One Small Act of Kindness

I am having the BEST winter! :) If you've followed the blog for a while, you know that I love winter, the snow, dressing in layers, wearing fabulous boots, making mulled wine, cheese fondue...and the list goes on and on :)

As much as I enjoy being out in the winter, one thing that I have never done is go cross-country skiing. My husband loves to downhill ski(as do I), but has absolutely no interest in all the work that goes into cross-country skiing. He says that he likes letting gravity do all the work. On the other hand, I like a workout, so last week, I called and arranged a lesson. I had thought that since I downhill ski, I wouldn't have an issue. Well, I looked like a bird that was trying to learn to fly, sliding all over the place. I'm accustomed to downhill skis, bindings and boots that weigh a ton. Not so with cross-country gear. Comparatively, it's as light as a feather. We came to hill that I had to traverse down. Well, I fell, and looked a little like something on a bloopers show. Didn't get hurt. Wasn't going fast enough to get hurt. All in all, regardless of the frustrations, I had a blast, and I'm going back next week. Learning to cross-country ski was on my goal list for 2020. So very proud of myself for pushing forward and realizing the goal :) 

You haven't seen me in a while. Laying in a pile of snow after downhill skiing and loving every minute of it!

Many of you may remember the campaign I did a number of years ago for a children's hospital in Washington state called Mary Bridge. With the help of so many, from all over the world, we made over 1000 pillowcases that were then distributed to children who are admitted into the hospital.

Before I packed up all the cases and sent them to Mary Bridge, I hung them all in my yard, and took a picture of the extravaganza. What a sight!!! Sew News magazine even did a featured article. So nice :)  

A friend of mine has the loveliest fabric store in Granby, Colorado, Tina's Fabric Nook. I actually did an interview with her a few years ago.

  

  

I absolutely LOVE her store! It's such a gift to the community. Like most of us, I have quite the fabric collection, so just buying fabric, while a nice thing to do, is just not a viable option on an ongoing basis. So, I've thought of what I can do to create a little revenue for her. What I came up with was pillowcases, not for me, but for anyone who happens to visit when I am in the mountains. I take my guests to Tina's, and let them pick out their fabric. Each and everyone has surprised me with their choices. They NEVER choose what I think they'll choose. She has these beautiful William Morris reproduction prints that I have been dying to use. Can't talk a soul into choosing those! I may have to make a pair for myself!  

Below are just a few of the cases that I've made.

The pair below went to Montana.  

I made 2 sets for a friend who lives in Seattle, a flannel pair for the winter, and a cotton pair for summer.

This pair went to a friend in Wisconsin. Love the starry night aspect of the batik.

I've made quite a few more, just forgot to photograph all of them. I just recently made a pair for a little 7 year child who received a bearded dragon lizard for Christmas. Tina had a gecko print that fit the bill close enough. She was thrilled with her pillowcases! Everyone seems to enjoy the cases so much, I enjoy making them, and I generate a little business for Tina. So a win all around.

You may remember the pillowcases I made using the fabric I had printed at Spoonflower from a painting that I did.  

I made a coordinating pair of cases and used the leftover fabric from the pair that went to a friend in Wisconsin for the trim. Even Berkley likes the cases ;) I have actually had friends tell me that they sleep better when they use the cases that I've made.  
 

I love this quote;

There's no such thing as a small act of kindness. 

Each act creates a ripple with no logical end.

What a lovely promise :)

Gifts/Scarves and or Shawls with a Tutorial

It's that time of year again! 

I don't know where I found the piece above, but I love it! I have never started to make handmade gifts a couple of days before Christmas, but I have bitten off more than I could possibly accomplish :/

I recently received a message from Fabrics-store.com about a linen they carry that's perfect for scarves/shawls. So, I thought I would give it a try. I really do like the fabric. They recommended getting 2 yards for an over-sized shawl/scarf. I would recommend getting 2 1/2 yards. The pieces that I made up are fine, but a little extra yardage would be nice.

