Summer Update

Our July meeting finished many items and by the August meeting we had even more!  We were able to send a package to ACH that included 15 flannel blankets, 7 snuggles (or lovies), 4 fleece blankets, 15 hats, 6 Beads of Courage bags, and 24 shirts!!!  And with all the work from those meetings along with the September meeting, another even larger load is about to head to ACH too!

Fall activities have begun and that means many of us are running kids and grand-kids to all sorts of sports and school activities.  That also means many of you that are typically able to join us won't be able to for a few times.  I want to let you know that you are missed, but I also believe that family always comes first.  Enjoy your family and the blessing of time you get with them.  We are never promised tomorrow.  If you find you have time in between things and would like to work on something, please contact me and I can bring you some items to work on at your leisure.

I look forward to our meeting in October.  It will be October 5 from 9-12.  Join us for all or part of the meeting!  We will start working on some things for Christmas for the babies.  Such a special occasion is hard to celebrate in the hospital, but perhaps we can at least give a family a moment of a smile and let them know they are loved.

Thank you as always for your love, your support, your prayers, and all you do so that together we can bless many, many families.  You are a blessing and give such blessings!  Thank you!

July Blessings

Our July meeting was such a blessing!  We have a lot of things finalized and they will be going to ACH this week!  I will post the totals and information as well as photos at that time so everyone can see the impact!  We had a great July meeting with several wonderful women!  We were even blessed by one bringing fruit and cookies!  How much better can a Saturday morning get?!?  Food, fellowship, sewing, and making a difference!!!  If you missed it, don't despair.  We would love for you to join us Aug 3 at our next meeting.  Even if you can only be there for a short time, your presence makes a difference!  Put it on your calendar now so you don't forget!

There may be some that read this post and feel that they can't contribute because they don't sew.  I want to take a moment and encourage you!  God uses everyone that is willing to make a difference and show His love.  If you are willing, we have tasks that need done!  We can use everyone and every skill level.  Even 0!  So, step out and join us.  I guarantee you will be glad that you were a part of such a special Saturday morning.  What a great way to kick off each month!

I look forward to our Aug 3 meeting!  Make plans to join us!  You will be blessed and be a blessing!!!

Ready for Summer!!!

Well these last few meetings have been extremely productive.  We have cut out and started so many items!!!  It would not be possible without the love and support of many hands working together.  It is a blessing that is beyond words when you finish a meeting and see the work of so many.

The July meeting looks to be absolutely WONDERFUL as we will be able to finish up so many items and get them delivered to ACH!  The package that has gone now includes 21 blankets (used as a sheet for beautiful beds), 6 fleece blankets, 15 crocheted hats/headbands, and 11 Beads of Courage bags.  Photos will be uploaded later today.  I hope you take the time to check them out!  There are some very special fabrics and work that went into creating these items.  The families and babies receiving these gifts will be blessed and encouraged to know they are loved.

Even if you only have a little time to give, we hope that you will consider joining us on July 6.  We will be blessed and know you too will be blessed by the fellowship of working together and making a difference!

See you then!!!

April 2013 Ready...Set...Go!

There comes a time when you must stop for a moment and do some prep work!  Our April meeting was a "prep work" meeting and we got so much done!!!  Items were cut out for bags and shirts, flannel prepped for edging, fleece cut for blankets, and strips made for blanket bindings.  Everything takes time but when you do it as a group, it is phenomenal how much is accomplished!!!  I look forward to the May meeting where we can sit and sew and wrap up a ton of items for delivery to ACH!

One of the things you will see noted is "bags" were cut out.  The CVICU is part of the national program called Beads of Courage.  It is a non-profit program where patients receive beads for milestones they conquer.  Patients are very proud of their collections as it is a testimony of their journey and how far they have come.  The beads are on strings like necklaces.  It is overwhelming to see a strand of these beads and know what that patient has fought through to be able to show them to you.  What a fantastic program.  To protect the beads, fabric bags are made by volunteers.  Sounded like a perfect fit for our group!  So, we began with our April meeting and look forward to getting the finished bags delivered for use!  If you would like to know more about the program, please check out www.beadsofcourage.org and see for yourself!  We are please to help in this endeavor.

