2012 - A Look Back

I just wanted to take a moment to look back over the year and share the impact the Hopeful Threads community has had through our Monthly Projects. Truth is, this is likely only a glimpse of the true impact, but what an inspiration!!!

January 2012 - Bloomers sent to China.

We sent around 100 pairs of bloomers to the Starfish Foster Home in China!

February 2012 - Supporting Fundraisers with our sewing.

While learning of ways to support those fundraising, we also sent bundles of bibs for a Love Without Boundaries Cleft Surgery Team!

March 2012 - Plushies & Soft Toys to comfort children.

We made plush toys for children in our own communities.

April 2012 - Dresses for Dress A Girl Around the World.

We made OVER 300 dresses for Dress A Girl Around the World!

May 2012 - Care 4 Caregivers around you.

We found ways to support and encourage caregivers around us.

June 2012 - Sewing for our families.

We had a lot of fun sewing for our families!

July 2012 - Shorts for little boys in Cambodia & Ghana.

We made OVER 200 pairs of shorts for little boys, more than doubling our original goal and being able to send to TWO countries!

August 2012 - Give Hope to the foster care community.

We made gifts of HOPE for children in Foster Care in our communities.

September 2012 - Remember our deployed soldiers and their families.

With the help of Sew BitterSweet Designs, we sent piles of e-reader covers and pillowcases to our troops over seas to encourage and show our support!

October 2012 - Care for babies and mothers of SD Reservations with Sew For Kids.

Working with Sew For Kids, we helped make sure  families on a couple of SD Reservations were ready to welcome their new babies!

November 2012 - Stockings of Cheer for Children's Hospital.

We made over 150 handmade items of CHEER for Children's Hospitals around the globe!

December 2012 - Rest, Reflection & One Small Thing.

We are pausing to realize and consider the impact One Small Thing can have.

I must say, I am so incredibly honored and proud to be a part of this giving community!!!
THANK YOU!
You are a breath of fresh air, a regular encouragement and reminder to me of all things good, and I am grateful beyond ability to express it. What a difference we have made all while doing something we enjoy as much as sewing! Wow....what a Win/Win!

Always remember, EVERY STITCH MATTERS!

December 2012 - Rest & Reflection

My Little Man had a smooth surgery and is sore, but recovering well. Rightfully soaking up every extra moment of Mommy Snuggles he can get! Now the work of keeping him still for the next month as he heals begins! He is the busiest of my bunch, so should be interesting to say the least. :) Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers and warm messages, I appreciate each and every one!

 As with most, December is an especially busy and delightfully family focused month for us! It's also a time of year when we are in need of a little extra rest and a time when we often reflect on the year as a whole. 

Following in that tradition, rather than hosting a specific sewing project for the month, I am looking forward to taking the time to REST with my family and REFLECT on all the exciting things that 2012 has held, including Hopeful Threads, and where I can imagine 2013 taking us. 

My posts may be a bit more scattered and even sporadic than usual, but I hope you will visit and share your thoughts through your comments, as I will most definitely be looking for your insight on many things!

Lastly, I wish you and your families a month full of all things good and memorable.

Take a moment to be astounded by the abundant blessings of the simple and often overlooked, and keep your eyes open for ways to uplift, encourage and love those around you. I challenge you to join me and find ONE SMALL THING you can do this month to make a difference in the life of someone else....and likely have your life touched in the process. Will you take that challenge with me? If you do and are comfortable sharing, I'd love to hear your stories! Perhaps a perfect place to start is to consider the impact of One Small Thing someone else has done for you.

One Small Thing can = BIG THINGS!
It only takes a spark...

Monthly Finale....a tad early

I know we're still a couple of days from the end of the month, and I encourage you to keep sewing! 

EVERY STITCH MATTERS!!!

My little guy is having a "routine" surgery tomorrow, and my time and attention will be on him for the next few days, so I wanted to kind of get the monthly wrap up started just a bit early. 

