Subject 1 – Easy But Oh So Appreciated
Scarves…. We all have them, and we take them for granted.
What does a scarf really do? A LOT!
When I get home in the evening, I come into a house that we keep rather cool. We heat a couple rooms more than others, since hubby and I are living in only part of the house unless people are over. When I walk into the house, I walk into the front entry way – a vaulted room, that we don’t add heat too. I take off my coat, and then my scarf. Each day I am tempted to leave on my scarf as my neck gets hit with the cool air immediate and I regret taking it off.
So, I have a story about scarves that ties into this blog. While I mostly discuss quilting, the true subject matter of this blog is creativity and its role in my life. To continue, however, I must give a lengthy, tug at the heartstrings, background story.
About ten years ago, I was an employee at a local major company and I (volunteer, not my actual job) ran their involvement with a local Charity. One of the things I did was organize my company’s Adopt-a-Family program. I would take the list of families from the organization, dole them out to groups inside our firm, and make sure all details got handled. The employees of our firm knew me quite well. If you are unfamiliar with the Adopt a Family program – it is volunteers/donors, provide gifts for a needy family based on a wish list provided. Things in this program are usually wrapped up (no pun intended!), by the second week in December and delivered to the families well in advance of Christmas.
That particular year, on December 23, an executive in the firm stopped me in the hallway, opened his wallet and handed me a large sum of money.
Him: For the Adopt a Family
Me: Sir, we’ve delivered everything, it’s all done
Him: Oh, just figure something out…
And he walked away, leaving me holding this money…. Now, I’m a very honest person, but it was two days before Christmas… what can I do? No time to buy anything, adopt another family, figure anything out… but I can’t hold onto this.
The Union Gospel Mission is an organization that supports and helps men in the community. I’ve been involved with them for many years on an informal basis. They are the only place that I know that can take open food, touched food, etc. We’ve taken leftovers from many a charity picnic to them over the years. I also used to take all the bakery leftovers from my firm there during a year that we were having many meetings.
Please note, most of the men at the Mission are working, involved in a jobs program, etc. They have strict standards there that also include church services. Union Gospel is NOT a shelter in the standard sense, but rather a “Hand Up” place.
There is no Christmas gift program for single men. For men with children, men in families, etc., but nothing organized like Adopt a Family that gives to single men. I’ve even seen a Christmas program that gives to single women….
So, I took that sum of money, and went to Target and got $5 gift cards. I called ahead, don’t worry! I did NOT hold up a cashier line at Christmas time!
Hubby, kids and I then took that sum of gift cards and went down to the Mission on Christmas Eve. We had just about the same number of cards as men who were there that night. We handed them out, saying “Merry Christmas” and “God Bless”, and got the same in return. One of the men politely and apologetically asked me how much the card was for. I told him that it was only $5. He then said something that changed my life in many ways:
“Now I can buy socks!!”
Socks…
Small, cheap items that many of us take for granted.
Socks….
Hubby and I discussed it throughout the year. I got online and I did some research. Now, we buy 30 dozen or so pairs of socks each year. We put together gifts for the men at the Mission and hand them out on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. One year, we were out of town and rushed back on Christmas day, speeding on 94 from the Dells, in order to get the gifts given out before their lights out time.
We started out using white paper bags for the gifts. However, three years ago, Hubby and I each thought the other was buying the bags. We realized on Christmas morning. It is NOT possible to buy even 75 brown paper sacks on Christmas day in Minnesota… we tried. Luckily, I’m a bargain hunter and a hoarder. I dragged out some of the 100 rolls of wrapping paper bought at Target and Joann’s one year for 90% off after Christmas (I’m exaggerating, but not by much….) We wrapped up the presents and headed out as usual. We noticed that the men seemed to really appreciate getting a wrapped gift versus a paper sack. So, now we wrap them ever year…. Also gives me a chance to buy more at 90% off sales after Christmas J
I’m getting back to scarves… promise….
During the year we were planning this – the year after the gift cards, we brainstormed about different things we could add to the bags that would be useful. Some of the men are very transient, and many don’t have a lot of space for things. We had to put in things that could be continually used, and/or consumed. We finance this on our own, so they had to also be cheap, but not cheap quality.
I hate fleece in some ways… It’s not really fabric, and those fleece tie blankets are not artistic sewing. However, somewhere along the line, I started making scarves out of fleece. Nothing fancy, just a single width of fabric cut with a fancy blade on the rotary tool. I buy the remnants and make scarves that go with every coat.
So, starting that year, I watched the 75% remnant sales at Joann’s and bought a ton of fleece pieces. That year, and now every subsequent year, each man gets 3-4 pairs of socks and a fleece scarf (and other things) from us each year. It takes about 2 hours to cut out 75+ fleece scarves. We try to stick with neutral colors, patterns that won’t offend and use the no pill fleece.
Mini Stories about the Scarves
· Every year, at least two people ask us what group, corporation, etc., the presents are from. It seems to make a huge emotional impact when we tell them “Us, we are a family, we live nearby”. Each year, someone also asks about the scarves. I tell them that I make them myself. That also seems to touch people strongly
· A few years back, a friend and I were waiting in the minivan downtown St. Paul while hubby ran into a store. A scruffy looking guy was walking down the street; he spotted the van, walked in front of it, came to my window and knocked. As he knocked, while I was decided whether or not to roll the window down, he pulled his scarf out of his jacket at the neck and started waving the end of it. I rolled down the window. He said “Thank you again, this is the WARMEST scarf I’ve ever had”.
