Christmas Sheets Needed!

Red, green, and black twin sheets are needed for our Christmas quilts! Let us know if you get any from store -- donations are greatly appreciated!

Warm Hands Projects- Kits ready to go!

It's fall and we're back in action every Tuesday!

We have kits ready for an easy at-home sewing project, making mittens for the homeless! This is perfect for those of you who cannot come on Tuesdays or have extra time during the week; it really only requires basic sewing skills and minimal time. Each kit includes the materials and instructions, so you will know exactly what to do to complete the mittens.

You can receive a kit from Arlene Housman of the White River Ward (253-833-5087 or gfhousman@comcast.net) or Cheri Lahue of the Mill Pond Ward (253-397-7078 or cherilahue@gmail.com), or on Tuesdays at Sew Much Love. You can complete the kit anytime and return to the Relief Society Humanitarian box at the Stake Center! 

Angel Babies Project Update

The Angel Babies project has been up and running for a while now, and things are going wonderfully! These items are for micro-preemie and preemie babies that are stillborn or losses through the NICU.  They come in sets so that one can be on the baby and there is one for the family to take home for remembrance and comfort.  Often commercial items are too big for these babies, so we are hand making them for the sizes needed for these angel babies.  Our hope is that they will provide some comfort for the families that have lost their child. The hospitals we are currently donating to are Auburn, Good Samaritan in Puyallup, Valley Medical in Renton, and Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland. 

There are 3 main items that Angel Babies focuses on:

Diapers with hats

·         There are 2 sizes of diapers, large and small.  The size of hats determine which kind to use. The smallest hats (2 inches) are for babies that are between 14-17 weeks. The middle size hats (3 inch) are for babies that are between 17-23 weeks; these have both large and small diapers with them so you can determine which is appropriate for each case. The large hats (4 inch) are for babies that are between 24-32 weeks.

Blankets with hats

·         The blankets come in three sizes with matching hats that go to babies who are born at certain weeks. (Note: they do not come with diapers.) The smallest size blankets are for babies born between 14-17 weeks. The middle size blankets are for babies born between 17-23 weeks. The large size blankets are for babies born between 24-32 weeks.

Combo sets

·        These few combo sets come with diapers, blankets, and hats. There are some with small diapers and small hats (2 inch) for babies born between 14-17 weeks. There are some large diapers with large hats (4 inch) and these are for babies born between 24-32 weeks. 

We have had lots of people help with tracing, cutting, and putting together kits for the people to sew.  What we are really looking for is people who can help with sewing this summer and all the time.  Katy Cunningham, the leader of the project, has kits put together of either 10 diapers (both small and large) or 4 mini blankets. She's happy to help people acquire kits if they want to sew. She keeps the box of them in the closet at the church, so she just has volunteers sign out whatever they take so that she can keep track of what is where.  We also have instructions available, so volunteers can learn as they go!  

Another way people can help is by donating fabric. We are always looking for flannel, especially in either gender neutral, boy patterns, and solids. Another item that can be donated is thin ribbon.

If you are interested in helping out with this project, whether on Tuesdays at the church or at home, please feel free to contact Katy at katherinepcunningham@gmail.com or call/text 314-620-8161.

Here are some pictures of how they're coming along!

Institute Spring Social and Service Project

     In April, the YSA Institute, thanks to Elder and Sister Olson, had a spring social and service project, complete with good food, conversation, and LOTS of amazing service. The first part of the service project was to assemble 50 hygiene kits for men and 50 for women for the Auburn Homeless Shelter. The young single adults donated all the items to be included in the kits (tooth brush, tooth paste, shampoo, conditioner, soap, washcloths, combs, nail clippers, hand sanitizer, chap stick, band aids, razors, shaving cream, and more). Before starting, Arlene Housman explained how to fit everything into the bags just right. Then the group went to work cutting and finishing the edges of 24 fleece blankets for the Homeless Shelter.
     On the following Friday, they delivered the hygiene kits and fleece blankets to the Homeless Shelter. They were extremely grateful. The Auburn Food Bank adjoining the Homeless Shelter serves an average of 120 families everyday, bringing hope and smiles to people facing difficult circumstances. 

