Relief Share quilts being made from fabric bought with vase fundraiser.
A huge thank you to Dottie S, who donated her beautiful Fostoria vase to Relief Share when she heard we needed funds to buy fabric to make twin size quilts for Shriners Childrens Hospital.
Relief Share listed the beautiful vase as a charity fundraiser on Ebay. An ebay buyer, who knows how important charity work is, emailed us with an offer and purchased it. She paid immediately through paypal.
One of our volunteers, Laura B. , called us to let us know there was a Fabric Liquidation sale in town. The sale was only on for two days at rock bottom prices. The purchase of the vase happened at the perfect time for Relief Share to get the much needed fabric for the twin size patchwork quilts at a good price.
The sale of the vase resulted in yards and yards of wonderful 100% cotton fabric for our compassionate service work! The Lord blesses those who are doing their best to help others. We are grateful for the “miracle of the vase”!
Relief Share is making 240 much needed twin size patchwork quilts for sick and needy children who are undergoing medical treatment, including serious surgeries. We have received generous donations towards this project and since January 1, 2013 have donated 44 twin size quilts but still have 196 more to make. Each quilt takes approx 12 yards of fabric, 6 yards of batting, thread and yarn.
So, what can one donation do? With the economy of heaven and the heartfelt work of dedicated volunteers working to maximize donation funds – one donation can do plenty. Just ask the children that will be comforted and snuggled under the patchwork twin size quilts donated to the hospital by Relief Share what your donation means! Everyone’s efforts make a difference!
Do you want to help with the quilts needed for the children in hospital? We hope so – we still have a lot more quilts to make. Please send fabric to Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225 or send something we can sell to raise the funds to get the batting, thread, fabric and yarn to tie the quilts with. If you are able, a paypal donation to info@reliefshare.org would be wonderful, too. We accept all kinds of fabric for the quilts – it doesn’t have to be 100% cotton. We send a thank you letter/tax deductible receipt for every donation received so be sure to include your name and mailing information. We are grateful for your help!
Questions? Email us at info@ReliefShare.org
Carol Green
President
ReliefShare.org
United Camera helps Relief Share with camera repair!
By · Comments
United Camera - the very best!
A huge THANK YOU to United Camera for helping Relief Share with a discount on getting our cameras fixed for our charity work. We are thrilled to have our old cameras up and going again – just like new! United Camera’s service is pleasant, professional and timely.
We had almost given up our 2 cameras for lost as they were old technology and we didn’t even know if there were parts available. The volunteers know how to use them, though, and they do take good pictures when working. Imagine our delight when receiving them repaired and working perfectly. We can’t thank United Camera enough – they are marvelous! Thanks again for hearing our plea for help and working with us.
Cameras are very important in our Relief Share charity work and we grateful for the assistance! What do we use cameras for?
- taking pictures of babies for new moms in the hospital without cameras or funds to get newborn pictures taken
- taking hospital pictures of little ones ‘gone too soon’ for family keepsakes
- ebay auctions – Relief Share fundraisers are much more successful with good pictures of items being sold to raise funds to buy supplies to help the sick and needy
- sharing patterns over the internet is a lot easier to understand with pictures of the finished item, such as knitted, crocheted, tatted, quilted, sewn, and serged finished goods.
- pictures of volunteers and work meetings are great motivational helps.
- pictures of a child’s progress during medical treatment helps others see that there is hope. Pictures also make a good keepsake for the child looking back and seeing how far they’ve come.
- many other applications for our cameras are implemented.
United Camera bio:
Since first opening its doors in the 1960s, United Camera has become a nationwide leader in the repair of cameras, lenses, iPods, iPads, iPhones and gaming devices. We continually strive to provide a better repair experience for each customer:
“We believe that every customer, from the beginning photographer to the multi-million dollar manufacturer, deserves to have their devices repaired expertly, quickly and for a reasonable cost. This is why we guarantee your products will be fixed right and why millions of customers have chosen United Camera for their repairs.” - Steve Schuldt, President, United Camera
Do you need your camera fixed? Don’t hesitate to contact United Camera, you’ll be in good hands! 866-488-8227. Tell them Relief Share sent you!
Infant demise diapers - for little ones 'gone too soon'.
ReliefShare.org thanks Teeny Tears for their recent donation of diapers that were distributed to Missouri hospitals and charity organizations for the sick and needy. May God bless all their volunteers and donors for their compassionate service work.
Teeny Tears Diapers is a service organization of volunteers that provides tiny flannel bereavement diapers to hospitals and bereavement support organizations at no charge for families that have suffered the loss of a preemie or micropreemie child through stillbirth or NICU loss. Project launched November 2011 in loving memory of Dex J Bradshaw.
Relief Share donation out
It was a lot of fun for Relief Share volunteers to deliver donations that were made with love by dedicated volunteers. The donations that came in from folks who are sharing their spring cleaning with the less fortunate were so much appreciated as well.
