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

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!)