Unexpected Generosity

Our dedicated little group meets twice monthly (the second and fourth Thursday) at a little country church, for sewing, crocheting, knitting, etc.  That church has been so kind to let us leave our things there and not have to cart them around.  And like most of us who have sewing rooms, the supplies seem to be like that movie "Gremlins"!  I really think they multiply during the night.

So our "stuff" (I mean, very important supplies) has started to grow and GROW, until now a couple of people have started to comment.  I thought we might have to pare it all down to a manageable level, maybe have each board member take some of it home to store, and bring back each time we meet. 

But NO!  I couldn't believe it when I was told that the church really likes hosting our group so they decided...  get ready... drum roll...

They decided to pay a carpenter $1,500 to build "built-ins" into their fellowship hall to store all our bins of fabric, trimmings, sewing machines, etc!  Can you believe it?  We are so grateful for the ongoing surprises God has had in store for our little group.  One lady contributed a few dollars and said she wished she had more money to donate.  Another group had some canning jars to sell, and then gave us that money.  People are incredible. 

And our Heavenly Father just watches over us and arranges things every time we meet.  Our fellowship times and mutual counsel has been priceless for all who join in.  Thank you Lord, for these friends, for these projects, and for the way you always provide just what we need - just when we need it!  Amen!

Tax Time - Generous Children

What a relief!  I was really stressing over the responsibility of doing a tax return for our little 501(c)(3).  We only have about $200 in the bank, but still...  Tax time is always stressful for me and I didn't want to make a mistake on this very important task.

Well as it turned out, since we are so teensy I was able to do it online and eFile the little return they call a "postcard" - hooray!  They just want to know that we are still around, that our information hasn't changed and that we have less than $50,000.  Make that waaaaaayyyyy less than $50K - LOL.

But actually soon we will have some more money in the bank.  Sweet Nicholas' younger siblings, twins David and Andrea, just turned 6 years old.  Their mom and dad are training them about budgeting, so they had a family talk about the birthday money they received.  They will give some of it to their church, put some in the bank, have a little fun spending money, and the rest gets donated to a charity.

 They discussed several options and decided they wanted to fly to Japan and help all those people devastated by the earthquakes and sunamis.  What generous children!  The problem is that they didn't get enough money to fly to Japan and go help them.  So they discussed other options.  In the end, David and Andrea decided to send their birthday money to help the Nicholas Project!

 I have connections to missionaries in Japan, so on David and Andrea's behalf we will get information on how we can best and most effectively help.  Shipping costs are exhorbitant so we'll most likely send some money.  But if we find a way to partner with someone else, we may be able to make some things for them.  We have received a free pattern for little stuffed bears that might be good for the children to cuddle.

Thank you so much you two - you're the best!

One Family's Story

from the grandma:

My first grandbaby was born Dec. 4. He was full term, and a healthy 6 lb 8 oz.
Long story short, he had only one lung, and half his heart wasn't developed, and
he died the next day. The compassion shown to my daughter and her boyfriend by
the hospital was amazing. And among the things the hospital gave them was a
little layette including crocheted blanket, white batiste gown, and crocheted
cap. I knew the hearts of the ladies who had made those and donated them, and
had never dreamed my daughter would be the recipient. It was heart-wrenching to
say goodbye to the little fellow so soon, but he was enveloped in beautifully
created things and he was gorgeous. Perfect. They made hundreds of photos of
him wrapped up in the blanket and wearing the little gown and cap, and now my
daughter has those things in a memory box for her sweet boy. He was buried in
another outfit because my daughter wanted to keep the sweet gown. I have seen
her hugging and patting and folding the items over and over since she came home
with empty arms.

Just know these gifts are priceless and do an important part in filling the
empty holes in families' hearts when a baby is lost. Thank you for the efforts
and time and love. I'm working on my first crocheted blanket to donate to the
hospital where my grandbaby died - the first of many.....

