Graduating 8th Graders

The weather has turned very warm in Tennessee so our thoughts are certainly not on delivering quilts. But the 8th graders at Forge Ridge School are graduating and headed off to High School in the Fall and we certainly did not want them to miss out on receiving a Sewing Hands quilt!  So the process began again.....

Tops arrived from Florida - expertly sewn by the wonderful "hands" there.  Sharon basted and quilted a gigantic amount for the 23 graduating students.

Help was definitely needed to get all of these quilts finished with binding.  Here are two new Sewing Hands - Harriet and Frieda.  They helped Sharon whittle down that pile in no time flat!

And so another deadline was met.  Frieda accompanied Sharon for the delivery on the last day of school.  Normally the older kids don't show much emotion upon receiving their quits but not this group!  They were thrilled.

Busy, Busy, Busy

 Sewing Hands has been VERY busy since the last update in January.  After the 3rd grade delivery to Forge Ridge School, Deborah made some adorable t-shirt dresses to send to Cuba. The individual who delivered the dresses said that the girls were so excited to receive them that they immediately put them on right over their clothes.

Isn't it amazing that our small group has been able to share our talents in the Bahamas, Haiti, Cuba, Florida and Tennessee!

Also in the Spring, Sewing Hands once again helped the girls of the Super Kids Club (New Horizons).  This time they made  t-shirt dresses for themselves!

Winter Update

 This Winter certainly has been a busy time for all of the Sewing Hands.  We had two generous donations.  One completely took care of all of the materials for the Forge Ridge kindergarten class.  The other will completely take care of one of the grades which we will deliver this Fall.  THANK YOU to both of these contributors.  Your generosity has helped us make a difference in many children's lives.

 27 quilt tops were made and sent to Sharon to baste, quilt and bind.  Here is how the pile started......

and here is how it finished !

 

47 blankets were tied and also sent to Sharon in Tennessee.  Everything had to be ironed, sticky rolled, labeled and packed.   The "stitching sisters" were called in to help.

Laurie, Sandy and Judy to the rescue !!!!!!

 8:30 am January 20th, the trek to the Tennessee/Kentucky border began with a full load.

Almost two hours later, and with a few flurries of snow dancing in the air as we drove, we arrived at the school and visited the second graders first.  Happiness and gratitude poured out of these wonderful kids.

The young man on the left said "I wanted a John Deere blanket!

Last year Molly's sister in 3rd grade got a quilt and she told us that Molly like cheerleading.  She was right!

When asked what kind of quilt he got this little boy said "a little bit of everything".  He was very happy with that.

Another princess

And if that wasn't enough sweetness - we then visited the Kindergarten class

Mostly all of the boys covered themselves

While the girls immediately became a princess

The school was celebrating their 100th day so this little girl was all made up to look "old".  Being snuggled in her blanket just added to the role.

This little boy was so happy with his horses

This little girl made very sure I had taken her picture

Second Grade

Kindergarten

A very special Thank you to Jim and Joy Hollingsworth who made the ride and the day that much more enjoyable.

Hugs from a child are the best

The next delivery is for the 8th graders and will be sometime in April or May.  Until then.....

Happy Sewing,
Sharon

Status Update on Forge Ridge

With the fall leaves still on the trees Tennessee got a cold blast of winter this first day of November!  I haven't seen any snow yet but the mountains got plenty.  Now is the time I "hunker down", get Alice fired up and concentrate on quilting the tops for the second graders of Forge Ridge School.   Hunker down had a different connotation when I lived in Florida - I'm now very happy to apply it to hibernating for the winter instead of riding out a hurricane.

This time of year also brings many of you down from the North to escape the cold and to your warm and toasty (or should I say hot and humid) Florida homes.  One such traveler is Cheryl.  She was very busy this summer in Michigan making NINE tops for Sewing Hands !  She met up with me in  Lenoir City, TN to drop them off on her way down to Naples.  Awesome work, Cheryl - thank you very much. 

Cheryl at Cracker Barrel dropping off quilt tops

Deborah went back to Naples after her visit with me this summer obviously fired up about Forge Ridge.  She has been sewing nonstop.  Look at the tops she has completed.  But don't give her all the credit, Peggy did a couple of those - thanks Peggy !

The goal is to have all 27 quilts made and delivered to the second graders at the end of January.  But wait....there's more....Deborah is now gathering the fleece for the 36 blankets needed for the Kindergarten class.  Yes, you heard right 36 !!  This is a huge undertaking for our small group - not just with time but also expenses.  So I need to ask all of  you who are reading this to please consider donating a gift card from Hobby Lobby or Joanne's to Sewing Hands.  Each blanket for a kindergarten child takes 3 yards (1 1/2 for the top and 1 1/2 for the bottom).  This works out to about $15 if we are able to get it on sale and use a coupon.  $15 times 36 students is a whopping $540.  Any help, even enough for one blanket, will insure that another child will be warm this winter,

That's it for now....Happy Sewing,

Sharon

A Fun Day At Forge Ridge With Third Graders

The day continued with a visit to the 28 third graders.

This class was so appreciative!  One little girl asked if the blankets were free - she had a very big smile when we said that they were a gift and that everyone could take them home.  

Sharon explained that many ladies worked hard to make the blankets for them because we wanted them to be warm this winter but to also know that they were special and loved.

Deborah and Sharon  received many, many hugs.  It was a very happy day for everyone.

A Fun Day At Forge Ridge with the First Graders

Deborah and Sharon packed up the truck and started out on their 2 hour drive to Forge Ridge School very early this morning.

There were 28 students in first grade.

These little ones were adorable.  When Sharon asked them if they got snow in the winter, one little boy very excitedly said that he wished for snow last year and his wish came true!

They all could not believe that the blankets were theirs to take home.  

All Ready For Forge Ridge !

Deborah and Sharon will be delivering blankets for 1st and 3rd grade to Forge Ridge School on Wednesday, September 10th.

Next, we will be working on the quilts for 2nd grade which will be delivered late winter.  If you would like to help with quilt tops we need 8 boys and 8 girls by the end of January.  Second grade is approximately 8 years old.


Thank you and Happy Sewing,
Sharon