Clean out your closets for a good cause. You can send the items to us at Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483. We have no restrictions on what types of donations we accept, as there is no restrictions on lack for the sick and needy. All we ask is that the donations be usable and clean.
Some types of donations received and donated back out recently are:
-clothing, pajamas, shoes, socks, coats, receiving blankets, sleepers, jackets, shirts, pants, underwear, scarves, quilts, baby blankets, afghans
- books, videos, music, toys, games, dolls, toy trucks, farm toys, doll clothing and accessories, computer programs, software, machinery
-fabric, thread, yarn, batting, stuffing, crafting supplies, knitting needles, crochet hooks, tatting shuttles, needlework tools, sewing machine repair, stencils, scissors, thimbles
- household dishes, plants, pots and pans, deep fryer, grill, glassware, tablecloths, drapes, comforters, sheets, pillows, bedding, quilts
.
All donations that are received are usually donated out immediately to where they will do the most good. Thank you so much for all your help.
Carol Green
President
ReliefShare.org
info@ReliefShare.org
[/caption]
quilts donated to Shriners Childrens Hospital in St Louis, MO
Hey…help!! Relief Share NEEDS DONATIONS OF QUILT BACKING FOR CHARITY PROJECT FOR SICK AND NEEDY CHILDREN. I am working on the twin size quilts that Relief Share is making for Shriners Childrens Hospital and I am desperate for backing for these quilts. If you could part with some muslin, broadcloth, kids print, solid colors – any fabric I could use it for backing, we have 10 or 12 quilts ready to be put together but am minus backing, we have delivered 43 since January , have 5 more finished, and are going on the 19th to St Louis to deliver them and am hoping to have more finished by then.
Our total that is needed is 240 and Relief Share volunteers are sewing as fast as we can. The quilts are 70″ x 90″ to fit the beds, then if the patient is needing it to go home with them, they are sent home, otherwise they are kept at the hospital for the next patient.
All donations are tax deductible – please clean out your craft rooms and sewing closets for a good cause, I really need your help!
You can see all the things we are working on in our blog www.reliefshare.org/wordpress and I put a lot of free patterns and pictures on our facebook page at www.facebook.com/reliefshare
Please send donations to Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225 info@ReliefShare.org
Easter delivery to the hospital from ReliefShare.org
By · Comments
Easter donations for babies in hospital
This Easter was celebrated with a large donation of items lovingly made by ReliefShare.org for the babies and taken to Texas County Memorial Hospital in Houston, MO. There were baby afghans, hats, booties, socks, blankets, sweaters, and more. Our Relief Share volunteers and donors outdid themselves in making the most adorable and usable items for the sick and needy babies – the items are useful and also sweet and adorable.
Its been a very chilly month and seems to be staying cold. Relief Share volunteers love everyone to be comfortable and warm, especially the very old and the very young. Donations of warm scarves, hats, coats, clothing, bedding and mittens have come in and been donated out to where the need is the greatest. Boxes of darling handmade dolls, knitted balls, warm double receiving blankets and yummy soft scrumptious flannel, fleece and minky fabric arrived at Relief Share home office and is quickly being made into needed items.
Twin size quilts are being sewn and hard working caring volunteers are tying the patchwork quilts as fast as they can at fun quilting bees held at the home of the main project co-ordinator. Jan is amazing and has ‘rallied the troops” to work fast, efficiently and joyfully to provide 240 twin size quilts for Shriners Childrens Hospital in St Louis. Relief Share completed 240 quilts for the hospital two years ago and we are doing it again 
Volunteers Larry and Linda Smith spent hours working on our four Relief Share flea market booths that are donated by H & K Flea Market in Houston, MO. Everyone gets involved in donating items to fill the booth to raise funds for supplies and needed items to help the sick and needy.
President Carol Green went through her home and de-cluttered to bring a truck load of items to fill the booths. You’ll find everything in our booths – Carol jokes that if it’s not nailed to the floor and needed to sell to get the yarn and fabric needed – it’s going to wind up in the flea market booth. Her children grew up knowing that if they didn’t clean up their stuff and left it lying around, it got sold! (one way to get children to tidy their rooms
Dottie Schafer and Carol Green spent an enjoyable afternoon taking donations to where they are very much needed. Dottie went through the clothing she had saved from when her children were little and donated boxes full of very nice clean and excellent condition baby and childrens clothing, along with a bag of much needed children’s shoes. The recipients were so glad to get the items and it made Dottie feel good to share her precious treasures from when her kids were little.
- There is joy in giving service and goods to others!
The feeling you get in knowing you are in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing helping your brothers and sisters in Christ is amazing. In a world where its easy to get caught up in political problems, personal conundrums and depressed with how difficult it is to get by these days, it is a blessing to be able to wash away negativity with positive actions.
