Pillows and fabric and what else?

I put out a call on Facebook asking for fabric if people have any to donate to the community service sewing I'm doing. An interesting number of people came forward and said they have some to donate! I don't mind using my own fabric or buying fabric, but it sure is nice to use some that's free.

Here's today's pillow.

I may have mentioned I'm playing with designs. Years ago, I made quilt squares and framed them to give as gifts. This project, to me, is the same thing. I'm playing with angles, color blends, and overall keeping the artsy fartsy side of me engaged. That can only be a good thing. I get lost in design and if I see something I want to try, I do it! I'm not committed to a whole quilt. It's one pillow top, or more if I desire.

On another burner, I've been making vests for myself and using wacky, colorful fabrics. I love dressing in clothes that make me feel alive.

Maybe this retirement thing isn't so bad, right? 

More pillows for Hospice House

Community service sewing sure makes a girl feel good. Here are my newest pillow creations for Hospice House. I'll post more of these as the year goes on. I'm having fun coming up with the patchwork designs. All of them are 13" x 13" and the backs of this bunch were provided by my sister (a sheet!). Enjoy:

Donated fabrics. 

Working on my black and white fabric stash.

Neckties. 

Simple 9 patch with black and whites. 

Donated fabrics in a split rail pattern.

Sewing for Hospice House

I've mentioned that I am a volunteer for Hospice House and Support Care of Williamsburg. I started as the birdfeeder and birdbath caretaker and then oriented at the front desk (reception). Along the way, I learned they needed a few items sewn - simple tote bags for guest belongings, a pillow for each guest's bed as a decoration, and other small things. The pillow goes home with family.

The main person who sews pillows needed help, so I stepped in. She makes so many of them and delivered >50 recently. That's when she and I met. I was working at the front desk and she stopped by. We chatted and my assistant pillow maker gig began.

The pictured pillow was made completely from scraps today in a modified split-rail quilt block design. I was given small pieces of the fabric shown and the back of the pillow is from an old sheet that my sister gave me. The cost to me was time and the Poly-Fil, and the payback for me is a feeling of giving back and paying forward, a way to spend some of the new free time I've found since retirement, and my stash is getting smaller! That's just plain odd. 

Get out in your own community and see what kind of charity sewing you can do. Check with early intervention centers, nursing homes, hospices, any place that serves people in some way. You'll be glad you did. 

Hamming it up, part 2

An update to the ham pillow post from a few days ago:

I've been trying to get more ham bags, but guess what? They don't make these anymore. So, I told my friend that her pillow is now super collectible. Worth a lot. Right? Maybe not, but it's kind of fun to know you have a pillow that can't be made anymore until someone raids the warehouse and grabs all the ham bags!

I think she likes it! 

Sewing word search puzzle

I had fun putting this word search puzzle together for you. You can go to the link and play it on line or print it out and play off line.

Happy Holidays!

https://thewordsearch.com/puzzle/827517/sewing-words/

Here's a screen shot in case you don't trust link clicking!

Virginia Ham is so delicious! (How-to)

Until you've had a real Virginia ham, you are truly missing out. A lot of places sell "Virginia ham" that isn't the real deal. Some delis call it country ham. But here in VA, we call it what it is, Virginia ham.  

I've been fortunate enough to acquire a bunch of unused ham bags and what better thing to do than make a pillow?!?

Easy instructions:

1. Wash the bag. If it is a used ham bag, you might want to soak it first and make sure to air dry it. It may hold some of the ham smell. Some companies will hook you up with the bags if you ask nicely :)
2. Iron the bag to get out any weird wrinkles.
3. Cut the edge off, all the way around. 
4. Take one piece and apply ruffle to the right side (if you choose to use it). 
5. Place right sides together, pin, and sew, leaving an opening for stuffing.
6. Stuff with polyfil or your fluff of choice. I like to stuff these pretty tightly to make them easier to toss in the washer (in a pillowcase!) and dryer. 
7. Stitch the opening by hand. 
8. Fluff it up with your hands. 
9. Enjoy!

We have one of these on our bed. It makes a good extra pillow for reading. The one pictured is being sent to a friend who has moved. Just a little bit of home for her. It's odd, but wonderful. Everyone should have a ham pillow!

A volunteer who happens to sew

That's me, I guess!

I started taking care of bird feeders (feeding, cleaning, bird baths, etc.) at Hospice House and Support Care in Williamsburg, VA recently.  The word got out that I sew. And another volunteer noticed my handmade tote bag. She asked me if I could make tote bags "like that." I surprised her by saying I made that one :)

As it turns out, Hospice House provides tote bags for families and the person who was making them wasn't able to continue. So, I stepped in and now I make lots of tote bags. They're very simple and I don't even line them as I don't know if they'll be kept or thrown away, and I don't care; the bag is no longer mine once I deliver it to the House. I've used up an awful lot of my stash and am collecting certain fabrics that would work well for the purpose.

Today, I met the person who sews pillows for guests at the House. They're decorative and offered to the family to take home. She brought in two great big bags of pillows she had made. As is wont to happen, we talked about sewing and it became clear that she did not want to continue to be the only one making them and maybe wanted to give it up. We talked for quite a while and I offered to take some of the pressure off by helping out. I'm not sure how this will turn out, but I wouldn't bother me one iota to help out. Pillows are fun to make and they're meaningful to the families.

I'm doing a couple other small projects for the House and probably will continue to do so for a long time. I volunteered for an early intervention center when I was younger and my children were babies and toddlers. I even worked for them for a while. Now, I'm volunteering at the other end of life's spectrum. A natural progression, I'd say.

Yes, I am a volunteer who happens to sew.

In the meantime, my nephew and nieces have asked for new trick or treat bags. They're the project for now!