Sharing pictures of what we are creating

Got a picture of the blankets, quilts or shawls you or your church group have created?  Send it to methodistsinmission@gmail.com and I'll try to post it to the blog.  Please share your name, and/or the name of your church, and any other info you may have about what you are bringing, such as the name of your sewing group, or any special story about what you've made, or what it means to you to be able to give to someone in need through our in-gathering.  Thanks!

Sewing machines...old and new!

When I was about five, and happily modeling every pair of shorts and tops my mom sewed for me, I very much wanted to learn how to sew.  My parents gave me a small, light brown, metal Singer sewing machine, Model No. 20, Made in Great Britian (pictured above is the box it came in).  I can't say that I remember producing much from that tiny machine, but it now sits in my sewing room, reminding me that once one finds a passion in one's life, it can provide a lifetime of pleasure and adventure. 

Having started off with a Singer at such a young age, quite naturally, when I bought my first machine, it was a Singer.  My daughter learned to sew on it, and she inherited it when I fell in love with another brand, Janome.  She still sews with that Singer, which is now 29 years old.  A friend introduced me to Janome, around the time I started a sewing camp for girls at Camp Mechuwana in Winthrop, Maine.  Through generous donations from local businesses and churches, I purchased 12 Janome Sewist 521 machines for the sewing camp.  They are excellent for beginning sewers, easy to use and easy to clean.  Myself, I own a Janome Sewist 625E, a wee bit of an upgrade from the 521, and perfectly adequate for all my sewing needs.  I purchased the Janomes from the Fabric Garden, a wonderful shop in Madison, Maine.  Every now and then, I window-shop for machines, just daydreaming about the fancier ones.  But I love the one I have right now, and if it does as well by me as the old Singer, I am surely blessed.

What is your sewing story?  Did you start at a young age?  Who inspired you/taught you to sew, or did you self-teach?  What is your favorite sewing machine brand?  Feel free to share with us about your sewing plans for a blanket, quilt, or shawl for our in-gathering worship Saturday, June 15th at Gordon College in Wenham, MA.

Quick 'n Easy Lap or Baby Quilts

I've been teaching sewing to girls at Camp Mechuwana, a Methodist camp in Winthrop, Maine, since the summer of 2006.  No sewing skills required, and we provide the teachers, the machines, the fabric, and the fun begins!  For each item the girls learn to sew, they make one to take home and one, or more, to give to missions.  A friend and colleague of mine, and a skilled sewer, was one of my counselors one summer.  She suggested we teach the girls to sew baby quilts for Project Linus.  I thought to myself, how do you teach non-sewers to produce a quilt in only one week?  Indeed, since we also make rice bags, tote bags and pillowcases, in addition to swimming, boating, crafts, and campfires, how could we even find the time to make quilts?

It is amazing what a good quilt pattern will do to simplify the process of producing a sweet lap/baby quilt.  My friend said she had a great pattern that would produce enough squares for 3 quilts simply by folding the yardage for each quilt and making 2 rotary cuts.  I watched and marvelled.  The girls produced some beautiful quilts, and we prayed over the quilts at the end of our week, before sending them off.  Recently, I went digging for that pattern in my sewing camp pattern binders, and it simply would not surface anywhere.  I knew it had come out of a Quiltmaker magazine, and I knew it was likely from that first summer, 2006.  Eagerly, I searched the Quiltmaker website, only to find they keep issues available dating back to 2008.  So, with much gratitude to Google, I went looking for the quilt, knowing only the pattern's name-"Super-Sized Nine Patch" (designer, Anita Grossman Solomon). Hallelujah, this is the site at which I found the pattern:  http://www.ashevillequiltguild.org. Do you have a favorite, easy lap/baby quilt pattern you'd like to share?

So, now I'm busy making three baby quilts for our Annual Conference in-gathering of blankets, quilts, and prayer shawls at worship Saturday, June 15th at Gordon College, Wenham, MA.  And, if time allows, I'll pick out fabric for three lap quilts for adults.  The pattern is wonderfully versatile.  I love to lay out the squares, then switch them around, to see how the colors fit together in each quilt.  What are you or your church group making for our in-gathering?  With six weeks till we gather, there is still plenty of time to create!