Here are some ideas on how to make your life joyful and productive – even more than you are doing now (and you may already be doing these things):
1. Clean out your closets and home for a good cause. You will feel a lot better owning your possessions instead of having them own you. Put the excess that you know others need and you don’t, into boxes and mail them to us at Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225. We will send you a thank you letter and tax deductible receipt for your donations. We know the price of shipping is getting higher – so if you can’t afford to ship your donations to us, consider calling a local charity and have them pick up your donations. One man’s excess is another man’s treasure, especially when they don’t have what is needed. Your old snow boots may be a life saver to someone else and you’ll love the extra space in your home.
2. Ask yourself – have you done any good in the world today, have you helped anyone in need? It’s one of our favorite songs we hear regularly at church, and it is a good litmus to see where we are in our humanitarian service. Make yourself a promise that you will help at least one person per
- Ask yourself – have you done any good in the world today, have you helped anyone in need?
day. It doesn’t have to be earth shattering, like an entire truckload of donations or enough money donated to help others that temporarily hurts a tad in your budget (even though that is nice), it can be opening the door for someone else with a smile, cleaning the kitty litter box – even though it’s not your turn, or making someone else’s bed for a surprise. How about calling someone just to tell them you love them, or giving them that sweater of yours they love and comment on every time they see you wear it and you don’t need the sweater really as you have others. Put on your thinking cap and ‘move it, move it’ to help others.
3. Pray daily for your fellowmen. Oh, we don’t mean the rote prayers that are memorized, or the ones that are really generic, we mean the heartfelt prayers where you are chatting with your Heavenly Father and letting him know what is important to you. We have a precious volunteer and friend who has really struggled with terrible bouts of cancer. Honestly, if it was according to medical knowledge, she should have died by now, but through prayers and positive attitude, Vonnie is alive and kicking and in remission. That was one of the best phone calls we have ever gotten – she is in remission because of love and prayers offered on her behalf, a doctor who just wouldn’t give up on her and her own marvelous attitude and relationship with God. Prayers matter. Choose carefully what you want to pray for, or who, and then do it daily. Think of it as daily vitamins for the soul.
Well, we have a lot of other suggestions but these three are good to work on right now. We must walk - in learning to serve God and others – before we run, trip and get discouraged. Take life a day at a time. Never mind yesterday, it’s gone, but today ….. today is such a marvelous gift from God – share your ‘today’ with others.
Happy hugs and lots of love to you from Relief Share 
- Prayers matter. Choose carefully what you want to pray for, or who, and then do it daily. Think of it as daily vitamins for the soul.
Darling hats and booties for sick and needy babies in hospital
It’s fun to open the mail at Relief Share, especially when it is a box of the most darling baby hats and booties/slippers. This wonderful box of the softest baby items has now been delivered to the hospital for precious new babies needing to conserve body heat and use their strength to heal and grow. Every stitch in in place and it is very apparent that the volunteer did her best in creating these gifts of love.
Fun warm double knitted hats and baby cocoons
Nights watching TV with family, enjoying entertainment and hands busy with clicking knitting needles makes for lots of happy warm babies and children. This donation of double layer hats and baby cocoons was delivered to the Food Pantry and Crisis Center. With the cold snap making folks miserable and mothers worried about keeping children warm, this was a delightful donation to gladden hearts and warm bodies. Some of the hats are going to the school for the mentally handicapped. They love the bright colors and the soft warmth. A huge thank you to our volunteers who make miracles happen.
Lots of love knitted up for the sick and needy by Relief Share volunteers
Lotsa love – ReliefShare.org donation of baby cocoons, hats, and booties for the sick and needy in Texas County Missouri. We have wonderful donors and volunteers ♥
All different kinds and colors of yarn were combined with skill, love and effort into this large donation that just went out to bless the lives of God’s sick and needy children.
Baby cocoons from preemie sizes to 6 months old and matching hats, baby hats, hats for children and adult hats were knitted and crocheted.
’tis the season to be sneezin’ is one of the quips heard as volunteers actively addressed the needs of little ones who are shivering in the cold and need essential items to keep them warm and healthy. For the children who are seriously ill, the hats and cocoons aren’t just a comfort item, but life savers as they need to keep up their strength to heal instead of just trying to keep warm.
Prayers were said over each gift of love and hearts were full as we saw the outpouring of love for those who are sick and afflicted.
With each donation coming in and going out flows the pure love of Christ. Right now we are dealing with the need to stay warm – that means knitted and crocheted hats, socks, booties, baby cocoons, afghans and blankets. We are also making baby blankets, quilts, clothing, gowns, tee shirts, pants and jackets for little ones to be warm and snuggly.
Do you like to sew, knit, crochet, tat, quilt or create? We would love to have you help us in our humanitarian service efforts. There are no restrictions on what can be donated. Relief Share addresses crisis – all types of crisis- and we do our best to quickly respond to requests for assistance.
