

We shall see just how much I'm able to get done.....I always tend to over estimate. 

How about you? Any great summer plans?

Any new patterns or recipes you hope to try?

Would love to hear, so feel free to share in the comments, and hope you have a GREAT summer whatever you choose to do with your time!

#SewToShare