With lots of love, Marie

Clothing Giveaway

The church where we have our semi-monthly workshops is having a huge clothing giveaway, so that means the room we use for sewing is full of clothes!  It's for a very excellent cause, and we hope to have lots of people come by and "shop" this weekend.

In the meantime, this week's workshop will be canceled because the room looks like a very interesting thrift store.  There's some seriously good stuff in there, so come on and see what you might like!

Grace and peace,
Donna

Lily's Quilts: Fixing a too-scant seam

Lily's Quilts: Fixing a scant seam

This picture is just my "teaser" for her post.  Click on the link to get her very easy-to-understand instructions, then cruise around her great site!

Jenny Elefantz' GiveAway!

You might like to hop on over to Jenny's blog and enter to win her giveaway - an adorable project(s) book!  All you have to do is "comment" on her post about the giveaway.   This pic is the book being given away:

Jenny Elefantz' Blog

I love, love, love her site. Plus she's part of the group known as the "Gum Tree Designers" - all very talented and generous women.  They share a lot of tips and offer free projects throughout the year.  There are a lot of very nice and easy hand embroidery designs to drool over, or even use for one's own projects.

Jenny Elefantz' Blog

Simple Quilts - Any Size

It's important to have love in our hearts as we serve others through the work of our hands, so we try to do our best when making things for others.  We want to make sure our edges are finished and our work is not rushed or sloppy. 

With that in mind, we also recognize that everyone's skill levels are different and this should be an opportunity to fun and even growth, rather than stressing over "not measuring up" to some unattainable standard of perfection.  So please have fun and sew (or knit or crochet) with a friend (or group of friends)!

For quilts it's best to use woven all-cotton fabric, or cotton flannels, or at least a small percentage of woven polyester like maybe broadcloth.  But really, cotton is preferred.  You can choose to pre-wash or not, it's up to you.  BUT each quilt should be consistent in that - either all pre-washed or all not-pre-washed.  There are very nice-looking quilts of both types.  If you have some fabric in your stash that you know will "bleed" when washed, then please pre-wash (and rinse well) all the fabrics you'll use in that quilt.

Next - thread:  again, it's good to use cotton thread in the needle and bobbin, for construction and any quilting or tacking you do.  IMPORTANT NOTE:  we absolutely cannot accept tied quilts, for safety purposes. If you send a tied quilt, then we will have to take all those little ties out, and then replace them with machine-tacking.

If you're making a small size for an infant, definitely use only cottons, preferably very lightweight fabric, even flannels, tiny prints or solids.  If you're making child-size quilts, still try to use cottons, but a mostly-cotton blend would be okay, in bright colors or pastels.  If you're making them for adults (i.e., for nursing homes, cancer patients, etc.) we'd still prefer cottons, but blends would be okay too.  

For stillborn babies, please use only white, all-cotton, preferably batiste.  These are whole-cloth wraps, meaning all one piece - not pieced or quilted. If you use batiste, it would be okay to use that cotton-poly batiste, since it has a high cotton content and is lightweight.  For these special wraps, it's okay to use something lightweight as an inner layer, such as lining fabric (again, white preferred.)  If you find some nice very very pastel pink or blue, I would accept that.  Also for these, it would be okay to put a nice cotton or rayon lace trim all around the edge - but please don't use those stiff cheap laces.  Also for these

For sizes, here are some general guidelines:  preemies 16"square up to 24" square, one side lightweight cotton and the reverse side could be lightweight flannel or lightweight cotton, no batting necessary, unless you want to use a layer of flannel for batting.  For infants we like 36" square up to 45" square, same materials as preemies. 

For other sizes, you can do what you like!  a lap-quilt size is usually about 45" square, more or less, not set in stone at all.  For young children, you could do 45"x55" and on up from there! Twin size is nice for anyone, especially people undergoing chemo, but it could be a little shorter than that, since they're usually in recliners.