January is not finished with us yet! So far ReliefShare.org has donated clothing, bedding, hats, shoes, household goods, pet supplies, baby blankets, nursing pillows, afghans, and a lot more to many organizations and individuals in need.
We need your help to be able to provide items to the sick and needy. Supplies are needed for our volunteers to work with – fabric, yarn, thread, batting, craft tools (scissors, rotary cutters and mats, patterns, Accuquilt GO templates, Sillhouette Cameo accessories, knitting machines and accessories, etc). Finished items are also needed for donations out.
Please send donations to:
Relief Share
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
Relief Share is a 501 (c) 3 registered charity with the IRS and we send a thank you letter/tax deductible receipt for each donation so be sure to include a note with your address in the box.
YOU are important and can make a significant difference in the lives of those who, for various reasons, can’t help themselves at the moment. Many times, those who received help have returned to be the helper and donated items, time and service in return for others who need assistance. It’s exciting to see the cycle of love complete and generate more love. We have been providing humanitarian service for over 2 decades from this location, it is such a blessing to see God’s love perpetuate generosity, caring, and support for those who are in emergent circumstances.
Relief Share Comfort Toys change lives! You can help!
By · CommentsRelief Share Comfort Toys Change Lives For the Better…You Can Help!
Knitted gnomes donated for sick and needy children
In the aftermath of a disaster, one of the most powerful tools in a rescuer’s armory is the ability to distribute soft toys to children who are traumatized. This has long been recognized as an effective way of helping traumatized children, and it is worth considering exactly why this is. It also helps us to understand the importance of the work we do in sending handmade items, such as toys, to aid agencies.
The Invisible Power of Toys
We all know that children love their soft toys, but have you ever wondered about the psychological reasons behind this attachment? Researchers Bruce Hood, of the University of Bristol, and Paul Bloom of Yale University conducted a study into the phenomena of attachment items – blankets or toys – and their results were striking. They ascertained that children believe that their toys have an ‘essence’, or life force, qualities that cannot be replicated. When offered the chance to have their toy ‘duplicated’ an overwhelming majority chose the original item over the duplicate. Professor Hood comments, “We anthropomorphize objects, look at them almost as if they have feelings. The children know these objects are not alive but they believe in them as if they are.” This behavior can be seen in adults too. After a burglary, even if the house contents are fully protected and stolen items replaced with identical ones, there remains a sense of dissatisfaction and loss. The new object never seems to replace the original. It seems that imbuing objects with special significance and regarding them as having an essential essence is not confined to children. In fact, it the cultural norm in some cultures. Professor Hood points out the some eastern beliefs centre around the idea that all things have a life force. Some cultures even find it hard to live in other people’s homes as they have a strong belief that there is ‘something intangible’ left behind by the previous occupants.
Transitional Objects
With this research in mind, imagine a child losing everything in a natural disaster? Imagine if their precious toy was lost forever, and they had to cope without comfort, in the midst of chaos and possibly bereavement. This is where aid shipments of toys can really help rescuers. Because even if the soft toys they distribute are not the ‘originals’, they still offer huge comfort to traumatized children. Many children in disaster areas will never have owned a soft toy of course. For these children, having something soft and comforting to hold, such as a toy or blanket, has shown to be highly effective in emotional recovery. In the west, up to 70% of children have a comfort object, since they tend to sleep apart from their parents at an early age. This is significant. Children in societies where this is not the norm may not have soft toys, but the importance of the parent in a sense of security is consequently even higher. To lose a parent in a disaster for these children is psychologically devastating. ‘Transitional objects’ (a physical object, which takes the place of the mother-child bond) become even more crucial in the days before proper support can be put in place in the rebuilding of a country.
Rescuers
Rescuers find that important links can be made with children in disaster areas or war zones if they are able to give them a soft toy to hold. There are several charities in the US who make sure that firefighters and policemen are kept stocked up with teddies for their vehicles, just in case they have to deal with a traumatized child. Their testimony proves that soft toys make a big difference.
Toys Change Lives
Aid workers in danger hotspots around the globe provide similar anecdotal evidence. The power of softness and comfort cannot be underestimated. Traumatized children can confide in a teddy bear in a way that may not be possible with an adult. Toys are frequently used in play therapy for this very reason, where they are known to improve feelings of social inclusion and pro-social behavior. The attachment that is formed between a child and the toy they are given cannot be more powerful. The gifts that you make and send abroad change lives, and bring comfort where there is despair. You can knit and sew in the knowledge that your work is making a difference to children somewhere in the world.
There are hundreds of free patterns for simple soft toys here. Make some toys, or send supplies to make toys to:
Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225.
Relief Share...serving God's tiniest children
2013 is shaping up quite nicely already for Relief Share. Donations have flowed in and out with the help from caring hearts putting their love in action for the sick and needy.