I purchased 2 colors, the black and the poinsettia. You can find these and other colors HERE. Remember, you will get 2 scarves out of 2 1/2 yards of fabric.

I was so pleased with the fabric. The scarves below have been washed and pressed. There was very little shrinkage. The only problem is that I want to keep at least 1 for myself...maybe 2.

 

The tutorial was only available through an email, so I have attached it below in the event you decide to give it a try. 

Oversized Linen Shawl - Your Comfort! A neutral and light accessory that can fit in the purse should it not be needed. But, is right at the fingertips to be wrapped around for warmth or to hide from the strong sunshine rays. Something that is low maintenance and can be washed at home in the washing machine - I like my free time spent not running errands to the dry cleaners An exquisite looking item - comparable to brand names that are selling their shawls as I type this for $168 (and theirs don’t even have tassels!) 2 yards and about an hour of sewing will make 2 Shawls ( so think of who you can gift one to - the shawls turns out pretty amazing) Here are the steps to gift yourself and a lucky friend - sun protection, warmth, and convenience - aka - a linen shawl Pick your color scheme - 2 yards  of the color you like - I went with Fog (picking your color we need to save for last so I can show you the steps to make the shawl :) Receive the box - we ship your order either same day or the following morning Find the middle of the width (I folded the cloth in half - selvage to selvage) and pull a thread down the middle of the entire length Cut down the middle where you pulled the thread and cut off the selvage We need to hem the length of the cloth - fold under 0.25 inches 2 times and stitch Unravel the raw edges to make the tassels ( you can also leave it as just fringed without the tassels) Take 10-15 loose threads and bunch them up like a ponytail. Use the nearest thread to loop around the “ponytail” and tie a knot. Do 2 knots on each ponytail/tassel. Tassel both sides of the shawl Throw in the wash - gentle cycle - cold water. Dry on a delicate cycle with low heat ( iron should you like - the left one is not ironed and right one was pressed) Your shawl is ready to be worn and face the summertime with you Not only is this an opportunity to take care of your skin and stay comfortable regardless of the weather, but this is your opportunity to have a finished HANDMADE item that would have cost you upwards of $160. A couple pointers: - if you are going for sun protection during the day - don’t pick dark colors. They will absorb the heat leaving you hot while wearing the shawl. - If you aren’t in a tassel kind of mood, you can fringe, but make sure to run a securing stitch so the thread doesn’t keep unraveling. And now the fun part - click below to find the color you want your shawl to be... Pick Your Shawl Colors Here P.S. 2 yards are just the right length for 2 shawls size 27"x70". This is a very quick project that will keep you looking and feeling fabulous throughout the hotter season. Plus, this will leave you with a beautiful and useful item that was handmade by you and would have cost you over $160 at a store (these also make great gifts if you decide you want to share). Don’t forget your 7% discount code ilovelinen at checkout. You Risk Nothing - if, for some reason, you find the fabric is still sitting in a box a month down the line - simply return it to us with the receipt and we will refund the fabric cost.

I just had to share this! You may remember that I made a poppins bag with fabric that I had printed from a painting that I did last year. I had a little left over, just enough for a king-size pillowcase. 

One day last spring, I came home to find that my poor Gracie had chewed a huge hole in my duvet cover. We had a rain storm while I was out. Why she decided to chew the duvet cover, I have no idea. At least she didn't tear apart the down comforter inside!!! I loved the cover, and decided to see if I could find another. I did! Most of the fabric from the old cover was good, so I saved it thinking that I would find something to do with it. When I realized that I had just enough of my cone flower fabric left for 2 pillowcase tops, I remembered the duvet cover. I now have pillowcases in my very own fabric, and coordinating pillowcases too! Mr. Berkley thinks they're pretty great as well :)     

  
Remember, pillowcases make great gifts too! The children in your life would love a special pillowcase made out of a character fabric. You can also make lovely linen pillowcases and edge them with antique crochet lace. 