I will be delivering my stockings to our Children's Hospital the week of December 10th, giving plenty of time for those packages to get here. Please keep this date in mind if you would like your stockings to be part of the donation I deliver. Dona, on the West Coast, makes more frequent/regular deliveries to her Children's, but this is still a good target date to consider so your items will arrive in plenty of time for Christmas.

When you are ready to ship your stockings, please email me for the address and let me know if you want the West Coast of East Coast address. Please be patient if it takes me a little extra time to get back to you, I will respond as soon as I can.

I can't say enough how VERY GRATEFUL I am for your time and support as you have sewn along to help spread CHEER this month! It's such a joy to participate in each of the projects with you. 

Mid-Month Reminder

Just a quick note to remind all of you cheerful seamstresses that we are mid-way through the month and that means mid-way through our November project!

Plenty of time left to be a part....JOIN US and invite your friends to as well!

Easiest Stocking Tutorial EVER!

This may just be the easiest stocking ever to make!

READY???

Here's what you need....

A stocking pattern template. (I'm using the Merry pattern from Thimble Blossoms)

Some double sided, pre-quilted fabric.

Extra wide double fold bias tape.

 I had a small cut of pre-quilted fabric in my Christmas bin and thought it would be perfect for this project! This is how I turned it into a couple of stockings...

Cut 2 stocking shapes from your pre-quilted fabric. Be sure to flip your pattern over so that you will have a stocking pointing in each direction to sew together. Pin the 2 stocking pieces together with whichever side you want to be see on the inside. Stitch and turn right side out.

 Carefully pin bias trim along the raw edge of the top of the stocking.

 Cut a piece of the bias tape for your hanger and stitch along open side.

 Place the hanger at the center of the back seam under the top trim and pin in place.

 Stitch the top trim in place, securing the hanger and folding under the end as you finish.

 Ready to SPREAD CHEER!

Plenty of time left to join our sew along project this month!

Sewing Miles of Smiles - Our West Coast Connection to Children's Hospital!

For those of you who aren't already familiar with Dona from the blog Sewing Miles of Smiles, I've asked her to share a little with us about her on-going sewing efforts to encourage the young patients of the Children's Hospital in her community. You have the opportunity to support her sewing year round if this is a project that touches your heart. Take it away Dona! :)

Hello Everyone - I'm Dona from the Sewing Miles of Smiles blog.  I am so excited that Kristy invited me to be a part of this month's project.  Sewing Miles of Smiles will be one year old in February.  It began with a meeting with Nettie, one of the Child Life Specialists at Sacred Heart Children's Hospital PICU here in Spokane WA.  She wanted some pillows for the kids to hug when they didn't feel well or were scared.  "Pillows?", I said, "I can make pillows."  And so began my passion for the children having something special while in the hospital.

I perfected the size of the pillows over time - 10" for the child's pillow and a 6" pillow for the nurses to use to prop little arms.  But then one day Nettie said, "I'll take anything you make."  Now I deliver dolls, pillows, crayon holders, finger puppets and more every 2 weeks.  Fleece and felt are my main fabrics because they are soft and washable and I'm always on the hunt for new ideas and patterns.

I can't even begin to tell you how wonderful the feeling is knowing you have helped an ill child. I've had so many people email and tell me about their child's experience in the hospital and how much a special gift meant to them.  Come join us on this venture.  You will know you have brought smiles to so many little faces.

Dona - sewingmilesofsmiles.blogspot.com

Remember, Dona will be glad to accept any of your donations to take along with her to her Children's Hospital, and as I explained yesterday, with her being on the West side of the US, if you are on that side of the country, please just email when you have your items ready to send her way!

November Monthly Project Announcement!!!

Are you ready to help me kick off another awesome project????

I sure hope so!

For the November 2012 Project we will be sewing stockings to spread cheer to those who will be inpatient at Children's Hospital during Christmas! We are fortunate to have a fabulous Children's Hospital that I am thankful has provided top-notch care for my children over the years and am proud to support anytime I can!

If you have a Children's Hospital in your community that you would like to support, GREAT! Deliver your handmade stockings there when you are finished. If you don't, then I have a couple of options for you.