Our Relief Share facebook page is added to continuously with tips, hints, patterns, pictures and information on what activities are taking place and what the most urgent needs are. Visit us at www.facebook.com/reliefshare
TOP THREE CURRENT PROJECTS:
1. We are making 240 twin size quilts for Shriners Childrens Hospital in St Louis. Volunteers and donors efforts have allowed us to take 19 finished quilts to the hospital in the last two weeks. The quilts are being made from flannel, minky, chenille, cotton and knit fabric. If you would like to help with supplies, please send fabric, yarn for tying the quilts and batting. We would also love donations of finished quilts. Shriners has asked that the quilts be fun, pretty, and happy so we are using all kinds of pastels, brights and kids prints to make the quilts help the children to have a positive experience in hospital. It’s hard enough to go through serious surgery but if the healing environment is one of cheerfulness and joy, it can turn a difficult experience into a tolerable one.
2. Relief Share is committed to providing hats, mittens and scarves to Texas County this winter through the Food Pantry and Crisis Center. Hand made crocheted, knitted or sewn items or store bought items are welcomed. So far we have donated 30 mittens, 2 boxes of scarves and 70 hats. Many more are needed so get out those crochet hooks and knitting needles and have fun making hats, scarves and mittens for those who need the warmth.
3. Relief Share’s ongoing permanent project is keeping hospitals, medical clinics, crisis centers, homeless shelters and other organizations that address the needs of sick and needy babies and families stocked with basic goods to start life out right for babies. Some of the items needed are: baby blankets, baby quilts, receiving blankets, socks, hats, booties, shoes, onesies, t-shirts, sleepers, gowns, nursing pillows and nursing pillow covers, mitts, diaper bags, shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotion, diaper cream, diapers (cloth and disposable), baby oil, soft toys, books, baby CDs, baby carriers, car seats, cribs, bassinets, high chairs, playpens, learning toys, pacifiers, bath toys, diaper covers, baby monitors, baby afghans, etc. Think baby – we can use it for the sick and needy.
Relief Share is engaged in many activities that relieve suffering, promote self reliance and take care of emergent needs. Our volunteers sew, serge, knit, quilt, crochet, tat, paint and create a variety of items to help others with. Clean out your sewing room and craft closet for a good cause.
Please send donations to
RELIEF SHARE
6078 LUNDY RD
HOUSTON, MISSOURI 65483-2225
We have been involved in humanitarian work here for the past 21 years at this location. Relief Share is a non profit charity registered with the IRS and each donation receives a thank you letter/tax deductible receipt. You can’t save the world or alleviate all the suffering in it by yourself, but together we can make this wonderful earth a better place to be. Join us in helping Gods sick and needy today.
Soft sparkle yarn was used to make this cocoon and Momma hats for Relief Share
When the winter winds swirl around and chill us to our bones, you can imagine how the little ones feel….baby, it’s cold outside! Baby blankets, quilts, clothing and knitted or crocheted cocoons are very much needed for the babies in hospital and those in homeless shelters or crisis situations.
The pattern in very simple – cast on 80 stitches with circular needles or flat needles and knit for 18″. Decrease:
- knit every 8th stitch together for one row, knit the next row,
- knit every 7thstitch together for one row, knit the next row,
- knit every 6th stitch together for one row, knit the next row,
- knit every 5th stitch together for one row, knit the next row,
- knit every 4th stitch together for one row, knit the next row,
- knit every 3th stitch together for one row, knit the next row,
- knit every 2th stitch together for one row, knit the next row,
- cut the yarn long enough to seam the cocoon and gather the stitches on the needle into a circle and seam the cocoon. If you are knitting with circular needles, just gather the last stitches in the row and tie off.
This pattern works for the Ultimate Sweater Machine as well – you will need a garter bar for the decreases or knit for 21″ instead and simply gather the final row.
The hat pattern is the same for the cocoon but knit for 6 1/2″ before decreasing – this makes an adult hat. The baby hat is the same pattern but only cast on 40 stitches for a preemie baby or 80 stitches for a newborn baby and knit for 5 1/2″ before decreasing.
If you want to do chemo hats, it is nice if you add a crocheted flower to the side of the hat to cheer up the patient or if the hat is for a male, stripes can be added.
Donations are sent to Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225. We are a 501 (c) 3 IRS approved charity – donations are tax deductible.
Make this season a bit warmer and more comfortable for the sick and needy by putting your sewing, knitting, crochet or crafting skills to work.
People who are not familiar with Relief Share charity work sometimes ask us what we do and what kind of donations we accept. The answer is simple. If there is a need and we are capable of addressing it, we do. Donations of all kinds are gratefully accepted – clothing for all ages, toys, books, household goods, animal supplies, cancer patient needs, help for those in hospital, homeless shelters, crisis centers and families who have emergent needs.
Relief Share mainly handles crisis situations to help in emergencies. We provide food (if available) clothing and items to help folks get through the crisis. Babies are always first and foremost in our humanitarian work. We specialize in newborn and preemie quilts, receiving blankets, cocoons, diapers, clothing, toys and more.