Happy Gift Making Season!
Just don't stress yourself out!!!
Rhonda

Back In The Saddle Again

Over the last 5 weeks, I have learned that what may seem the simplest of things, can mean the most. A friend picked me up for lunch. I was struggling with getting my utensils out of the napkin. The waiter saw my struggle, came over, said nothing, but simply took the roll from my hand and opened it for me. During the meal, I managed to spill sauce on the table, and basically made an absolute mess. Once again, he came over and made a joke about what I had done, a sweet joke that let me know he understood, and made me laugh. Earlier that morning, I had managed to make my breakfast, berries with yogurt and granola. As I went to pick up the bowl, I somehow hit the spoon and yogurt went everywhere, all over the cabinet, the floor, and me. I burst into tears. But, my husband calmly said, "don't worry, I'll clean it up." Then Berkley seized the moment and began "cleaning up" the mess. That dog is not going to miss an opportunity for food!

There are so many who have come to my aide, the hairdresser who washed my hair, dried it, took the time to add curls, and then cut her rate in half. She said that it was her gift to me :) A friend who knows how much I love a bowl of soup, and brought me a pot. Friends who brought me the loveliest yellow roses. Another friend who came to "pick up my mail," which was really just an excuse to come spend a little time with me. And then I would be remiss to not include all of the heartfelt messages that so many of you have sent. They have warmed my heart, and made me feel loved.

There have been some hard lessons learned as well, but in the end, good lessons, especially about where and how I want to spend my time. No, I am not ending the blog :) While breaking my wrist, especially my right wrist is not something I would want to repeat, I am grateful. I have been able to rest, contemplate, dream, and make decisions that otherwise would not have happened. A gift.

Earlier this winter, a friend came to visit. A new tradition that I have started is to take my guests to the fabric store and have them choose fabric for a set of pillowcases. They are so easy to make, and it gives them a little something from me to take home and hopefully, fondly remember their visit. 

I have tried to sew, but my hand would quickly begin to hurt. The therapist had told me that if I begin to feel pain, stop. So, I did. But, I kept trying. I did manage to hem a pair of pants last week. I was so proud that I immediately wore them! Reminded me of being a teenager and being so very excited to have made something new to wear ;) Again, a simple pleasure. 

Yesterday I sat down and actually made the 2 sets of pillowcases for my friend. I felt as though I had made a major accomplishment! I know that pillowcases are hardly something to get excited about, much less inspire, but I thought I would share them nonetheless.

I always let my guests pick out their own fabric. I wasn't so sure about the combination of fabrics, but in the end, I loved how the batiks worked with this set.      

She also chose the flannel for a set of winter cases. Super simple, but I think they will be quite cozy. A little side note, my friend lives in Seattle. I had gone to visit her a few years ago. The first night I was there, I thought I would freeze to death!!! That wet, cold air goes right through your bones! The next morning she got up and saw that I had put on insulated pants, a sweater, and was even wearing a knitted hat! From that point, until I left, she kept the wood stove stoked. I was so grateful!

I managed to cut out a simple knit dress. That's next on the agenda. To rediscover the joy of something I have taken for granted, a wonderful gift :)

Rhonda

A Challenge With Prizes!

In 2013, 5 years ago, amazing!, I took on a challenge. I had auditioned for a contest that Sew News sponsored for their Sew It All television show. The finalist had to go to the Puyallup Sewing Expo for the audition. While I was there, I was introduced to the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital and the drive that they had for pillowcases. Each child who is admitted receives a pillowcase. Maybe they should really be called comfort cases :)

As I flew home from the expo, I thought about the cases and how many I felt I could do. The number that came to mind was 900. Now, I knew that I couldn't do 900 on my own, so I decided to put it out to all who drop by the blog. The response was amazing, 1000 pillowcases were donated to the project!

During the course of the project, I documented the first 100, then 450, and finally the final hang of 1000 pillowcases which you see below.

The video below documents the first 100. If you would like to take a look at the other videos I did, you can see them HERE.



This is not just a trip down memory lane, but an opportunity. Olfa is sponsoring a summer challenge, pillowcases for the American Patchwork & Quilting 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge...