Putting a border on the quilts is a very nice finishing touch, but it is a little extra work so again it's up to you.  You can also do it an easier way and sew the layers right sides together, leaving a few inches open to turn it right side out, then whip-stitch that opening closed.  If you're doing one with a layer of flannel in the middle as batting, you can still use this technique, trust me.  Just be sure you have the face of the quilt and that back of the quilt with right sides together, and then have the flannel (batting) against one of those layers' wrong side - the outside.

I'm sure I've left out something important, but can't think of it - soooo, just ask! 

Bless you for helping!

Constructive Suggestion

One of my very wonderful sisters phoned recently and was asking about what kinds of things she (and others long distance) could make and send to us.  I started to describe some of our simple projects and how easy they are to sew, knit or crochet.  She stopped me and said, "Hey, why don't you add those kinds of instructions to your website / blog, so others can participate!"

Hmmm, I think she's right.  In fact, I don't know why I didn't do something like this much sooner.  Thanks Patti!

While I'm at it, I will try to get better at doing regular posts.  After all, if I can do it on Facebook I can surely do it here, right?  Maybe it will help if I add this blog to my home pages.  That way I will see it each time I open my internet browser. 

Shalom y'all!

Preemie Loss Memorial

Memorial from Marty Cobb, for her little one who lived on this earth only two days.

"RIP: Joseph Pope Cobb IV (8/18/77-8/20/77). Thirty three years ago today, you came into the world against all odds and fought to stay here. However, God had other plans which I have come to trust in His wisdom. With your curly blonde hair and big blue eyes, you captured my heart forever. Happy Birthday, little one. I will see you in heaven one day."

Velma Update

Janet (in blue) and Velma (in black) work on a nursing home quilt.

Tonight at church I learned that Velma is now in a nursing home, with regular visits from hospice caregivers.  I think I'll plan to regularly go sit quietly with her, knitting and visiting as she feels up to it.  Maybe I'll take a little CD player each time (can't just leave one there because things "disappear" unfortunately.)  Her husband and daughters (out of the area) have worked tirelessly to take good care of her and keep her home, but her condition is such that she needs more than they can provide, as much as they love her.  I know it breaks their hearts to not have her at home any more. 

Please join us as we pray for God's merciful peace as they travel through this difficult season of life.

Velma, we love you.

Chaplain Donna H.

Burial Bunting

Today I'm knitting a sweet little white burial bunting for a micro-preemie.  I don't know who this is for, but I always find that when a project is finished, sadly, it has a recipient.  Some precious little ones are too tiny or too delicate to be dressed in a regular manner, but we still want them to be wrapped lovingly and beautifully for mommy and daddy's sakes.  So I make small buntings of cloth or knitted/crocheted yarns as very tiny delicate burial pockets.  It's very emotional to work on them, but so very fulfilling at the same time.  There are prayers and tears woven in every fiber.

I will post a picture when it's finished. If it's not needed right away, it will be part of our display and information table at the Cleburne County Fair in Heber Springs, Arkansas from September 7-11.

Nicholas' Gravesite

They were blessed with twins a couple of years after the unimaginable loss of little Nicholas. David and Andrea are wonderful and healthy at 5 years old now!  Thank you heavenly Father.

We Love You Velma!

This is Velma, one of our most faithful and steadfast members.  We are so sad that she's quite ill these days, cancer is a nasty thief, stealing people away from those who love them!

 Velma is a tough cookie and cares about quality control. When she was healthier (like in this photo) she was our biggest workaholic, always busy and super-productive.  When her cancer grew so fast in her wonderful brain, her biggest fear was that surgery would cause her to lose her memories.  Thank you God, for preserving her memories!  Her husband brings her to sit and visit with us on workshop days, when she is well enough, and we love taking turns sitting next to her and quietly enjoying her company.

To show our love, we all worked on quilt squares for a large quilt to wrap her in our love and prayers.  We received so many donated quilt squares from all over the country that the quilt grew and grew, then it became double-sided with piecing on the back too!  It was so generous of our local quilt shop (Heber Sew 'n Vac / Quilters' Corner) to donate the allover quilting, using one of their two new longarm machines!

