an opportunity to help those in Haiti

The devastation in Haiti is beyond our understanding.  As I was sitting in my warm, comfortable house last night after a long night at work eating a very late dinner, my mind was turned to those in Haiti who have no shelter, no job, no food.  I wondered to myself, "What can I do from here?"

We have friends who live in Haiti.  Kristie grew up in NW Iowa.  She grew up, moved away from home and met a man from Haiti named JeanJean.  They married and have two amazing kids.  They live in JeanJean's hometown in Haiti, and they spend their days and nights providing nutrition to children at meal centers, educating women and men and improving their community.  

Their work is funded through a board that is based in NW Iowa.  On a good day, they have a tough job.  At a time like this, they have a seemingly impossible job. 

We've been receiving updates from them since the earthquake.  This is the last e-mail we received.        

Dear friends;
After a night of praying specifically how we can help, we have felt that God telling us to, "Go, and do in His name." Port-au-Prince is not too far away for us to go with our vehicles and bring supplies in or to bring survivors back here. We have Port-au-Prince contacts, both individuals and churches that can help direct us in helping with immediate needs. We also can help the families of the deceased. And soon, there will be a need to re-build. I think of the challenges that New Orleans faced. Haiti has even less resources and support from the government.

For so many, Port-au-Prince represents the golden dream. This is where they could go to school, or where they would find that elusive job that would support them. It is where they would find a good life that they couldn't find in their home towns. People save and save until they have enough money to rent a small room that they share with 3 others, as was true with the 4 local young men that perished in their collapsed building. Now, for most people, that is all gone. My prayer is that people will turn to God as their hope and provider.
I just was interrupted in typing this by our friend, Marie, who cleans the dormitory for us. She came in tears because she has to go to Port to try to find 2 sisters. She hasn't heard anything from them except that they live in an area that had massive destruction. Many people are in the same situation. These are people that we can help. Our brother just called and he will be coming back with many others. People will have to come back to their home areas because there is nothing in Port for them now.
If you would like to send money to UCI to help, you may send it to the address listed below. JeanJean and I and our whole UCI Haiti board will use it to help people in need and to honor God. Thank you, thank you for your prayers and I am not ashamed to ask for more prayers. We love you so much for your love to us and Haiti.
In Christ,who is just, and who saves!
JeanJean and Kristie, Tana and Kerri Mompremier

UCI
PO Box 51
Orange City, IA 51041
Make out the check to UCI and write "earthquake" in the memo

There are many ways to help from afar.  Here's an organization our family has given to in the past - http://www.churchworldservice.org/site/PageServer.  We trust them completely to use this money in the best possible way for the most possible benefit of the people in immediate need.  Perhaps you know of another organization or way to help the people of Haiti.  Please post that in the comments section below.  I imagine in the future there will be opportunities for crafters/sewers to send blankets/quilts, clothing and other items, but for now, it seems the most immediate need is funding for the people and organizations that are there providing assistance.       

a shout out to my mom as I ponder which came first - the chicken or the egg.

This post is a shout out to my mom .  . . (Awww, isn't that sweet!)  It also answers the question, "Why do you blog about this?  Couldn't you still challenge yourself to complete twelve crafts before next Christmas without blogging?"

Well, blogging serves two purposes for me.

First, writing about crafting/sewing somehow keeps me creatively inspired and motivated to keep sewing/crafting.  Truth be told, I think I would have probably given up on this year-long challenge about half way through the first crayon roll if I wasn't writing about it.  It's as if one gives life to the other . . . kind of a "Which came first - the chicken or the egg?" thing.  

Second, a few years ago my mom gave me a memory chest.  Inside the chest are treasures from the past . . . my past. 

A dress my mom made for me that matched a dress that my doll wore.

A sewing card my mom made for me to practice my sewing skills.  (If you take a close look at it, you will see why I didn't pick up sewing again until the age of 32.)

Two clay hearts on a string that my mom made with me.  

A table runner my mom made for her mom.

A stenciled tulip my mom made into a wall-hanging.  

Many other toys, books, trinkets full of childhood memories. 

I had completely forgotten that my mom used to craft, sew, paint, etc when I was little because as my brother and I got older, she stopped doing those things.  Around the time she gave me this chest full of memories, I asked her why she stopped doing those things. She explained that between raising children, working and the other stuff of life there wasn't much room for crafting, sewing and painting.  She gave those things up to care for us and provide for us.  I was humbled by that reality because as a kid I had no idea that she sacrificed a part of her creative being for me.  I appreciate having the memory chest to remind me of this part of my mom.

This chest sits in our living room, and my girls regularly beg me to open it so that they can look at the special things inside and hear the stories of my childhood.  I have an opportunity to tell them about myself and my mom.  My oldest daughter said to me the other day when she was playing with the sewing cards I made her, "Mommy, will you put these in my very own memory chest someday too?"  

