FLUFF Project Delivery SOON!

A brief update and reminder.....

FLUFF Project delivery soon! Waiting on date from Juvenile Court since it is such a large delivery! Stay connected and see photos on Instagram, @hopefulthreads

More soon....

Kristy

FLUFF Project - Collection Target Date Moved AHEAD

Hello All!

I wanted to let you know that I have moved the target date for our current Fluff Project collection to June 1, 2017. We have had several unexpected (and some expected!) things that have delayed my sewing time and I don't have near the stuffed friends finished for delivery that I have cut and in the sewing process. 

We are also hopeful that this extra time will allow more of you to participate as well, and help us reach our goal of the biggest single delivery to date of 500 stuffed friends for children in foster care! Can you help us???

We currently have around 200 friends ready for delivery, so we could use quite a few more to reach our goal! Here's some specific ideas of how you can help....

• Sew, Crochet, Knit, Hand-make a new stuffed friend!
• Spread the word about our #fluffproject collection, locally and through social media. There are share options at the bottom of this message to make it even easier for you!
• Watch for SALES! I've found adorable and very inexpensive stuffed friends to purchase for our collection following holidays like Valentine's and Easter. Keep watch for these opportunities to boost the number of items able to give without busting the budget! 
• Get your GROUP involved! This is a fun and easy outreach opportunity to include family, friends, church, scout and other group organizations. 
• SHIP BY JUNE 1, 2017

Other specifics about this collection can be found HERE.

Further details about the FLUFF Project and how & why it got started can be found here. 

Join Us!

Help spread Hope, Hugs & Healing to kids facing a difficult time!

Kristy

FLUFF Project - New Mascot, Logo and HUGE collection!!!

I mentioned in my last post that we had a new "face" for the FLUFF Project. I've been about to BURST to share him with you!!!! So, without further delay, say hello to Finn!

Finn is the fluffy, friendly face that has been carefully and specifically created to represent the FLUFF Project! I couldn't love him any more than I already do and I'm so very grateful to my incredibly talented and giving friend Samantha, who brought him to life! 

Thank you! 💗

I will begin updating all FLUFF Project information with this new logo, and welcome you to share as well! Finn will adorn all of our outreach information, donations and become an image recognized for Hope, Hugs & Healing. Did I mention how much I love him???

Additionally, this year marks a BIG anniversary to celebrate! This April marks the beginning of our 5th year of collecting stuffed friends for children in foster care! It truly doesn't seem possible. We held our first collection as one of our Monthly Projects in April 2013. April is also the month when our family began our journey into foster care 7 years ago. And, April marks the 5th year since our first adoption through foster care too. April is a very special month!

Will you help us celebrate???

I would LOVE to host our biggest collection and delivery to date! I would LOVE to show up with a delivery of 500+ stuffed friends! I've been collecting for the past couple of months with this in mind, so we already have a great start! I've also been cutting stuffed friend patterns like a crazy woman, to begin sewing this month. 

So here are the basics....

FLUFF Project - April 2017 Details

• NEW items only. First, because these children deserve no less. Second, this may be the one and only personal item they have that they feel is all theirs at this time....let's make it a good one! Additionally, used stuffed toys can cause issues for our children with allergies and sensitivities. Thank you for understanding!
• Any type (sewn, knit/crochet, store bought) of stuffed animal or doll is welcome. Please just refrain from any designs that could potentially be scary or offensive. 
• All ages included. Children in the foster care system range in age from Newborn - 18 years old, that's a broad audience to create for, so lots of possibilities...and everyone can use a special friend! 
• HAVE FUN!!!😊

Items should be shipped by April 15th....thought that it being "tax day" it would be a memorable date to keep in mind! lol! This will also allow me to have them delivered by the end of April.

You can drop off or ship donations to the following address:

Kristy Smith

c/o Echelon Florist

1260 Rocky Hill Road

Knoxville, TN 37919

**business address provided to prevent any packages from being left unattended. 

If you are looking for inspiration for handmade donations, be sure and check out my "Stuffed Friends" board on Pinterest HERE.

It's bursting with ideas!

I will also post progress updates and donations received throughout, on my Facebook and Instagram pages, so you can follow along. I'm super excited to share this with you and look forward to all the HOPE, HUGS & HEALING our stuffed friends will bring to the children who receive them. Thank you for being a part! 

#SewToShare & spread the word with me!