My friend and fellow blogger Dona, at Sewing Miles of Smiles takes regular donations to her Children's Hospital. She is on the West side of the US and I am on the East, so if you don't have a specific place near you to deliver to, send them to whichever of us is closest to you and we will be sure to get them to our Children's Hospitals!
We hope to have our arms full for our next deliveries!!!

There will of course be incentives and inspiration shared all month long!

OH! And if you can't sew this month but still would like to be a part of the CHEER-spreading effort, send us stocking stuffers and we'll include them with the stocking donations!

Join our November Project Flickr Album here and tell us in your photo description where your stocking(s) will be donated.

Also, if you are looking for patterns, tutorials or general inspiration, find our November Project Pinterest Board here.

Questions??? Ready to ship your goodies??? Email me. :)

Grab the Project Button....add it to your blog or website....and get ready to SPREAD SOME CHEER!!!

October Project FINALE!!!

Wow!!!! Another awesome month of sewing along with each of you for a special purpose!

THANK YOU!!!!!

Thank you for spreading the word and jumping in with both feet to show your support for the outreach of Sew For Kids and their programs that provide for families of the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations. We have no doubt made an impact on the current needs!

Here's just a GLIMPSE of the items provided by all of us this month...

7 Scarves

45+ Nursing Pad Sets + 25 Pouches

34 Blankets/Quilts

65 Hats/Caps

12 Pairs of Booties

226+ Washies/Cloth Wipes

8 Changing Pads

58 Burp Cloths

11 Pairs of Mittens

10 Swaddlers

3 Gowns/Onesies

5 Nursing Covers

8+ Diaper Bags

3+ Soft Toys/Books

6 Hooded Towels

7 Infant Pants

61 Bibs

4 Drawstring Backpacks

A Nursing Pillow, Wrap Carrier and MORE!!!!

Just take a look at our overflowing album!

I am so grateful to you all for every single item and I know that Sew For Kids is as well!

If you haven't yet, I invite you to follow Sew For Kids. The outreach they provide is ongoing and therefore, so is the need. Please keep them in mind anytime you would like to sew for the purpose of giving back!

Back tomorrow with the November Project! 

Remember....EVERY STITCH MATTERS!!!

Mid-Month Reminder!!!

For those of you sewing along or hoping to participate in this month's project, just wanted to remind you that we are at the mid-month point already. WOW....time flies!

Many great items in our album, but we could still use your help!

Specifically, the most needed items right now are....

* Diaper Bags

* Blankets/Quilts

* Books for babies and children up to age 5

* Nursing Mother care items

* With temperatures already dropping on the Reservations, warm items like hats, mittens/gloves, socks/booties, scarves and the like are also needed. 

* Hooded Towels

Both handmade and store bought items are welcome, so even if you don't have time to sew this month, you can still show your support for the October Project. 

More detailed list of "Current Needs" can be found on the Sew For Kids site here. 

Don't forget, we have a Pinterest album packed with patterns and tutorials to help you with your sewing this month too! You can find it here. Scroll through, be inspired and jump in and help us as we desire to provide support and encouragement for our friends at Sew For Kids and the Reservations of Pine Ridge and Rosebud in South Dakota. 

Quick & Easy Cloth Wipes

One of the quickest, easiest and most practical items to sew for baby are cloth wipes. They can  be made from small cuts of fabric and go together in a snap whether serging or sewing. 

All of the wipes I have made for our October project have been made from remnants of other projects , so they can be made with small amounts of fabric. 

I simply cut 2 squares based on the size of the fabric piece I am working on, but prefer 8x8". I serge around the edges and mine are finished, but if you don't have a serger, you could sew the squares right sides together, leaving a small opening to turn, then turn right side out and stitch the opening closed and they would work just as well. 

Cloth wipes are something that can be used for diapering, bathing and/or feeding, so they are sure to be used! And they are a lot of fun to make too since you see big results in a short time. :) I love using up remnants in such a functional way too.

Our Flickr Album is growing with a variety of adorable donation items and we would love to have you sew with us this month! Take a look at the goodies that have been made for the babies and mamas so far! 

Get the details for sewing along here.