In this blog, I have the opportunity to pass on memories to my girls - memories of what I made for them, how much I loved them and a glimpse of what gave me creative life as a young mom.  So . . . I'm printing out these pages and one day, years and years and years from now maybe my daughters will open up their memory chests, pull out these faded pages and show their children the projects I made just for them.

Craft on!

and the winner is . . .

EVERYONE!  Eight people posted guesses on the blog or Facebook, and almost all eight guessed a tutu.  Okay, I'll be honest . . . brutally honest . . . I'm disappointed.  I was hoping to stump people, but clearly that was too easy of a guessing game.  The ease at which you guessed the  mystery item only spurs me on to try this guessing game again in the future with something even more challenging.  Someone mentioned that I should give the tutu away to the first person who guessed correctly.  Ha!  My "easy" tutu project actually took quite a while to do, so I'm keeping it all for myself.  (Actually, I'm keeping it for my daughter's birthday.  I'm pretty sure it would only fit over my left thigh - it's not exactly adult appropriate.)  However, maybe next time we play this little game I will think of something to give to the winner . . . perhaps a rotary cutter.  (Smile)  

As I mentioned, this is for my daughter's birthday - not for the twelve crafts till Christmas.  In December I found a super easy and VERY DETAILED tutu tutorial from Bethany at Vermillion Rules.  (Quick . . . say that ten times fast.  Did you do it?  That's a mouth full!)  Bethany is clearly a type A personality after my own heart because she puts soooo much detail in her tutorials.  If you have never made a tutu before and there's a kid in your life who might enjoy one, I totally encourage you to try it at least once.

I tweaked a few things from Bethany's directions because the truth is I don't really like to follow directions.  Whether it's cooking, baking, crafting or sewing, I'm not exaggerating to say that I never do it the way the recipes, directions, instructions or tutorials say.  I've always been that way . . . you can ask my parents . . . much to their dismay.

I'll give you a quick rundown of the tweaks I made just in case you actually care and want to try this little project at home.  

1)  Color order and choice - Bethany is pretty specific about the order of colors that she recommends.  I went with a much more random effect.  To be honest, the tutu is so puffy and wild I'm not sure if it really matters enough to put that much time into ordering and sequencing the colors.

2)  Length and width of individual tulle pieces - I didn't really go for symmetry.  I like the varied pieces that sort of jut out randomly in places.  It's like the tousled-hair-look for a tutu.

3)  Surprise . . . ribbons - I have a shoe box stuffed full of ribbons just waiting to find life in something, so I decided to give them life as they wave about in a dancing tutu.  I replaced one of the layers of tulle with a ribbon about every fourth set of tulle.  That worked out super because I think if I had all those extra pieces of tulle this tutu would have been way too puffy.  The ribbons add an extra pop of bright color, take out some of the tulle volume and add some different texture in the mix.  I like it!  

FYI - I just got introduced to this cool little product called Fray Check.  Hello . . . this is a little magic in a bottle.  I completely recommend putting Fray Check on the ends of the ribbons so that the fraying is in check.  (Sigh - I'm not as clever as I think I am.)       

So . . . thanks to everyone who took the time to humor me and guess the mystery item on FB or in the comments section.  I'm off to work on another crayon roll.

Also, if you have posted a comment/question on a past post, check back to that post for my response.  Thanks! 
Craft on! 

holy moments

For some crafting is a full-time trade.  Others juggle crafting part-time, kids, work and much more.  For me crafting is a hobby relagated to Saturday naptimes and after the kids are tucked in bed and off to dreamland.  Right now would be about the time I would be opening my fabric drawer like a kid in a candy store and pulling out the next fabric treat ready to be made into a crayon roll.  Not tonight though.

Many of you know that much of my time - day and night - is spent pastoring a wonderful group of people in a wonderful little community.  I've spent seven years visiting newborns, baptizing kids and adults, marrying couples, sitting in hospital rooms . . . holy moments.  One of the most holy moments is being with a person when they pass from this life into the next.  Today I experienced another one of those holy moments.  And although all I did was sit there, my body, mind and spirit are as exhausted as if I have just run a marathon.  It's hard to explain . . . this humbling privilege of watching a family say good-bye to a beloved parent, grandparent, great-grandparent who has lived life well.  

Lately, I've been echoing the words of prayer-poet Ted Loder.  Here's one of his works that speaks to me and for me today:

Eternal Friend,
grant me an ease
to breathe deeply of this moment,
this light,
this miracle of now.
Beneath the din and fury
of great movements
and harsh news
and urgent crises,
make me attentive still
to good news,
to small occasions,
and the grace of what is possible
for me to be,
to do,
to give,
to receive,
that I may miss neither my neighbor's gift
nor my enemy's need.

 

So . . . no crafting tonight . . . no report of my crafting antics or sewing adventures . . . just attentive listening for holy moments. 

What are your holy moments?

let's play a guessing game!