AND THERE ARE PRIZES!!!! 

The challenge is to create as many pillowcases as you would like. Each pillowcase will be donated to either the Ronald McDonald House, or Ryan's Case For Smiles. 

The pillowcases must be made from 100% cotton, and you must use the guidelines posted HERE.

Nine winners will be chosen randomly. The grand prize winner will be the one who submits the most pillowcases. Crank up those sewing machines!!!

All entries must be postmarked by August 31, 2018 to be entered in the drawing. You can find all of the information HERE on the Olfa blog.

What a fun and lovely way to use up some of your cotton scraps :)

Good Luck!

I hope you win!!! But then, we always win when we reach out to others.

 Rhonda

Checking In

My week is off to a great start, I'm being a bit facetious ;). We arrived home last night to find our hot water heating spewing water. Exciting! So I am now waiting for the guys to arrive and install a new one. I find it rather interesting whenever something happens and I'm without one of the modern conveniences that I've become so accustomed to, be it electricity, hot water, or even something like the dishwasher, and how life just suddenly seems to get rather complicated. Some talk about returning to the "good old days," well, I like these brand new days just fine and I'll be VERY happy when I can take a nice hot shower. I think everyone around will be too!!!

I opened my Facebook page this morning and found that the video below was posted 4 years ago. For any of you who are new to the blog, this was a project that so many participated in. I found out about a project at the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma, WA. Each child who is admitted is given a special handmade pillowcase. Such a lovely way to help calm a child. 

My goal was to collect 1000 pillowcases, and we made that goal! It was so exciting to see the pillowcases come in from all over the world. 

During the project, I heard from a few parents who had lost their children, and they told how much the pillowcase that was given to their child continues to mean to them. You would think that something that was attached to the death of their child would not bring comfort. But as I thought about it, I realized that there is something almost magical about the pillowcases, and it's because they were made with love, and I think that this is what the parent continues to feel. Not only did they love their child, but a stranger cared enough to make something that exhibited their love for a child they would never meet.   




Once I learned more about this project, I found out that hospitals all over the U.S. have similar programs. You can read more about the program HERE. And if you would like to make a pillowcase, click HERE. The video above was done early in the project. You can scroll though and see more pictures HERE.   

As soon as my new hot water heater is installed, and I can get a shower, the next post will be up for the Islander Patterns Easy V Express Top. Thanks for your patience :)

The Mary Bridge Pillowcase Project

The new issue of Sew News arrived yesterday and to my surprise.... 

there was a lovely piece written about the Mary Bridge Pillowcase Project that so many of you, so very generously contributed to last year. If you are new to the blog and would like to read about it, here's a link to all the posts that were done last year, http://rhondabuss.blogspot.com/search/label/Mary%20Bridge?updated-max=2013-05-24T09:04:00-05:00&max-results=20&start=60&by-date=false. There were a lot of posts as I documented all the pillowcases that were donated!!!  

A friend of mine donated his time and fuel to fly over and do the aerial photography for the project. I hung the first 100 donated pillowcases, then 450, and the picture below represents the final collection. Amazing!

     

Sew News is participating in a wonderful project called Conkerr Cancer. Much like the Mary Bridge Project, they are asking that you make a handmade pillowcase. There are regional drop off sites, so no mailing :) You can find the information here,  http://www.conkerrcancer.org/ with links to all the drop off sites in every state.
The Mary Bridge Project was one of the best experiences of my life. Just remember...

When sleeping women wake, 

Mountains move!  

Who would have thought that mountains could be moved with a sewing machine?!!! 

Pillowcases For Mary Bridge, The Final Chapter

Good Morning Everyone!! Last week was quite a whirlwind of a week. My husband and I had planned a trip to Big Sky, Montana. As it turned out, the week I was supposed to be in Montana was the exact same week of the sewing expo in Puyallup, Washington. Thankfully, I was able to do both. Isn't that mountain incredible?!! I actually went all the way to the tip top peak. It was a breath taking experience.

