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Saturday, November 30, 2013

The Big Hang

Good Morning Everyone! Well, it happened, but not without a few glitches. I decided to make this a day to celebrate all the donations, so rather than hang mine, we hung a total of 800 pillowcases. I did have a few maybe 30 or so sprinkled in just to make sure we made it to 800 :) A friend of mine who is a professional pilot, came to fly along with me as I really wanted to fly the last photo mission. Well, this is where it all sadly went wrong. The lens on my camera is just too small for such a fast moving target. I got pictures of everything but the pillowcases. By the time I would get the camera focused on what I wanted, the plane had moved on. The only picture that at least gives a glimpse of the pillowcases is below. It's not a great picture, but at least you can get a small idea of just how lovely it was from above.
Here's my friend Keith who flew along with me and his two boys. This was their first time in a small plane and they LOVED it!!
Pilot to be George :)
and my little godson, Kenny. What a cutie pie :) I'm not at all partial ;) Recognize my bag in the back on the floor?!!
As we drove back from the airport, I thought that I could possibly leave the pillowcases up over night and have my friend who has a large camera flyover first thing this morning. He told me that the winds were supposed to pick up and become quite gusty, so I didn't want to take a chance of leaving them up and the pillowcases getting blown to kingdom come. Then Keith, my pilot friend had an idea, "why don't I get on the roof of the house?" Hey, it was worth a try. The next two pictures are from the roof of my house and I think they are really quite wonderful. 
I really love the one below.
Our neighbor has a beautiful deck that looks out over the river and he offered for us to come and take some pictures from the deck. He said that the pillowcases looked amazing from there and I think they really did. The deck isn't as high as the roof of my house, but it still gives a nice perspective
This isn't a bad picture, it was taken from inside the house. You can see that there are a LOT of pillowcases!!!
Below is my girlfriend Pam, her oldest son Bill, Pam's mother Cecilia and my fellow Haute Couture friend, Alison. They stayed behind and finished hanging while we drove out to the airport.
Bill is quite the accomplished musician. I think this is about the best compliment. He said, "I really wish I could keep one!" I now know what I can make for him for Christmas :)
Once the pillowcases were hung, the ladies and Bill went in for a bowl of Pozole, you may remember I made it here, and a spirited game of Monopoly. I put the Pozole together on Thursday night and set it on low in my crock pot. Worked out beautifully!
I love the candid shots that my husband was able to catch.
 A final shot of all who participated, well, except my husband and he deserves a big, big thanks for all the work he did to help make this happen.
When I began the drive for the pillowcases, all I had was a thought that it could be done. Now it has been done and it's even bigger than I imagined. So I would like to leave you with this.
Thank you to everyone who made this happen. On a quiet street in Chicago, you were celebrated.

31 comments:

  1. Totally awesome, Rhonda! Congratulations and thank you! You are an inspiration. (And more, but I'm not about to get sappy in public.)

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  2. Wonderful! I hope you get a poster sized print of one of these photos to display at Sew Expo's pillowcase collection booth. I will be there looking for it, hopefully with a few pillowcases of my own.

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    1. Hi Becky, I plan to be there at least one day. Let me know when you'll be there and maybe we can meet up.

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  3. That's just incredible, Rhonda! Congratulations again!

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  4. That is just incredible ~ you are just one awe-inspiring person with a heart of gold! Congratulations ... J

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  5. That is just brilliant ~ you are one awe-inspiring bundle of energy with a heart of gold! Congratulations ... J

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  6. Wonderful! These are incredible photos of an amazing accomplishment.

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  7. What a wonderful accomplishment. It's been fun seeing the installments and now the grand finale. Well done!

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  8. What great photos and a lovely day too. Congratulations on the big hit.

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  9. May you and all who participated in this drive be blessed. What an enormous, colorful gift!

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  10. One word for the pics: SPECTACULAR Thanks for taking on this project; thanks for inviting all of us to join; I'm so happy I could participate; thanks for the opportunity. You are the BEST!

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  11. Congratulations! What beautiful and wonderful gifts!

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  12. I'm so flattered that Bill liked the pillowcase I made! I'm going to take a look to see if I have any more of that fabric--if so I'll send it to you.

    Congratulations, Rhonda, and thank-you!

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    1. Oh Wendy, I'm so happy that you got to see Bill with the pillowcase. He is an absolutely precious child, very enthusiastic and always such a great help. He plays the french horn, the piano and sings in the choir at church as well as a glee type group at his school.

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  13. Congratulations, that is wonderful!

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  14. Rhonda,you have taken everyone's individual efforts and turned them into a collective masterpiece. Your photos remind me of Christo's Gates installation in Central Park several years ago.
    http://www.firstmediation.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/the-gates-central-park-by-grahamlyth-on-flickr.jpg
    It's awe-inspiring and humbling what one woman has allowed so many to create.

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  15. An enormous WELL DONE RHONDA! You really have done fabulously well, and I am sure that every child using these pillow cases will be more inclined to smile in difficult circumstances as a result.

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  16. An enormous WELL DONE RHONDA! You really have done fabulously well, and I am sure that every child using these pillow cases will be more inclined to smile in difficult circumstances as a result.
    Kim H

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  17. Congratulations!!! Beautiful pictures!!!

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    1. What a wonderful thing for which to be grateful and a super Christmas present for the hospital. How terrific to have such great friends to pitch in and help. You are surely blessed and rightfully so.

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    2. How wonderful to have such great friends to help. You certainly are blessed and rightfully so. The pillowcase project was a gesture of true unselfishness and devoted care for others. God bless you, rhonda.

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  18. Oh that's slendid Rhonda!! What a great accomplishment! The trouble you took for this cause is outstanding! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!

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  19. I don't frequently use the word "awesome," but it certainly fits here! What an accomplishment!

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  20. Oh. My. Goodness!! All the lovely pillowcases look like flags from many nations! And to think they'll be going to children from all backgrounds and walks of life as well - fabulous! Rhonda, you've coordinated a beautiful thing here. (I also loved your pic of the humongous stacks of colorful cases all folded up neatly on your shelves in your Thanksgiving post - awesome!)

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  21. How special are you? Wow.

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  22. Fabulous - you have done a great job corralling us all together, what an achievement! I think if I squint a little I can see the ones I sent. Here's hoping they bring comfort to hundreds of children and their families x

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  23. Oh Rhonda, it's your own Christo and Jeanne-Claude art display and we all got to enjoy it along the way. You are one amazing person!

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  24. Dear Rhonda,

    I had taken a blogging sabbatical (nearly eight months) and am just getting around the blogosphere again. I set about checking out all your recent blog updates when I came across this post.

    It's my turn...

    It's my turn with what I've called "The Pillowcase Project." It's in honor of my mother-in-law who sewed pillowcases for pediatric cancer patients when her own grandson, our nephew, was also dealing with cancer last year. Fortunately Blake is back in college and cancer-free, but Mom's pillowcases inspired an idea for me...

    Across the street from where we live in Manila, Philippines, is a pediatric charity hospital, National Children's Hospital. Since my precious MIL is a December-month baby and just turned 80, until Thanksgiving we will accept NEW pillowcase contributions to "The Pillowcase Project" to be gifted at Christmastime 2014 to the pediatric patients at NCH.

    Wow. I had forgotten all about your pillowcase drive... This is soooo cool. I hope you'll share more images about the journey of the contributed cases from clothesline to Mary Bridge's. So awesome!

    Would you like to join "The Pillowcase Project" See my blog post at http://kelleyhighway.blogspot.com/2013/12/ethel-pillowcase-project.html.

    Happy highways,
    Kelley of Kelley Highway

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