Getting to Know Fritz Barton

One of the best parts of our Sew Much Love program is that women get to know and love other women in the stake. One of our busy humanitarian servers is Fritz Barton, from the Auburn Ward! She's been with Sew Much Love for just over a year now. For the most part, she sews the quilt sandwiches together and turns them right side out. If there are no quilt sandwiches to sew, she likes to help with quilt tying. Fritz has been sewing since 7th grade in junior high. She said that back then it was required for girls to take sewing classes. She fell in love with it and continued to take sewing through all 4 years of high school, and continued on to major in Clothing and Textiles at BYU.

Fritz says that her favorite part of attending Sew Much Love on Tuesdays is coming together to see friends from other wards, and she loves the feeling you get from serving others. Her favorite scripture about service is from King Benjamin in Mosiah 2:17. Thanks, Fritz! :) 

We Made the News!

Dawn Merritt recently discovered this KOMO video about a mother who passed away,and the wonderful family she left behind. It doesn't mention us specifically, but in the background, you can see one of our quilts hanging up on the wall! So cool! 

https://www.facebook.com/EricJohnsonKOMO/videos/1750083305053188/

Quilting Helps Your Health!

Kim Anderson found this wonderful article and we wanted to share it! :)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2002862/Why-quilting-uniquely-good-us.html

Now that's a great reason to quilt!

Our Nursery Director- Marjorie!

My new favorite person might be Marjorie Carbough, who has graciously volunteered to be our Nursery Director each Tuesday during Humanitarian Service! It's a game changer! Mothers and grandmas are ALWAYS welcome to bring kids, and have been welcome for years! For the past few years, each Tuesday, there would be a few boxes of toys, and the kids would run around and play with toys while the adults serve and sew. My older independent daughter would happily run and play, occasionally checking in with me and running off again. However, my second child is a cling-to-mommy type girl, and she would typically spend the whole two hours underneath one of the quilts pulling at the yarn as I was attempting to tie a quilt. So that was effective (face palm).

Last fall, Marjorie began running a nursery for the kids in the gym! She is from the Lakota Creek Ward in Federal Way, and is Arlene Housman's daughter! She comes prepared with books, games, snacks, crafts, and the kids LOVE her. My clingy child spent the whole 2 hours the other day glued to Marjorie, adoring the story time, painting a hat, and acting out stories! The kids are totally engaged for the whole 2 hours and usually have something to take home with them at the end! She is absolutely wonderful! Her service makes it SOOO much easier for moms like me to come and serve. My daughter calls it "her preschool", even though she's only 2. Marjorie's service is a tender mercy in our lives!

We invite all to come and serve with us, and bring your kids! They'll be in the same room having the time of their lives with Marjorie!

YSA Service and The Wishing Well Foundation

Back in December, the Young Single Adult Institute gathered for a Christmas Potluck to eat and do some humanitarian service. This fabulous project was all under the direction of Elder and Sister Olsen, who are the wonderful senior missionaries living in the Auburn Ward and serving in the Institute program here. With the Olsen's thoughtful planning, about 50 YSA came together, feasted on a scrumptious dinner, tied blankets and quilts, wrote letters to the missionaries, and were rewarded with a table full of treats afterwards! The Olsen's had prepared 30 fleece blankets to be tied, as well as 2 twin size quilts. A few days later, they then donated them to The Wishing Well Foundation, which is an organizing in Tacoma supporting Foster children. The foundation was very appreciative and grateful for the service, especially for the quilts, as they rarely get blankets in that larger size from donations. The YSA were blessed, the foundation was blessed, and some wonderful children will be very blessed from those thoughtful gifts! 

Christmas is always such a wonderful time to serve others, while our hearts are full. As Charles Dickens wrote in A Christmas Carol, after Scrooge had been visited by the three ghosts, “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!” 
Now that Christmas is over and our hearts have been touched by opportunities of generosity and extra service, let's strive to keep that spirit with us year round.