See you Sunday

It's nearly time for our December Days for Girls workday at Our Sewing Room.  Please join us on Sunday, from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm, or however much of that works for your schedule.

We have lots of jobs for you to choose from--sewing, cutting (scissors and Accuquilt), tracing, pressing, serging, etc.

Our Sewing Room has a collection of sergers and sewing machines that you can use.  Many of us prefer the familiarity of our own machines, so we tote them along.

If you'd like to bring your own machine, I'd suggest bobbins with a variety of colors, or an empty bobbin you can fill, so that the thread is a good match to the fabric colors.  Days for Girls asks that we use polyester thread.

Other helpful items to bring are good scissors, a seam ripper, and pins.

If you'd like to be working on a part of the kit you haven't made yet (or haven't made recently), I suggest you take the time to read the directions and watch the video on the Days for Girls website before you come.

We received a couple of wonderful donations of fabric today, so my washer and dryer are doing their things.  I'll have some of that pretty fabric with me on Sunday, ready for pressing and cutting.

As always, other donations are very welcome (details are in earlier postings):

     Ziploc gallon freezer bags, not the slider style
     Girls' cotton underpants, sizes 10-12, brief or hipster styles, as brightly colored as you can find
     Washcloths in colors--no white
     Twill tape, 1/2"--5/8" in colors--no white/beige
     Polyester thread, in medium and dark colors
     Small hotel/travel soaps
     Funds, easily donated on Crowdrise, through January 6th.

Please remember, although we make hundreds of these kits, each girl receives only one.  We want that kit to be something she's proud of, with every item in it attractive and perfectly made and able to last 3 years.  So please check your work for quality.  Don't trim dangerously close to stitching.  Backstitch where directed.  Sew straight when topstitching.  Trim all your threads.  Check the back of your work for tension problems.  It's so sad when we have to reject something that was made too quickly.  We'd much rather have fewer outstanding kits than more sloppily constructed ones.  If in doubt, please ask.

Here's a great video that shows why we're investing so much of our lives in this project:  http://www.projectforawesome.com/charity/days-for-girls-international/p4a-2014--days-for-girls

Giving Tuesday. Will you?

I read in the paper today that tomorrow is Giving Tuesday, following Gray Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday.    A global day dedicated to giving back.

I can think of lots of ways you could benefit Days for Girls Eugene with your generosity.  And I'm probably missing a few:

Donate to the Gear Up For Girls campaign on Crowdrise.  100% of your donation goes to our local team, to buy the materials and supplies that make up our kits.  This fundraiser goes until January 6th. You will immediately get a printable receipt.

Buy some girls' cotton or cotton blend underpants.  Sizes we need the most are 10 and 12.  They should be as colorful as you can find, in brief or hipster styles (no bikini, thong or boy shorts styles).  Walmart currently has 12-packs for $5.96, which works out to 50 cents a pair.  Target has 12-packs for $5.99, with free (holiday) shipping if you order online.

Buy some Ziploc gallon freezer bags.  Not the slider style.  Great prices at Costco and Walmart.  We are required to use this brand and style.

Buy some washcloths,  but not white ones.   Target has 8-packs for $3.49 (blue tag, white ribbon)  You can order online, and get free shipping.  I've found some great deals at Fred Meyer too.

Buy some twill tape.  Each bag uses 2 yards of 1/2" or 5/8".  Colors or black will show stains less.

Buy some polyester thread.  Colors we use the most of are red, hot pink, kelly and forest greens, medium brown, turquoise and other blues from medium to navy, black and orange.

Buy or raid your stash for some fabric. There are lots of guidelines we must follow for fabric, so please keep these in mind:  

• Flannel is the fabric that we use the most of, in medium to dark, stain-hiding prints.  Botanicals, geometrics and busy designs are best.  Because of cultural considerations, please avoid prints with animals (including insects and reptiles), people, camouflage, weapons, religious symbols, and anything culturally specific).  Better quality is thicker and more absorbent, so please buy the best quality you can afford.
• We use quality quilters' cotton fabric for the shields and drawstring bags  (A yard of fabric will make four drawstring bags.)  The same pattern/design restrictions for the shields as for the flannel--and definitely dark and busy enough to hide stains.  For the bags, here's where we want to use our most beautiful and colorful fabrics.  Let's make them proud!  I just saw a video of a group of girls holding up their colorful bags after a distribution. One girl held a blah white or light gray bag, at her side.  Sadly, she didn't appear to be delighted with hers. 

If you have purchased fabric or donated fabric from your home, another way you can "give" is by washing, drying and pressing it.  If you'd like to then cut out some gorgeous bags from your prettiest fabrics, cut them 12" x 29".  If you have a serger, the next step is to serge both long sides.  Then we apply the labels, as it's much easier to do before the side seams are sewn.

If you're reading this, it's a safe bet that Days for Girls is already on your radar and you give more often than one late autumn Tuesday.  Our needs are ongoing, and we so appreciate your assistance any day of the year.  And thank you!

Hope to see you on our next workday at Our Sewing Room, Sunday, December 14!