Although our May meeting will be a lot of sewing, there is also a LOT of work for non-sewers to accomplish!  We need to iron items, finish items, and always cut out more things!  Please join us regardless of your skill level.  Come and be blessed with a wonderful fellowship of ladies working together to make a big difference in the lives of others.  To top it off, we are encouraging everyone to bring a dish and we will have a potluck brunch together as we work!  Women (of all ages!), sewing, helping, and food!  What could be a better way for you to spend your Saturday morning?!?!  We look forward to seeing you there!

March Showers

I know that typically you hear of "April Showers", but this March we have been showered with blessings!!!

The photos are being updated today and it is my hope that you are blessed by them.  We changed the shirt pattern some and created dresses!  After all, every little girl should have a dress for Easter!  Our work meeting at the beginning of the month was cut a little short for a wonderful surprise birthday party for me by my husband.  You would think that would have impacted our March giving, but it blessed it even more!  The gifts included blankets for the babies as well as gift cards to get more supplies!  And, because several women took projects home to finish, our delivery was exceptional.  We had 4 large blankets, 31 hats (included knit and crocheted), 20 receiving blankets (also used as the sheets), a few fleece blankets, 21 "lovie" blankets, 20 shirts, and 11 dresses!  Wow!  Every little girl had a dress for Easter.

Easter is such a time to celebrate.  It is the day we humbly enjoy the gift of Jesus laying down his life for ours and then rising again to defeat death.  To know that when we are done here we get to go to Heaven is an unexplained joy!  I pray that everyone that reads this update knows this joy.  If you don't, contact me! It's too wonderful to miss! :)

Many of you have read the updates from before about how this ministry was blessed by people I may never know with fabrics at Christmas time.  If you are one of "those" people, I hope you have great joy when you see your fabrics in the photos.  Your gift matters and is being used to bless the lives of many, many others.  Thank you for your gift and willingness to share.  Though we can never match the gift of Jesus Christ to us, it is such joy to give.  Thank you for allowing us to do this.

Have a very blessed Easter weekend!  Celebrate!

February 2013 - The Heart Month!

February brings about special thoughts of celebrating love.  And, everywhere you look you see hearts!  So, it is fitting that we would do things with hearts for the heart unit of ACH!  Precious babies wearing our little shirts with hearts on them!  We were blessed with such sweet fabrics to make these shirts.  And then, we were blessed with beautiful blankets as well!  The hats were so cute and one of our ladies even made some headbands for the little girls!  We have quite a bit of talent making sure that these families know they are loved.  Once again, we get the joy of making God smile as we do the little things to take care of His littlest ones.  Our work meeting this month was a blessing with new ladies joining us.  With this time of year many miss out due to sickness going around but somehow God always finds just the right people for our work meeting.  We have all ages and talents taking a small bit of time to help do this work and when you put it all together, wow!  What an impact!  It only takes a willing heart, God takes care of the rest!  We delivered to ACH 6 knit caps, 22 crocheted hats, 36 shirts, 6 quilts, 5 head bands, and 25 receiving blankets (to be used as bed sheets too)!  All this in a month!  Way to go team!!!  I am humbled and overwhelmed by the love and efforts you give.  Thank you.  Check out the photos too!

Blessed Again!!!

God never fails to surprise and amaze me.  I hope that many of you also enjoy this benefit of a relationship with Him!  Our sewing group has been featured in the online publication of The City Wire!  What an honor and humbling moment.  I am so glad that others will see how to make a difference no matter what happens.  That good will triumph if they allow it to in their lives.  And, I hope that those of you a part of this ministry realize how very, very important you are to the lives you touch, to me, and to God.  Thank you.  This article is to bless you!  Check out www.thecitywire.com/node/26058 when you get a chance and I hope you smile!