Hello Kitty, Would You Like Ride In My Car?

I told you the other day that I am having the best time of coming up with the titles for the pillowcase posts!!! They are a little hokey I guess, but they're still fun :)

Dolores, a fellow Haute Couture member sent me a note and said that she had dropped 6 pillowcases in the mail. I will see her on Saturday, but I think she just really wanted to get them to me. They are so precious.  

 For the Hello Kitty cases, she picked up the light grey in the pattern to accent the cases. So delicate.

 The cars are all boy, bright fun colors.

If I were Hello Kitty and Lightening McQueen and came racing up and offered a ride, I think I just might get in the car ;) People always talk about how much boys like cars, hey girls like cars too!!!.

 So another 6 to add to our numbers. We now have 835!! Thanks so much Dolores!

I've received a number of emails in the last few days and I think we will reach 900 maybe before the week is over. We'll see!! Now I'm wondering who will make the donation that hits the target goal. Exciting, exciting!
As I said in the last pillowcase post, I am no longer asking for donations as we are right at meeting our goal. But, if you would like to donate, that would be wonderful. The cases will not be sent to Washington until February and, as I also said, the hospital goes through 900 in a month so the more the better. If you would like to make pillowcases, here is a link to the instructions, http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-simplified-pillowcase-instructions.html
Thanks so much for all so many of you have done to make this project come to pass. I never could have done it without you.
Rhonda

Peaceful Colors Induce Dreams of Le Jardin Provencale

The pillowcases continue to come in! This batch of 7 is from Jane who lives in Baltimore, Maryland. The colors are so peaceful and inviting, oh how I wish I could go take a nap!!

 The colors and the bamboo make me want to put my hands together and say Namaste.

Among the dreamy colors is this lovely piece with wispy vignettes of gardens anyone would want to visit, even if only in a dream.

When I opened the box, I was so surprised to see a little bag. Nestled inside was a jar of homemade goodness and look at the note Jane wrote. The pad is in the shape of a dress. How cute!! So what could that jar be?

Red Pepper Jelly!!!!Oh my goodness...I LOVE IT!!!!!!! Thanks so much Jane. This is going to be great on a piece of Asiago cheese bread. My mouth is watering as I type :)

Thank you Jane for your lovely contribution. We are now at 823 donated pillowcases for the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma, Washington. Only 77 more are needed to reach the goal of 900.
I know that there are more pillowcases coming in, but I am more of a "bird in the hand" rather than a "bird in the bush" kinda gal, so we aren't there yet. If you would like to donate, there is still plenty of time. As I said a few days ago, I would like to do the hanging of the 900 pillowcases over Thanksgiving weekend. So if you have some time to spare and you would like to join in, here is a link to the simplified instructions that I did, http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-simplified-pillowcase-instructions.html. If you do participate, email me at sewbussted@yahoo.com and let me know. If you would like to read more about the project, here is a link to all of the previous posts that I have done, http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/search/label/Mary%20Bridge
Saying "Namaste" is part of an old tradition and it is a way of showing respect and gratitude. So I close simply today with
Namaste,
Rhonda

Steee-rike On A Psychedelic Beach

I am having the best time of thinking up titles for the pillowcase posts!!
This batch of eight came from Patty of  http://sewmuchknitting.blogspot.com/ and they are such fun!

 I must be crazy, but I REALLY want some of this fabric. Wouldn't this be a fun skirt?!!

Most of the cases are sports themed and they are cute. Not that I don't like other sports, but I'm in love with those pins! Yup, I'm bowling pin crazy!

 And finally, our psychedelic beach. I can feel the warm sand between my toes now :)

It's fairly windy today and cold. I always laugh each year when the weather begins to change. On this side of winter, we all think it is cold. Once we are on the other side, we'll think this is quite warm and people will be running around in shorts. Thanks so much Patty for your contribution to the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital pillowcase drive. Your 8 brings us to a total of 816 pillowcases. We keep moving closer and closer to the goal of 900. I'm hoping to do the final hanging over Thanksgiving weekend. Rather appropriate don't you think? :) If I am able to hang 900 pillowcases that weekend, it doesn't mean that you can't still contribute to the project. The pillowcases will not go to Washington until February. In my heart I hope we'll reach 1000. Not necessary,just hoping :)

We're still 84 cases away from reaching the 900 mark, so if you would like to contribute to the project, here is a link to the simplified pillowcase instructions, http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-simplified-pillowcase-instructions.html. If you would like to read more about the project, here is a link to all of the posts I've done, http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/search/label/Mary%20Bridge and here is a link to the Pinterest board that I created,  http://www.pinterest.com/sewbussted/pillowcases-for-mary-bridge-childrens-hospital/
When the project first started, it felt a little like the beginning of winter here in Chicago. 100 pillowcases seemed so monumental. Now that we are approaching 900, 84 seems like nothing. Maybe I'll go put some shorts on :)
Thanks so much for all so many of you have done to make this project happen.
Rhonda.

