Cheery gifts for kids in need

A few weeks ago I attended the Sewing and Stitchery Expo in Puyallup, Washington. As we weaved in and out of the many aisles, we watched a miniature mountain, built of pillowcases, forming in the corner of the conference center. These pillowcases were collected for children at the Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma, WA. The project’s organizers crossed their fingers for 500 pillowcases to be collected. But they were delightfully surprised when the final count came in over 2,300! WSU Today’s article on the subject quotes, Janet York, an organizer of the conference, as saying, “sewers are extremely generous people.” How right she is! Scores of conference attendees lovingly took their time and resources to create these precious gifts. And now the children at Mary Bridge hospital each have a colorful pillowcase to cheer their monochromatic hospital beds. Each pillowcase becomes the property of the child and they are thrilled to take it home with them after their stay.

Read the Sewing and Stitchery Expo’s blog for recent updates on the project.

How do you give back with sewing? What sewing charities would you like us to feature in upcoming blogs?

Annie O'Connor, assistant editor
Posted on Mar 25th, 2011 in sewing

Comments (7)

sewquilter writes: I make fleece pet blankets for a animal rescue group here in New Orleans, LA. I have been doing about 25-30 cat and dog blankets for this rescue group for about four years now. I have also started to join a group of sewers at a quilt store (The Quilted Owl in Jefferson, LA) two times to make isolet coverlets and sheets for cribs for the NIC unit for the infants born in a hospital nearby. We are going to do this at least every other month. We had about 10 sewers at the last get together to make the coverlets. We made 90 coverlets and about 30 crib sheets.
Posted: 9:11 pm on April 13th

SewFunKaren writes: I stand at the ready to bless someone with an alteration, a pillowcase, pj pants, apron or something that would be special for another, but usually in an informal way. It sure lifts people's spirits when you make something for someone, especially if they weren't expecting it!
Posted: 10:45 pm on April 6th

sewpo writes: Part of my sewing business includes alterations. I give back to my community by doing alterations for active law enforcement officers and active military for free.
Posted: 2:27 pm on April 6th

pittgirl writes: I belong to the Smocking Arts Guild of America (SAGA). We make gowns for hospital NICUs. These are used mainly as baptismal or burial gowns. We also make hats, blankets and booties.
We also decorate and donate a Christmas tree for our local hospice.
Posted: 4:09 pm on April 5th

Kim2cat writes: i'm retro-fitting drapes which were donated to the summer musical theater here in Ogunquit, ME - The Ogunquit Playhouse
Posted: 3:45 pm on April 5th

pjmckee writes: My sister and I are making pillowcases for a childrens hospital floor. Here's a link to a good pattern.
http://www.filminthefridge.com/2010/01/27/pretty-quick-pillowcase-tutorial/
Posted: 11:22 am on April 1st

wondering04 writes: Is there a way to get the pattern for the pillowcase? Thanks
Posted: 10:11 pm on March 29th

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