A SUCCESSFUL PILLOWCASE DAY

Our clubhouse began humming, as members of my quilting group and their friends and neighbours began to get set up early for our 2nd annual pillowcase day.  By 11am, we had 4 sergers, 10 sewing machines, and 10 non-sewing helpers ready to begin.

The Tampa Bay area coordinator for the Cases for Smiles charity came, loaded with lots of pre-cut pillowcase kits to add to the ones donated by our group.  She made sure everyone was busy, and supervised the non-sewing workers. 

 
They pinned the "kits" together and kept the machines humming along.  They also picked up the cases when each step was finished, and took them to those who were turning them, pressing them, and then delivered them back to those sewing to continue with the next step.  

The 4 sergers were kept busy, as we tried to complete each of the pillowcases.  Near the end of the day, we also had some finished using a French seam - one extra step.

We took a short break for a quick lunchtime snack, sharing some chocolates and bar cookies, then it was back to work!  The coordinator counted the finished pillowcases, and packed them into bags of 50.  By 3pm, we had completed 223 pillowcases, beating our record.

 We carried the heavy bags of completed pillowcases, along with the rest of the supplies to the coordinator's vehicle, then waved good-bye.  Everyone slowly packed up all their gear, and we straightened the clubhouse - putting chairs back and searching for forgotten items.  I'm sure everyone was tired, but thinking about all the children that will sleep on the pillowcases at the area's childrens hospitals kept a smile on everyone's faces.  

We're looking forward to doing this again next year.
 

A SUCCESSFUL PILLOWCASE STITCHING AFTERNOON

My quilting group, along with other friends and residents of our community used our Wednesday quilting time to make pillowcases for the charity "Ryan's Cases for Smiles".

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One of the area coordinators came to assist, and brought 2 large totes full of pillowcase parts, all cut out and paired together, along with some pinned ready to stitch. 



 Our members also brought completed cases, and paired parts to donate as well.

We had 16 machines, including a couple of sergers, doing the stitching, and the remaining helpers worked at 4 ironing stations, a trimming station, and several pinning areas to keep us all busy. 



 We also had runners, who kept picking up and delivering cases and picking up pins from the stitchers, as well as turners, prepared the cases for the ironing team.
At first the stitchers sewed the cuffs to the body of the case, then it was turned, and sent to the ironing stations.  

Then the sergers were kept busy doing the final L-seam.  When we reached a backlog, the sewers began finishing the cases with French Seams.  Of course, there was a little un-stitching, and trimming to be done!

We began at 11, and by 3pm we had 
202 completed pillowcases, along with 100 cases with the cuffs stitched, pressed, ready for the final L-seam!  These will be taken to the next group for them to complete.



We had a short break for lunch, and there were chocolates and homemade cookies to share during the whole session.  (We wanted to keep everyone's energy levels up!) 

We had a great day, and plan to repeat this again next year.

Check out their website, as there are chapters all across the USA and Canada, who would love to have your help.  They have sewing days scheduled that anyone can join.and you can also donate money, fabric, zipper type plastic bags, as well as your time!   There is a pattern on their website, and a link to a tutorial on French seams.

STASH REPORT SUNDAY

Fabric used this week  0 yards

Fabric used year to date  68.25 yards

Fabric added this week  2.25 yards

Fabric added year to date  35.5 yards

Net used 2013  32.75 yards

I still haven't finished either of the pin-basted quilts that I brought north.  I'm working on one......but slowly.

I finished quilting my BFF's baby quilt.  She wanted simple quilting, mostly in the ditch, but I added a bow design in the final border, to mimic the bow fabric that is part of the quilt.   Most of the fabric in this quilt was donated by members of her church.

The fabric added was for my hexagon project.  I needed a large piece of a dark burgundy to form the border, and I knew that I wouldn't have any one piece that would fill the bill.  I also picked up two small prints, one in red and one in a rose colour to add to the project.  The original pattern called for 16 different coloured fabrics, along with 3 backgrounds, and one border.  I've finished assembling one row, and I'm working on the blocks for the next one.

Today I'm off to join a charity sewing group that meets once a month.  This is a new group to me,  and the local quilt shop offered their classroom, so more sewers could attend.  I'll report on the sewing and fun tomorrow! 

Check out the ups and downs of stash at Judy's blog here!