Currently our main project is keeping the hospital stocked with baby items so new babies in need can go home with the basics for a good start in life and we are also making 240 twin size quilts for Shriners Childrens Hospital. Supplies such as fabric, yarn, batting, etc are needed.
MINKY – the fabric that babies and children adore!
By · Comments
Minky comfort blankets
Do you know what minky fabric is? Oh my, you should! At Relief Share, we love minky! (sometimes it is spelled minkee)
Minky fabric is a plush, microfiber fabric. It is incredibly soft and smooth to the touch. Minky fabric comes in all sorts of styles, colors and patterns. There are nearly 400 varieties, from prints and patterns of licensed characters to simply raised, dotted styles. Minky fabric is used to construct blankets, typically for small children down to infant age. The texture provides comfort and a smooth surface to cuddle against or lie on.
Using minky fabric as a sewing material can be challenging, but there are tips that can help. Cut minky with a rotary cutter to cut down on the inevitable mess of fuzz. Although time consuming, pin minky every one to 1.5 inches. Minky has a tendency to curl, so give a seam allowance of about 1/2 inch.
Minky fabric, a polyester microfiber, is an excellent choice for plush baby blankets, warm, soft hats, cuddly stuffed animals and any other project that calls for plush fabric. You’ll find Minky is easy to sew, but it does handle differently from other fabrics. In order to create Minky items that look like professionally sewn pieces, you must adjust your sewing approach to accommodate the fabric’s unique qualities.
It is the fabric that babies and children adore. It is dreamy, soft, luscious, snuggly fabric that soothes a little one at a doctor’s visit, it is what a soft cuddly bunny is made of that dries the tears of a child in a car accident, it is the blanket that a little boy suffering from cancer reaches for to help him through his chemo treatment.
Relief Share makes soft minky diaper covers for children in body casts so their discomfort is minimized and the covers are made for children of all ages. We also put the Shriners label on the diaper covers for the hospital to easily identify. All kinds of blankets, soft toys and garments are made here at Relief Share to be given out in donations for the sick and needy.
Minky is easy to sew with, very desirable and can work miracles in a child’s life. The other thing that minky is – is expensive. Relief Share rarely has the kind of funds that it takes to provide minky for the volunteers to work with in making items that are needed in the hospital, crisis center and homeless shelters.
Due to the love of a very sweet angel who watches over our humanitarian efforts, a large donation of the dreamiest minky has arrived at Relief Share headquarters for the volunteers to create miracles with. Our gratitude and love go out to them for their kindness and generosity in sending such a much needed donation!
Donation for a newborn baby girl!
We just love it when our Relief Share donations are met with as much excitement and enthusiasm as they are sent with. There will be a little baby girl that is warm and snuggly this Christmas, thanks to the combined donations of those who love God’s tiniest children and want to help.
This donation consisted of new and gently used clothing shared by hearts and hands that know how important it is to give a little one a nice warm snuggly start in life!
Merry Christmas to a new little wee one in Arizona! May her and her mother’s holidays be happy and bright.
Do you have baby clothing you have stashed away that has never gotten used and want to share with those who really need the items? We can give you back your storage space and make your donations count. Donations from Relief Share are given to babies and families in crisis – either through sickness, domestic violence, poverty or other trauma. Every piece of clothing, every pacifier, blanket, socks, onesies, receiving blankets, and baby items make a major difference in the lives of those who lack and only need someone to put their love in action and help with a donation.
Simply put your items in a box and ship to Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225. Be sure to include your address so we can send you a tax receipt and thank you letter.
May your Christmas be cheery and bright!
Baby hats - so soft and well made.
These beautiful soft crocheted hats have just been donated to ReliefShare.org – they are wonderful and very much needed as the cold weather sets in. Thank you so much to Connie S. from Summersville, MO for her generosity and kindness to God’s tiniest and most helpless children.
The hats were donated this afternoon and have already been donated out to where they are needed the most
Crisis center donation of warm hats, scarves and more!
Our Relief Share volunteers have been very busy knitting and crocheting up a storm. Donations have come in from many parts of the country to be combined with items made here at Relief Share’s home office in the Ozarks. Many items to keep babies and families warm have been created with love and prayers to be shared with the sick and needy who appreciate a gift from a stranger to ward off the cold.
Hats, scarves and other items can mean the difference between staying healthy and getting sick. It can also mean the difference between a simple cold and pneumonia or worse. In more desperate circumstances, it can even mean the difference between life and death. Babies need their strength to heal and grow and a warm baby hat and cocoon can mean everything to a struggling family bringing home a preemie baby from the intensive care.
Relief Share is donating 50 handmade knitted hats, and many scarves and other items to the crisis center for the sick and needy, so the Thanksgiving and Christmas season will be a little warmer with love from the heart and hands of strangers who cared enough to spend their time, talents and resources on those who are in desperate circumstances and need help.