Can Love Be Measured?

When I initially thought of participating in the pillowcase Project for the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital and asking for your help to reach a goal of 900, I had no idea of just how generous and kind all of you would be to me. You have sent incredible notes of encouragement as well as gifts. Every piece of ribbon has been saved, even the tissue paper as I'll make flowers and decorate gifts with them. 

Yesterday I received a package from Patti. She had written and said that she would like to make 6 pillowcases in honor of her grandchildren. So I knew the package was coming, I just had no idea that a gift for me was included. What a perfect wrapping for a gift to someone who sews! And the card is so cute too!

 Inside was a little box that went perfectly with the paper.

And the theme continued with the lovely porcelain mug. What a treasure! Thank you Patti!!!!! I will truly enjoy drinking my morning tea out of this cup :)

 She included this note to explain her fabric choices.

 And here are the lovely cases on this bright and crisp Chicago fall morning.

 Read the note and I'm sure you'll be able to match the fabric to the child.

 Can't you just smell the bacon?!!!

So very special. Thank you Patti for your contribution and for honoring your grandchildren in such a lovely and heartfelt way.
All of you have put so much love and care into your pillowcases. I am sure that the children who receive them will feel your spirit. Love can't be measured, but it can be felt.
Patti's 6 brings us to a total of 808, 92 more are all we need to reach the 900 mark. Isn't this just incredible?!! Getting to the first 100 seemed like such a milestone, now on this end, it seems so easily done. If you would like to help us reach the 900 mark, here is a link to the simplified pillowcase instructions that I did, http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-simplified-pillowcase-instructions.html. If you do participate, just send me a note and let me know, sewbussted@yahoo.com. If you would like to read more about the project, Here is a link to all of the posts, http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/search/label/Mary%20Bridge
Again, thank you

Magic Happens

Have you ever started something and then once you're in the middle of it thought, "what was I thinking?" Well, if I'm honest, I have had those very thoughts with this project. In my mind I would hear, "You must be crazy. You'll never reach 900 pillowcases." On the outside though, I refused to allow those thoughts to take on the power of spoken words. The words I've spoken have only been of success. That effort is paying off because as of yesterday, we reached 802 pillowcases. We are in the final stretch! Less than 100 pillowcases are needed to reach the goal of 900 pillowcases for the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma, Washington. I was so happy when I opened the box that I just had to share it, so I immediately emailed Ilse and let her know that her donation had taken us into the final stretch. I was so happy yesterday, and today, well, I'm finding it a little difficult to put words to my feelings. I'm just so overwhelmed.   

Ilse's cases are just adorable, cars,

 pink cowgirl boots.

I do love my scruffy pink boots! I'm wearing them right now :)

 And check out these great modern prints. So much fun.

This is not Ilse's first donation. Thank you so much Ilse for your continued support of the project. I don't think I'm taking anything away from Ilse by saying that I am just so grateful to all of you and what you have done. Just this morning I thumbed through the folder where I keep all of your names as well as the cards that you have sent to me. I feel your spirit in the cases but even more in the special notes that you have sent. As my life goes on, and I hope that it will :), I think this will be one of the sweetest remembered events of my life. To be honest, I'm going to be a little sad when this all comes to an end. Because of you, magic has happened in my life. I am so very blessed. Thank you.

I feel like a broken record, so sorry, but we aren't quite there yet. If you would like to participate, there's still time. Here's a link to the simplified pillowcase instructions, http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-simplified-pillowcase-instructions.html.If you do decide to participate, just email me and let me know, sewbussted@yahoo.com. If you would like to read more about the project, here is a link to all of the posts, http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/search/label/Mary%20Bridge
Once again, thank you so very much.
Rhonda

East Meets West

A few weeks ago, I received a message from Nancy of  http://sewwest.blogspot.com/ and she said that she would like to participate in the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital pillowcase project. Nancy lives in New Mexico and she loves everything southwest as well as lovely Asian prints. Lucky for us, she had some lovely pieces of both that she used for her pillowcases.

 Prints from the rich colors of the southwest,

 and Geisha girls.

 I especially love how the different prints pair so beautifully with the stripe.

So, how do you get from the east to the west? On Route 66 of course!!!! 

For those of you who have some larger pieces of fabric, you can also make a whole cloth pillowcase. Nancy just turned up the bottom and stitched the band in place for these cases. Very pretty. Hmmm, these would look pretty on my bed :) Don't worry, they are already nestled in with all the other donated cases.

Nancy also included this lovely card with an icon of St. Gabriel on the front. St. Gabriel is considered a very special angel as he prophesied the birth of St. John the Baptist as well as Jesus. He also appeared in the Old Testament to David. He gets around!!