A Cross Transformed

Want to hear a "transformation" story about  my limited-experience-in-crochet?  My step-daughter and her partner gave me a gift card to JoAnn's for Christmas.  So I treated myself to The Crochet Handbook & Stitch Guide ed. by Ruth Patrick.  I found what appeared to be a simple pattern which makes up into a small block with a cross in the center.  I thought this might make a nice little lap afghan of cross blocks, and it is piecework, such that I could tuck it in my purse and take it with me and work on it in odd moments where I found the time.  Like when we had to take the car in for the new wheel bearing recently.  Or like when we had to take the car in for the oil change.  Or like when we had to take the car in (again?!) for a new headlight.  I must say, the guy in the service department was very talkative when he saw my yarn and crochet hook.  Mark told me about his grandmother, who taught him to do needlepoint, just like Rosey Grier (I don't remember Rosey Grier, but my husband knew who Mark was talking about).

So I begin with a ring, and it's coming along quite well, I think, looking like a ring and all.  And I count out chains and skipped dc's and so forth, and pretty soon, it's to the fourth round out of seven total, and it looks suspiciously not at all like a cross, but rather more like a snowflake (the yarn is white with a bit of sparkle...Caron "Simply Soft Party"...and the edge is all soft and ripply, nothing at all like the flat, cross block picture in my pattern book). So, I decide to accept this new creation for the beautiful snowflake that it is, and make a loop (ready for the Christmas tree next year!).  I will try again, to see if the cross reveals itself the second time around...

We have people working on making (or buying) afghans, lap quilts, and prayer shawls throughout our New England Conference!  Some people are spreading the word about this mission via church Facebook pages.  Others are letting their church groups know about it, so their knitting, crochet, sewing groups can plan what they want to make and bring. Church newsletters are also a good way to share about this mission...or the old-fashioned, face-to-face sharing over a cup of tea or coffee.  Saturday, June 15, Gordon College, Wenham, MA, morning worship.  Blessing of the blankets, and sending them out to those in need, around our New England Conference, and the wider world.  Join us in the making, in the purchasing, in the gathering, in the blessing, in the sending!

And, for those of us who are crochet-pattern-reading-challenged, pray for us, that our hooks can find their way, to create what the pattern intends (otherwise, I may have to settle for a snowflake afghan...).

Crocheted Prayer shawl patterns

Looking for a free prayer shawl pattern?  New to crochet?  One place I found, online, is www.redheart.com.  When you arrive at their website, they have a "learn" button, where you can find out all about the basics of crochet.  Check out the "Free Patterns" section, and you'll find several free patterns for easy crocheted shawls (the Musical Shells Shawl Crochet Pattern only uses Chain, Single Crochet, and Double Crochet stitches).

Or, if you want something even easier, I'm currently working on a shawl for which you chain (c) 52, turn with 2 chains, then half double crochet (hdc) in each chain (all 52), turn with 2 chains, repeat hdc in each stitch ...until you come to the wrap-around length you desire.  Yes, it is quite plain and simple, but sometimes, that's all that's needed.  I'm using a 10mm (US N-hook) and Lion Brand Homespun (which I love because it is ripply and soooo soft).  The shawl will fall from the neck down the back about 20 inches with this particular yarn/hook combination, and while I've yet to finish, I think it may take 3 skeins, perhaps a bit more, if I add fringe and depending upon how much of a "hug" I want this shawl to provide!

Please feel free to share your favorite patterns, yarns, websites, books, as we create these prayer shawls for our ingathering worship at Annual Conference this June.

A Prayer Shawl~Like a Hug that Keeps on Hugging

Sometimes, when life is challenging, what we need, more than anything else, is a quiet hug.  To know that someone cares about us.  A prayer shawl not only wraps the receiver in a soft, warm hug of knitted or crocheted or blanketed comfort, but it is also content to just lie at the foot of a bed, or draped over a chair, waiting for whatever need arises.

My dad received two prayer shawls when he was in hospital with lung cancer.  One from a family member and one from a church friend.  Both deeply appreciated, then, and even now.  Many of us have stories of gifts of prayer shawls that helped immeasurably at a critical time of need.

If you'd like to try your hand at crocheting a prayer shawl, to be contributed to our mission ingathering at our Annual Conference this June, or if you know of folks who like to make prayer shawls, and perhaps they are looking for a place to donate...please spread the word!  June 15, Gordon College, Wenham, MA, at our worship service, 11AM, we will bless these gifts and then distribute them where they are most needed.

Clean and new

As we begin sewing, knitting, crocheting, tying, or buying for the ingathering of blankets, quilts and shawls, please keep in mind that the materials and/or items need to be clean and new.  The recipients of these items may be infants in hospitals, or elderly in nursing or assisted living homes.  We do not wish to have our gifts inadvertently cause any health problems (allergies to dust or pet dander, or transfer of lice or bed bugs).