A heartfelt THANKS to all the wonderful donors and volunteers working with Relief Share to make the miracle of love and warmth happen for those who need us this season.
If you would like to help knit and crochet to help the sick and needy, feel free to use your own patterns and make hats, scarves, mittens, cocoons and sweaters in any size and any type of yarn – there is always someone waiting for your items as we address the needs at a number of hospitals, homeless shelters, crisis centers, medical clinics, churches etc across the country.
Send your donations to Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225. We always send a thank you letter/tax deductible receipt with each donation received, so be sure to include your name and address for us to thank you properly We are so grateful for your love in action. If you would like to donate yarn, knitting and crochet supplies and tools, please do – we will love you for it!
President Carol Green
info@ReliefShare.org
Email me – I would love to hear from you and answer any questions you may have.
Knitted and crocheted essential cloths donated to Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483 for the benefit of the sick and needy.
This wonderful donation just arrived from Binghamton Ravelry in Endicott, NY. It is a marvelous donation of cloths, an essential item for washing dishes, faces, wee baby’s bodies and more! No matter who you are, you need a way to keep yourself and your environment clean. If you are able to sustain yourself and your lifestyle, a cloth may be something you take for granted, but if you are one of the many who are struggling for basic essentials, a cloth may be a life saver to you.
New moms with tiny babies need cloths for everything – cleaning up burps, babies and all that goes with having a baby in your life. The homeless have to resort to whatever they can find around them – perhaps a newspaper or a paper towel picked up from a restaurant, just to stay clean. Families in domestic violence situations sheltered in crisis centers are very grateful for soft cloths that they can do dishes with, dry dishes, clean living areas, etc.
Just think – the next time you pick up a dish cloth, wash cloth or towel to use – it may be something you never thought much about before, but can make all the difference when you don’t have it.
A HUGE thank you goes out to the Binghamton Ravelry group for their love in action in knitting and crocheting these essential cloths to bless the lives of those who need them. May your Thanksgiving be as wonderful as you have made others by giving a donation of such usefulness to so many others through Relief Share
Relief Share volunteer, Linda Smith with the gorgeous quilt she pieced, and her husband machine quilted, for Ray Cox
Relief Share volunteers soften the blow for the sick and needy through making and donating handmade patchwork quilts.
Ray Cox, a long time volunteer, lost his sweet wife, Debbie, last year to cancer. Dealing with pain and medical complications, Ray continued to reach out and help others, even through his own loss and trials. Relief Share volunteers Carol and Ashley Green bought some of the fabric and Linda and Gary Smith added more fabric and sewed and quilted two gorgeous quilts for Ray, one for him and one for his 2 year old granddaughter, Amber.
Amber's quilt to match Grandpa's
Ray was absolutely thrilled with the warm quilts, calling them ‘perfect’, he expressed his sincere gratitude for the love shown for him and blessing of warm quilts that are very much appreciated for his family.
Gary & Linda Smith - Relief Share volunteers
Gary and Linda Smith are professional quilt makers. Linda pieces and sews the quilts and Gary machine quilts them. Their generosity through Relief Share is a definite asset as the weather gets colder and warm quilts are needed to keep newborn babies and their families snuggled away from the cold. Gary and Linda also work in our Relief Share Flea Market booths, donated by H & K Flea Market across from the Houston Fairgrounds – to help Relief Share get the funds needed to make more quilts and buy supplies needed.
Relief Share stocks storage shelves at Texas County Memorial Hospital with baby quilts, receiving blankets, clothing, booties, nursing pillows, and pacifiers to make sure that all babies born with needs are given essential items to go home with. We also address needs all across the nation, helping homeless shelters, crisis centers, individuals and families where ever the need is with the help of those who are ready, willing and able to donate time, talents, funds and supplies.
If you would like to help, please send donations to Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225 or email info@ReliefShare.org for more information. Many hands make light work and glorify our Father in Heaven as we obey his commandments to serve one another.
One of our sweet charity volunteers, Rhona Holder, just passed away, she was 84 years old. Her funeral was this afternoon in Houston, MO and I was privileged to sing in the choir for her with my daughter and husband. Rhona enjoyed crafts, painting, doll making, sewing and helping out at our monthly work meetings.
Rhona was always ready to lend a hand where ever or when ever she was needed. I remember years ago having Rhona slip some money into my hand after a trip to Dallas with her. She knew I needed to buy stamps for our ‘begging letters’ for charity so we would have fabric and batting to make the baby quilts for the little ones in hospital. This was before email and facebook – we did things the hard way! I was so touched by her very generous offer as I knew she had sacrificed to do that for the babies.
Rhona was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and sister and will be missed by all who new and loved her sweet gentle presence. May God be with you all the way, Rhona.
