Sunday, March 28, 2010

swaziland on the brain

ever since our church announced they'll be returning to swaziland this fall i've had it on my mind. i keep thinking about quilts...more quilts...LOTS of quilts.

i mean, i think about quilts a lot anyway, but this is sort of...above and beyond the normal obsession.

our church will be going over to swaziland with a lot of different goals in mind: building water tanks for a village with a crocodile-infested water source. (i'm trying to imagine being in fear for my life every time i need a drink and it just boggles the mind.) they're also going to be doing VBS for the kids there, a youth conference for the teenagers, and (and this is the part i keep thinking about) bringing supplies to a local hospital.

obviously i don't have a secret store of medical supplies hidden up my sleeve. but i do have a sewing machine and fabric scraps. and one of the things they've asked for are quilts for the children there. a lot of them live there and have no personal items at all, and i think that a handmade quilt would be something lovely to give them. if i have time i'll try to do some more softies, but my main priority right now is quilt making.

remember this from last fall? (ugh, those wretched photos! the quilts weren't THAT ugly, i promise) i had very little notice, but me and my friends managed to whip up some quick blankets and softies for the ladies to bring with them. it wasn't much, but it was the best i could do at short notice (and while the 1 month old baby slept. ah, the good old days when making stuff didn't have to be crammed hurriedly between naptimes!).

this time, however, i've got PLENTY of notice. nevertheless, the idea of making 25+ crib and twin sized quilts is...daunting. and so, once again, i'm throwing this idea out to everyone. if anyone is interested in helping, please let me know. if you can't swing the sewing, but have some nice fabric you'd like to donate, that would be rad. i think this is a really great cause and i would love to be able to help bless these kids with some lovingly-made things of their own.

here is a link to the website, just in case you think i'm a criminal trying to steal quilts and resell them or something: Hope Alive 2010

PICTURES OF THE LAST TRIP TO COME LATER. the lady who took pictures last time is one of the busiest people i know and i'm trying to pin her down to give me some! :)

2 comments:

One Shabby Chick said...

ha ah - that's pretty funny about the "so you don't think I'm a criminal"......I'm in - that's a lot of time too so I can hopefully get a couple done - I'll blog about this too! Great cause - thanks for letting us know!

toni edge said...

Hi!! I am Kelly Jo's cousin...she sent me over to your blog to check out your wonderful art & quilty stuff. Would you be interested in some of my crocheted dolls to send to Swaziland??

I have some that I'd done ages ago and they don't really fit into my new etsy shop and I've been looking for something great to do with them rather then just have them sitting about. Here are some photos...http://www.flickr.com/photos/hugatreecrafts/sets/72157623463886172/

Let me know if you would and I can send you a box of em. toniedge@hotmail.com