· My friends know about this program. Those who are also quilters/crafters, know that I can use as small as 6 inch x width of fabric and often give me their scraps. A couple of times now, I’ve come home to bags of fleece on my front porch. One bag, I’ve never figured out who gave it to me!
· This year, while I was still standing at the reception area at the Mission handing out gifts, one man who’d already gotten his, walked by me with the scarf around his neck, he waved the ends of it and said: “See, I’m already wearing it!”.
· Also this year, I glanced back into the community room as we were leaving. I do try not to use many patterns, but this year I had some Twins fleece and I did cut that into scarves. One man got one of those scarves and was sitting at the table with it around his neck.
Conclusion
I’m a textile artist. I quilt in order to satisfy the creativity in myself. I’m a fabric snob, enjoy complicated patterns, am constantly challenging myself, and have very expensive sewing machines.
However, above all else, $25-35 worth of fleece brings me far more satisfaction than anything else.
Subject 2 – More on Fleece Scarves
Although I’ve already stated that I dislike fleece, I really have to push the concept of the fleece scarves. There’s a whole world of possibilities out there.
· As a craft project for younger children, Brownies, Campfire, Sunday school, Christmas presents done at school for parents: While you probably do not want to give rotary tools to children, these scarves can also be cut with a pinking shears or other heavy duty specialty scissors. If watched well, even a first grader could cut out a scarf for their parent and “make” a useful gift…. Beats a ceramic ashtray any day.
· Fundraiser for a sports team at a school: buy ten yards of fleece in the main school color (use your 40% Joann coupon or hit the 50% sale). Have the team cut out scarves and sell them to their friends, families, neighbors, etc. Yard of fleece on sale - $5, cut the scarves 6 inches each, 6 scarves per yard; sell them for $2 each. At our school, we did a drawing (prizes were donated), each person who wore their scarf to a football game got a raffle ticket, then, at the end of the season banquet, we had a drawing.
· Charity program: it does not take long to cut out scarves. Shelters, Meals on Wheels programs, etc., are great organizations to donate a large number of scarves to. I’m giving three bags of child themed scarves to the MN Diaper Drive. There were all too young (pastels, cartoon characters, etc.) for the men at the Mission and I figure that the Diaper Drive people can give them to the shelters they service.
Subject 3 – I Am Behind on All Projects!!
Ok, back to me and my projects!!! I promise that I’ve been being good. I’ve ONLY worked on my backlog of Block of the Month programs and my contest entry as I said last week. Following is a recap. It’s the same list as before – I promise I haven’t cheated and edited it; just made a couple corrections, rewording, etc. The crossed out items are – obviously – done items. Those in red are things that I intend to take with me next week when I go on vacation. I cannot take my sewing machine as we are flying, but with the Delta Amex giving me a free checked bag for each hubby and me, I intend to take cutting and organizing projects with.
The Mariner’s Compass and Contest Entry items are both elaborate paper piecing patterns. It really speeds things up, and adds greatly to organization while taking away from mess, if I have all the fabric pieces pre-cut and organized. Each Mariner’s compass block takes about 20-30 minutes to plan and cut. I have six or seven more of those. The contest entry is based on patterns from Ra’Nae Merrill’s Spiral books. There are sixteen main blocks in it. Eight of the blocks have nineteen pieces each, and the other eight have 65!!! That’s 634 pieces just in the paper piece sections. See where pre-cutting will help? Taking it on vacation will allow me to do that in time that I can’t spend on my sewing machine… see, Time Management skills from my profession in use for my hobby!
The Curved Piece quilt started out with 24 fat quarters (I used the Stonehenge line). Using the 7 inch Crazy Curves template and the 3½ Small Paths template from Back porch Designs (see here), each fat quarter was then cut into four sets each of the small and large curved block pieces. The pieces are then mixed and match, and sewn into 3½ and 7 inch blocks. Four of the smaller blocks are combined to make a large block. This will give me approximately 120 blocks (I know I messed up cutting a couple). The quilt from these blocks uses only that one block – so the success of the quilt depends upon the layout of the blocks. I figure since I’ll be in a resort condo with more open floor space than home, and with more people than at home, I’ll take all the pieces with, and lay them out there for critiquing and re-organization.
Mariner’s Compass quilt
· Cut out/prep all pieces for blocks
· Assemble blocks
· Cut sashing pieces
· Assemble quilt
Curved Piece quilt
· Assemble blocks
· Layout quilt/arrange blocks
· Assemble quilt
Block of the Month – TCQ
· Assemble quilt
Scrap Tamers
· Month 1 – Bali Runner (can’t remember rest of name)
o Finish binding
· Month 3 – Seven sisters baby quilt
o Determine layout
o Cut out any additional blocks needed (most are already cut)
o Assemble blocks
o Assemble quilt
o Bind quilt
· Month 3 clue
· Month four – just got, haven’t looked at
o Determine project; project will be a full sized quilt
o Cut out blocks
o Assemble blocks
o Assemble quilt
o Bind quilt
· Month 4 clue
Contest entry
See here for the “test” quilt I made for the contest. The contest is a challenge; I can use black, white, black and white and a green fabric.
· Determine color scheme
· Organize fabrics
· Cut fabrics
· Piece blocks
· Assemble blocks
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