Thank you so much Nancy for your contribution. Her fifteen cases brings us to.....787!!!!!!! We're knocking on the door of 800. Fabulous! So, since I was told that I should always link to the instructions, once again, here is a link to the simplified pillowcase instructions, http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-simplified-pillowcase-instructions.html If you would like to help us reach the goal of 900 pillowcases for Mary Bridge, the number that they pass out to children each month, just email me and let me know, sewbussted@yahoo.com. If you would like to read other posts that have been done on the project, here is a link to those, http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/search/label/Mary%20Bridge and a link to the Pinterest board, http://www.pinterest.com/sewbussted/pillowcases-for-mary-bridge-childrens-hospital/

I'm feeling a little like Elmer Fudd these days. You know, the cartoon character that was always trying to get Bugs Bunny.

Don't worry, I'm not shooting rabbits. I planted some new azalea bushes and the crazy rabbits are eating the tops off. Now I have chicken wire over the plants to try and save them. I hope they make it. Crazy rabbits!

Have a wonderful day!
Rhonda

Autumn Amber and Blue, Blue Skies

Winter is on its way!! I can feel it in the air. The winds are very strong today, so it made it a little difficult to get a good shot of these beautiful pillowcases. You can see a pile of firewood stacked up in the background. I'm tempted to light a fire tonight. Sounds really nice.  

These are from Karen who lives in Jamaica, NY. One of the many things that I love about this pillowcase project is that I am also getting a geography lesson along the way. When  new batch of pillowcases arrive, I have to get out my map and see exactly where they are from. You know, that gives me an idea!! I am going to go through and collect all the address and place a pin on a map to represent where all of the pillowcases have come from. I don't know why I didn't think of that sooner. Oh well, better late than never!  

I love the colors of these cases. Like the title of this post, autumn amber and blue, blue skies. Lovely.

 Thank you so much Karen for your contribution.

Our total now stands at 772. Actually, the numbers are higher, but I'll wait and let you see Nancy's tomorrow. We are so close to 800, too, too exciting!!!
So yes, we are close, but we aren't there yet. 900 is the goal. In case you are new to the blog or you are just finding out about this project, the reason for a goal of 900, is that this is how many pillowcases the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma, Washington goes through in a month. I am hoping that as a blogging community we can donate a month's worth of pillowcases. We will, we're almost there. If you think you would like to participate in the project, here is a link to the simplified pillowcase instructions, http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-simplified-pillowcase-instructions.html If you are participating, email me at sewbussted@yahoo.com and let me know. If you would like to see all that posts that have been done to date, here is a link, http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/search/label/Mary%20Bridge I also started a Pinterest board which you can find here, http://www.pinterest.com/sewbussted/pillowcases-for-mary-bridge-childrens-hospital/ I have not linked all of the posts to this board, but I plan to.
Thanks again Karen and thank you to everyone who has participated and helped bring our numbers of pillowcases to such an incredible number.

Even Dad Jumps In!

Today's Mary Bridge Children's Hospital pillowcase post is a little late in coming. Earlier this summer, I received a call from a fellow Haute Couture member, Cleo. She said that she would like to host a pillowcase party and she thought she would be able to get about 50 made. Well, she made 56!! Now here's the deal, I thought that she and a group of friends were getting together, but no, she invited young women who are 13, 14 and 15 years old to come and make pillowcases. She thought this would be a wonderful opportunity to teach them how to sew. Well, she said that they did get the basics, almost drove her crazy in the process, but she is now reaping the reward. Each of those young women went home filled with excitement and talked their mothers into buying them a machine. Cleo is now teaching each of them to not just make pillowcases, but their own clothes. Isn't that wonderful?!!

Since I only have one line up at them moment, I wasn't able to get all 56 pillowcases in one pictures, so here's the first batch and to my surprise, my dog Gracie is in the corner of the picture :).

Cleo said that she had the fabric cut and ready to go. When the girls arrived, they were able to pick and choose, using their own creativity to put the  cases together.

 Isn't this a great print/

 And here's the second batch.

 We have a big storm coming in tonight, so it's a bit windy, but I like to see the cases move with the wind.

 More great prints, but there is one little surprise,

and it's this pillowcase. The father of one one of the girls also got caught up in the excitement and made a case!!!!!!! Isn't that wonderful?!! Thankfully Cleo had some manly fabric :)
Thank you Cleo for your incredible efforts. So many wonderful things came out a of a pillowcase party.

In case you are wondering, this does not change our numbers as I included Cleo's cases in the count, so we still stand at 767 pillowcases. I know that two other Haute Couture members have made cases. One has made 30 and another has made 6. So those two donations will put us just over 800. We still need just shy of 100 to meet the goal of 900 pillowcases. If you would like to donate, here is a link to the simplified instructions,  http://www.rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-simplified-pillowcase-instructions.html and if you would like to read more about the project, here is a link to all of the posts that have been done to date, http://rhondabuss.blogspot.com/search/label/Mary%20Bridge
This will be the last pillowcase post for a few days anyway as I have completely caught up with posting all that have been donated. You should see the pile in my guest room!!! Good thing I'm not expecting guests for a while :)
Thank you so much for your generosity,
Rhonda