Here's Velma's new quilt (front and back.)

Velma, we love you and plan to visit you this week.  We hope you are well enough for a short visit.

Love and blessings,  Chaplain Donna

Cleburne County Fair

Someone asked me if the Nicholas Project has a website, and it reminded me that I have not taken good care of this blog!  So here I am after a long absence, with an update.

Our little group has been busy little worker-bees.  Last Christmas we were excited to present 107 lap quilts to residents at Southridge Nursing and Rehab center in Heber Springs, Arkansas.  Then with the New Year (can you believe it's 2010?) we started making things for small children, to be donated to CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates.)  We are also making hot-weather clothing to go to a mission in Africa.

Now the organizers of the Cleburne County fair phoned to ask us if we'd set up a table promoting the Nicholas Project.  The Fair will run from September 7th through 11th -- come visit us!  We will have brochures, as well as samples of our work.  I better get busy and make a tiny burial ensemble to show people how important it is to recognize that a teensy stillborn baby is a beloved child -- not just a "fetus."

Shalon y'all!  Chaplain Donna

Prayer

 

Take comfort in the verses about the prayers of the righteous! James 5:15-16, Proverbs 15:29, 1 Peter 3:12-13. Peace.

 

New Year Project for C.A.S.A.!

Saturday morning we had our official Nicholas Project board meeting (required by law). We decided that for the next several months, at least through June but probably longer, we will adopt the C.A.S.A. (Court Appointed Special Advocates) organization. We'll make tote bags (maybe duffle bags) for the children (of all ages) who are taken into the system. The bags will be stuffed with socks, underwear, hygiene supplies, maybe coloring books, crayons, cards, whatever we can come up with. One woman said her church might be able to buy the things to put in the bags (at least some of it). The Nicholas Project will make the bags, putting outside pockets on them, maybe inside ones too, we'll see.

After the board meeting, we wrapped all those nursing home quilts in Christmas paper -- so fun!! We'll go to their Christmas party on the 22nd and hand out the packages, and sing and play with them!

We're dark for December but will start up again in January with our regular schedule. We meet twice a month, on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays for all-day sewing/knitting/crocheting workshops ("play dates" really). We always take a lunch break and walk across the street for southern BBQ -- yum! We started out with the purpose of making preemie and stillborn items, and still do those things at our first monthly workshop. Then the second monthly one is when we do other special projects.

So I will put my name on the stashbuster group's PIGS (projects in grocery sacks, or kits) list as a recipient. The Nicholas Project would be happy to take in PIGS, complete them and find worthy homes for the finished projects. If you have any cotton fabrics (cut or uncut) or useable remnants we'd take them too! We could also use donations of zippers, cording for drawstrings, velcro, batting, money, etc. Also items to put into the bags: socks, underwear, hygiene items, small activity things (maybe pencils, pens, crayons, coloring books, small stuffed animals, etc.)

If you send something, please include a little note with the value so I can send you a tax-deductible receipt.  (It looks like Jess and Samantha are having a dance party in the sewing studio!)

the day after the day after

Well, after doing much intense homework yesterday, I finally get to reward myself with time in the sewing studio today – yay! First some community and friend interaction at the Jitterbug Coffee Shop in Heber Springs.  Then I’ll get to work on the very few remaining lap quilt tops, finishing them off in the next two weeks.

On Sat. 12/12 we’ll have a “wrap” party and several friends will come help us do a simple gift wrap for each quilt. Hey, I have an idea -- if you'll be around this area, come have fun with us!!  Can I bribe you with snacks?  Snacks always work for me - LOL!  It’s so much more fun to have something to open, rather than just be handed a quilt — I can’t wait to join their fun party on the 22nd!

Peace, love and joy! 
Donna

One Million Pillowcases -- Challenge

So, the Nicholas Project gang is always looking for projects to add to our list --  you know, for all that free time we have in between our other projects!  We recently heard about this great and worthy cause to provide pillowcases to a variety of recipients: shelters, hospice, nursing homes, hospitals, chemo patients, etc.