I love guessing games.  Well, let me clarify.  I love to be the one who knows the answer . . . not the one who is guessing.  At our house we play a lot of guessing games.  These games usually begin with me saying to my youngest daughter (23 months) something like, "Where are your shoes, mittens, socks, etc?"  And she always answers with an impish grin and a twinkle in her eye, "Hiding!"  Then the guessing begins as I look in every garbage can, laundry bin, closet and bag for the missing item.  A few weeks ago we spent a week looking for her coat.  (Don't worry we didn't take her out in the dead of winter without a coat.  She wore a one-size-too-big-hand-me-down from her sister.)  

So here's a guessing game for you.  I'm still working on perfecting my crayon roll technique, but in the mean time, I need something else to work on that didn't involve such rotary-cutter precession.  The materials for this mystery item are in the above picture.  Can you guess what this material is waiting to become?  Post a guess below. 

Anyone can post a comment.  I changed my settings so that a blogger account isn't necessary to post a comment.           

Craft on!

finders keepers, losers weepers: behold . . . lightweight fusible interfacing!

Friday was the coldest day we've had in a century, and what did I do?  You might think I would stay inside with a cup of hot tea and enjoy the day.  You would be wrong.  I bundled the kids up, piled them in the car and went in search of lightweight fusible interfacing.  And behold . . . I found it.  Well, I didn't find it exactly.  I found featherweight fusible interfacing and light-to-medium fusible interfacing.  Nothing called simply . . . lightweight fusible interfacing.  Why would I expect this to be easy?  So I stood there like a horse with blinders on as my youngest started throwing everything in our cart onto the ground and my oldest started pulling her favorite fabric bolts off the shelf.  Of course, I could have asked someone for their expertise, but that would have been the easy thing to do.  Why would I do that when I can blindly choose one on gut instinct and experiment?  So after loading the cart up again and putting the bolts back on the shelf . . . the light-to-medium fusible interfacing is in my possession, and I plan to start on crayon roll number two sometime soon.  

In the mean time, I am teaching my oldest daughter to use a needle and thread.  For Christmas I put together a sewing basket just for her with a variety of age appropriate sewing projects and other sewing items.  She's been tinkering with the sewing cards and today we tackled her first project . . . a little coin purse.  About 45 seconds into the project she said, "This is hard.  My arms are tired."  But she persevered - with some prodding, and she did finish it - with some assistance.  Then she spent the next thirty minutes turning over every cushion, looking on every shelf, and peering into every bag looking for change to put in said change purse.  All she came up with was one lone penny - it was a plastic penny from the toy cash register.  Poor kid.  

I'd love to know if you have any patterns or suggestions for my next crayon roll.  A friend from the past mentioned that she makes her crayon rolls with placemats.  She called it the cheater method.  Truth be told the cheater method sounds right up my alley.  

Craft on!      

sew stupid

So . . . I chose the crayon roll as my first of twelve crafts till Christmas on the premise that this is a craft that "anyone with a sewing machine can make".  Now, in theory I did make and finish the crayon roll.  (I used the pattern and directions from Cindy at Skip To My Lou.)  Of course, I use the word "make" very literally as in I picked fabrics, cut them, pinned them, did some sewing, undid some sewing, did some more sewing and came up with a finished project . . . finished not necessarily polished.  This picture does not do my many mistakes justice!  However, I also learned some valuable lessons along the way.  Here's four for those of you who would like to learn along with me.

1)  It might be a good idea to have all the recommended supplies.  I didn't have this thing called lightweight fusible interfacing.  Not only did I not have it, I have no idea what it is.  It appears to be used to add some weight and stiffness to the fabric, so I figured I would just use some extra flour sack material that I had on hand.  I think that complicated the sewing process and added some extra bulk that I didn't need.

2)  Using a rotary cutter is not as easy as you might think . . . or maybe I'm just rotary- cutter challenged.  For the life of me, I could not get that thing to cut straight - as you can see from these photos.  All of these fabric pieces were supposed to be the exact same size.  Clearly that is not the case.    

3)  Measuring is important.  So . . . in my life outside of sewing and crafting, I am incredibly Type A.  One of the reasons that I decided to start sewing and crafting was to allow myself to be more creative and not so focused on some ideal of perfection.  Because of this goal, I typically don't get too worked up about measurements when I sew.  However, apparently in many instances measuring is super important.  Who knew?  This particular crayon roll was supposed to have 16 inch-wide slots for crayons.  I, on the other hand, had to modify my crayon roll to a 15 slot roll due to some mismeasuring.  This unfortunately displaces shag-carpet orange from the box of retro colored Crayola crayons I am going to use to fill this crayon roll.  As you can see I just cut off the part that didn't seem to work for me.  That was clearly not Cindy's intention.

4)  Fabric glue is a sew-stupid crafters best friend.  Due to the above mentioned rotary-cutter mishap, I had some edges that needed to be glued shut.  I'm grateful for the invention of fabric glue, and I have a feeling that I will be using it frequently in the year to come.

Well, I have finished my first of twelve crafts; however, I think I'll be taking a couple more shots at this before the month is out.  First on my list of things to do before try number two . . . track down the elusive lightweight fusible interfacing.

Craft on!