IT'S OUR BIRTHDAY

Happy Birthday Days for Girls! 

Seven years ago a global movement started that is changing the lives of hundreds of thousands of women and girls . . . thanks to YOU! Who would ever have guessed that dignity, health and opportunity could be held in a single drawstring bag and a powerful bundle of knowledge that come with DfG Women's Health Training. It's amazing and so are you! ‪#‎7Years7Continents‬ ‪#‎GiftOfTime‬

You can't help us if you can't sew . . . WRONG!

Many times people have told me what a great idea Days for Girls is, and how they'd love to help us, but they don't sew.

So, I decided to make a list of non-sewing steps that go into the making of a complete kit, and a short list of the few that require a sewing machine or serger:

No-sewing tasks:
Cutting tags/labels off washcloths
Washing fabric
Drying fabric
Ironing fabric
Cutting flannel into strips for liners
Cutting flannel strips into squares once hot spot is sewn down
Cutting cotton for bags
Cutting out shields and PUL on the die cutter
Cutting out pockets
Pinning
Trimming
Drawing rounded corners on liners
Snipping threads
Using the snap press to affix snaps on the shields
Cutting drawstring lengths
Inserting drawstrings
Applying Fraycheck to drawstring ends
Glue-basting labels on the bags
Removing tape from the underwear
Assembling kits
Photocopying and cutting our inserts
Photocopying and cutting our flyers
Size-labeling Ziploc bags
Rolling up 2nd Ziploc bags
Measuring
Folding undies
Folding washcloths
Donating supplies
Donating money for supplies

Telling people about Days for Girls

Contrast that list with the jobs that require good sewing skills:
serging liners
sewing  liners
sewing shields
serging bags
sewing (glue-basted) labels on bags
sewing bags

So you can see, there's something for everybody!

It's those Lions again!  Hear them roar!

Two days ago DFG volunteer and Springfield Lions Club member Patty emailed me to alert me to a flannel sale.  She said she'd see if any of the other Lions would like to contribute.   A few hours later, she had pledges of $100!  So, late afternoon on Halloween,  I shopped, estimating in my head how much fabric remained on a bolt and how close I was getting to $100.  As usual, the clerk asked what I planned to do with all that flannel.  As I showed her a shield and liner and answered her questions, the clerk next to her smiled and said, "I cut for her a week or two ago."  

Here is what the Lions' generosity bought--35+ yards of colorful flannel.  Enough to make 8 liners each for 32 kits!

Thank you so much for your generosity, Springfield Lions!

In-kind Donations--Ziplocs

I try to keep our little half-page handout up to date.  One side tells about Days for Girls and our local group.  The other side is our wish list, showing what we can use if people want to shop for us.  Most of the time the donations are perfect, but there's one item that is confusing people.  We use Ziploc gallon-sized FREEZER bags.  We've received so many boxes that aren't Ziploc and/or aren't freezer-weight (just regular storage).  Days for Girls has determined that Ziploc Freezer bags are the weight and quality that will hold up the best.  This is a crucial part of the kits, so if you're buying, please be sure you get Ziploc brand AND freezer weight.  

I keep a lot of odd notes on my phone.  One is Ziploc Freezer bag prices.  So, if you're interested in price comparisons, here are some prices (per bag) I've noticed when shopping at various stores and online over that past year or so:

18.63¢  Market of Choice (30 for $5.59)
14.86¢  Walmart (30 for $4.46)
11.76¢  eBay (152 for $17.88)
16.21¢  eBay (360 for $58.37)

Next workday

Our next third-Sunday workday is November 15th.  We are at Our Sewing Room from 10 am to 5 pm.  I typically bring enough work to keep a small army occupied, and am delighted with how much we accomplish.  Handy to bring if you can:  sharp scissors, rotary cutter with sharp blade, and if you sew or serge, your machine.  An extra bobbin or two is very helpful.