American Patchwork and Quilting - part of Better Homes and Gardens - has challenged the sewing world to join the effort to make 1,000,000 (yep, that's one million) pillowcases by the end of 2010!  They have some cute pattern ideas at their website, as well as a basic pattern with no frills.  Pillowcases are so easy you almost HAVE to do it.   Their project is promoted through local quilt shops, but there's no reason you can't do it on your own too. 

If you just love making pillowcases and don't know where to send them, email me and I'll give you our address.  We would be happy to find worthy homes for the work of your hands and hearts!

Peace,   Donna

Donna's Green Bean Casserole

I got the assignment to bring that good ole green bean casserole to a recent potluck at church, so I just couldn't resist making it my own. My variation is still very very easy. Here's what I did to gussy it up a bit -- and everyone loved it! I also have a link to the original recipe and another variation for it. Let me know how you like it.

http://www.yumsugar.com/2490262

Donna's Twist on the Green Bean Casserole

Frozen green beans (about a 16oz pkg.) (or fresh, last choice would be canned)
1 jar of alfredo sauce with mushrooms (or make your own)
Bacon, about 4 pieces crumbled (or bacon bits) (little chunks of ham are great in this too!)
Onions (raw or sauteed or those traditional French's french-fried onions)
1-3 teaspons of your favorite seasoning mix (such as Emeril's, or herbs de provence, or cajun, or whatever flavor you like.  I know it sounds weird to be so general about this, but the idea is just to spice it up a little bit, but not overpoweringly)
(I put some inside the casserole and save some for garnish)

Mix all together and put in a casserole dish (I used a 9x13 rectangular pan, but a casserole dish would work fine). Bake at 350 degrees for about half an hour. Garnish the top around the perimeter, in a ring, with more of those french-fried onions. (See the website referenced above for another variation, including a different way to do the garnish)

Delish!

Crockpot Lasagna

This easy meal can be thrown into the crockpot at lunchtime, and will be ready by dinnertime! The cooking time is only five hours -- hooray! As usual for me, I can't leave well enough alone, so have combined and modified some other recipes I use.

Crockpot Lasagna

1 pkg. uncooked lasagna noodles
1 lb. ground beef, sausage, turkey or veggie crumbles (and/or sliced veggies, spinach, etc.)
1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder (if you use fresh garlic, then include 1-2 cloves minced, into the pan when you’re browning the ground beef or turkey, then also add some to the sauce)
28 oz jar spaghetti sauce (or homemade!)
1/4 cup water or broth
1/4 cup canned or fresh sliced mushrooms (optional)
15 oz. ricotta cheese (or 2% cottage cheese)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Cream cheese, softened (optional, 3-4 oz)

To make this vegetarian: use cut veggies in place of the meats, such as zucchini and/or yellow crookneck squash, eggplant. If you use veggies, be sure they are uniformly cut into slices or diced first. If you use spinach, frozen works well. If you prefer fresh spinach, then it's helpful to blanch it first. Also, it's nice to see the colorful veggies, so although I mix any meats in with the sauce, if I use veggies I layer them, but do not mix them in with the sauce. It’s also delicious to add some chopped or diced onions to the mix.

For the basic recipe, first brown the meat, drain. Then you want to have the meat, seasonings, sauce, water, and any veggies all mixed together, in preparation for layering. Set aside in a bowl or pan.

Mix the cheeses together, in preparation for layering, then set aside in a bowl.

Ladle just a little bit of the meat-veggie-sauce mixture into the bottom of the crockpot. Then break the noodles into manageable sizes and place half of them on that first little foundation of sauce in the crockpot. Then layer half of the rest of the sauce, half of the cheeses, then repeat with rest of broken lasagna noodles, sauce, cheeses. Save a little sauce for the top of the pot.

Put the lid on and cook on LOW for 5 hours. ENJOY! It's great and healthy to have something green to eat on the side, perhaps a healthy big salad.