Kristy

January 2017 - Finishes and WIPs

January has been a busy month of getting back in our routine and trying to focus on what needs to get done around here. I've managed to get in quite a bit more sewing & cutting time than I would have thought possible and have a good bit lined up to work on for February!

A special friend of our family is preparing to travel to India to pick up her beloved daughter who is joining her family via the gift of adoption. We are so happy for them and excited to send over a bundle of handmade bibs for the little ones she currently shares a home with. I was able to get 35 adorable, squishy bibs made, most using the free Super Simple Little Bib tutorial from Gingercake. You can find it here! Sewing baby bibs is such a fun and satisfying project, and they are always welcome donations!

A few close friends helped us put together 22 bundles for our local Police Station, each including a cozy fleece blanket and a stuffed friend. They will keep these in their cruisers to have on hand when needed for children they care for and serve. This was the first time we have donated for this purpose, got this idea from our friends at Little Lambs of Utah. They were very warmly received by the Police Officers, so we certainly hope to be able to do this again!

Did a little painting/redecorating in our family room. The "Welcome" pic at the top gives a peek. I've been wanting to paint over the paneling in there for years, and I love it so much I don't know what took so long now!

I'm also working on a special dress for my oldest daughter's graduation from high school. I finished the "test" to work out both my jitters and kinks, and hope to get the real dress made soon! We both really loved this pattern, and I'm especially pleased at how it came together and how well it fits. I'll be sure to share more of the final dress once finished too!

I have been cutting up a storm in every free moment I've had and have over 100 stuffed friends in progress for the FLUFF Project! Still need to finish cutting the smaller bits like eyes, noses and hair for some, but I'm hoping to be able to get a lot of them sewn and ready to be stuffed this coming month. 

I've also received 2 good sized donations of stuffed animals for our next FLUFF Project delivery already, so I'm hoping for an impressive first delivery to Juvenile Court for 2017! 

Be sure to keep up with the day to day happenings of life and sewing over on my Instagram page, @hopefulthreads

Thanks for being here!

Keep looking for ways you can #SewToShare & #SpreadHope!

Big Hugs,

Kristy 

#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 - Personal Progress: May 2015

Been doing a lot of sewing around here and finally taking the time to sit down and do a little progress post. All of this incredible fluff is finished, tagged and loaded into my van for delivery next week.....we can't wait!!! Delivery days are always so much fun for our family! A great way to kick of the summer for sure! 

These little friends were made using the Little Love Bunny pattern from Jennifer Jangles. I was thrilled to win this pattern during an Instagram giveaway! And the best part.....when Jennifer found out that I would be using the pattern to sew for our FLUFF Project, she sent a box of stuffed friends she had made to be included with our next delivery!! Awesome, I know!!! You can find the Little Love Bunny pattern HERE, and be sure to check out the other creative inspiration on Jennifer's site as well....including FREE sewing patterns! 

This is the "Starla Starfish" pattern that I created and offer for FREE! I've added ric rac loops to the ends of each "arm", along with sewn felt eyes, so these friends can be perfect for even our youngest recipients! It also allows a way to connect this soft friend to a stroller or carrier to help keep close by. You can find the FREE Starfish Pattern HERE!

These playful pups are some of my favorites to sew! Simple and quick and absolutely LOVABLE in every way! They are made using the George the Puppy pattern in the book Girl's Word by Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom. You can find this pattern FREE here! I have truly lost count of how many of these pups I have sewn over the years!

This is another simple and sweet pattern to sew! This is the Henry & Helga elephant pattern offered as a FREE pattern & tutorial at Birch Fabrics. Find this pattern HERE.

I love sewing these sweet dolls and they are always well received! The potential for making each individual and personal is endless! These were made using the Matroyshka Doll pattern by Whimsy Couture. You can find this darling pattern HERE. I think this pattern has even been updated to include multiple sizes since I first bought it years ago, allowing for the opportunity to make these sweet friends in a variety of huggable sizes! 

And last to share are my beautiful ballerinas that I posted in detail about yesterday! LOVE THEM!!! This pattern is by Blue Whimsy and is a ton of fun to sew with! These little sweethearts radiate cheer and personality!!! You can find this pattern HERE. 

So there you have it! A peek into my sewing accomplishments over the past couple of months!
Learn more about the FLUFF Project and how you can be a part by clicking the image below!

Now.....where to start next!!! ;)