On Friday of last week, I caught a plane out of Bozeman, Montana and flew to Seattle, Wasington where a friend of mine picked me up at the airport. It's always such a treat to have the opportunity to spend time with an old friend.

Saturday morning the two of us made our way to the sewing expo. If you've never had the opportunity to attend, I hope you will as it is an incredible experience. And yes, I did buy fabric. Please don't tell my husband!!! 

When we arrived, I made my way over to the Mary Bridge Children's Hospital booth.

All of our pillowcases were there. They had decided to leave them boxed rather than unpack them and pack them again for their trip to the hospital. 

When I arrived at the booth, I was so surprised to see the tally. As of 3:30 on Saturday afternoon, they had collected over 6000 pillowcases. Over 1000 of these belong to so many of you :) 

I was told that the number of collected pillowcases each year always runs somewhere in the 4000 to 4500 range. I was also told that we were a great inspiration for the project. They said that many people came by the booth and said that they had never donated before, but they saw here on the blog what so many of you did from all over the world, so they too wanted to contribute. The representatives from Mary Bridge said that you made the difference this year. All of you who contributed have so much to be proud of!

Before I left for my trip, I received a note from Andrea of  http://knit-knac.blogspot.com/. She said that she had her pillowcases cut and ready to go and wondered if it was too late to send them. I told her that if she could get them to me before I left, I would gladly take them with me. They made it just in time, so I put them in my suitcase and off we all went. Above is a picture of some of the 10 pillowcases that Andrea made.

Just to prove that I really did make it, here's a picture of me with Mallory, the Mary Bridge representative. When I met her last year, she was a skinny little thing. She is now pregnant with twin boys!!! So wonderful!

On the left is Susan, another representative from Mary Bridge. Wow, are they ever lucky to have her. Such an upbeat lady, so full of joy.

Home and Garden magazine is promoting  a campaign to make and donate 1 million pillowcases. The booth was humming away. I was told that by Saturday afternoon, over 900 pillowcases had been made at the expo.

So our pillowcase journey comes to an end. They have officially been handed over. I didn't cry, for a change ;). It was much too happy of an ending to cry, even for joy. It has been one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. I feel that so many of you have become friends and I so hope that somewhere along the way our paths will cross, but if they don't, please know that you will forever hold a very special place in my heart. 

As we put this project to bed, I'll share one last picture with you. For some reason, my friends enjoy taking pictures of me sleeping. Funny :) A blanket and a comfortable chair is a dangerous place for me!!

Just remember, there is strength in numbers and when we come together, even what seems impossible is possible. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Rhonda

Shipping Day

Well, I'm just full of funny photos today :) and who better to laugh at than yourself?!! My husband snapped this shot of me at the UPS store this morning. Yes, those are tape measure pants. Crazy but fun.

I rather took over the store this morning. There are 8 boxes of pillowcases making their way to Puyallup, Washington. So very exciting! You wouldn't believe how heavy these things are!!

The next post I do about the pillowcases will be from the expo. What a joy it will be to officially hand them over. I've said it before, but thanks cannot be said enough, thank you for all so many of you did to make this happen. Each and everyone of you are angles in my book.

Mary Bridge Pillowcase Journey Update

At long last, the Mary Bridge Pillowcase Project is coming to an end, and I must say, a very successful end. With your help, the goal that I set was made and now boxes and boxes of pillowcases will begin to make their way to Seattle, Washington.
Here are a few highlights from the journey.

The first 100.

 The goal met!

  You saw my garden through all 4 seasons.

 The bag that held my clothespins.

Packing.

So far, I've folded and packed away 470 pillowcases. I hope to finish today.

In case you are wondering, the shipping cost has been generously donated.

There will be one last chapter to this story as I will be going to Puyallup, Washington the end of February to officially present the pillowcases. Let's see if I can get through the presentation without crying. I doubt it :)

This has truly been one of the sweetest journeys of my life. Thank you for all that so many of you did to make this happen.