All our love,
President Carol Green
Relief Share – Founder/President
Newborns in Need – Founder
Darling wee gnomes knitted by volunteers - donated from Grandmother's Attic.
We’ve been busy little bees at ReliefShare.org with knitting machines going full blast! Children and adults on the Medical Surgical floor at the hospital now have warm cuddly blankets, taggie blankets, soft knitted toy balls, knitted gnomes and more…we had a ball putting it all together and delivering it to the sick and needy!
Relief Share volunteer, Ashley Green and Nurse Linda at TCMH
Donation to Texas County Memorial Hospital, Houston, MO of baby items from ReliefShare.org
We were so excited to make a large delivery of knitted and crocheted baby afghans, hats and new baby clothing to the TCMH, Houston, MO hospital for the little babies in the Texas County area.
Volunteer, Ashley Green, the founder’s daughter, and Nurse Linda are pictured with the donation made my the loving hearts and hands of Relief Share volunteers.
A huge thank you to all the members of the Relief Share family that made this donation possible.
The hospital is very appreciative of all donations that we bring in to them for their sick and needy babies.
The most urgent need right now is for flannel receiving blankets.
If you have some you would like to share with the less fortunate or if you love to sew and would like to make some, please send your donation to Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225 and we will combine your donation with others to help bless the lives of God’s tiniest and most helpless children and their families.
Love and hugs,
Carol Green/Founder
ReliefShare.org
info@ReliefShare.org
ReliefShare.org....serving God's tiniest and most helpless babies and families
Relief Share activity has been intense the past few months, so much so that we haven’t had time to update the blog, so here goes….
Donations out include:
- a large delivery to Shriners Childrens Hospital in St Louis Missouri containing, toys, clothes, bedding, and more.
- new baby girl donation of 2 knitted afghans, 2 knitted hats, 2 large stuffed toys for snuggling and positioning, 2 handknitted baby cocoons, onesies, shirts, pants, and outfits to help baby start life out right.
- needy family received a full size handmade quilt, bag of fabric to make items for family members, clothing for children, toys
- sports equipment for family who couldn’t afford the necessary items to stay healthy.
- baby change table to needy family with a pad and cover.
- donations of sleepers, outfits, blankets, cocoons, hats, pacifiers, onesies, wipes, baby shampoo, nursing pillows, etc to hospitals for patients
- donations to families of two newborn baby girls of essential items.
Thanks so much to our wonderful Relief Share ‘family’ who makes miracles happen. It is our donors and volunteers who make things happen. We appreciate you and so do the recipients of our donations.
We received a very nice thank you letter from Shriners Childrens Hospital – they said that “Relief Share’s thoughtfulness provides comfort and support in the treatment of their children. Their future is made brighter because we care!”
Makes you feel good, doesn’t it – to know sick and needy children are helped through loving hearts and willing hands.
May your summer be going wonderfully and God bless you every step of the day.
Carol Green
President,
Relief Share,
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
Note: Urgent needs right now are baby clothing, hygiene items, bedding and toys and books for the children in hospital and being cared for through crisis centers. You can send to the address above, all donations receive a thank you letter/tax deductible receipt. We are a 501 (c) non profit charity registered with the IRS.
....serving God's tiniest children & families.
Notice: All donations and communication for Relief Share will continue to go to:
Relief Share,
6078 Lundy Rd,
Houston, MO
65483-2225.
We have been at the Missouri address for 20 years and will always be here to give relief to the sick and needy.
The Boise, Idaho office was open for 2 years, did a lot of good for many, and is being closed at the end of the month.
The work will continue as always for all compassionate service, where ever it may be
Houston Do It Center responds to urgent need!
By · CommentsGood morning world! It’s a wonderful day today. I love it when problems melt away with help from kind loving people. Relief Share had an important need today and the HOUSTON DO IT CENTER is donating what is needed to solve the problem. If you want to show your appreciation for their community spirit and love in action – be sure to shop there and let them know you saw this on our blog! Houston Do-It Center, 1453 S Sam Houston Blvd, Houston, MO. Tel: 417-967-4179
Relief Share Knitted Gnome – free pattern
By · Comments
Darling soft pink gnome - knitted
These darling Relief Share gnomes give the babies and children, who are sick and needy, something to snuggle with. They can help turn a difficult situation into a tolerable one with a soft toy tucked under one arm.
The stress of seeing a preemie baby in the hospital neonatal intensive care unit struggling for breath can be lessened for parents who see a sweet gnome in the side of the isolette with a tiny outfit and blanket made for their baby by strangers filled with love and caring.
You can find the pattern here: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/dec2057/gnome-baby-2 A huge thank you to Tonya for sharing her pattern.
These little gnomes are easy to hand knit or knit on a knitting machine. I hope you will make some for yourself, family and friends and then keep knitting make some extras to share with us with those in hospitals and shelters.
The pink gnome in the picture was hand knitted on size 6 knitting needles with acrylic yarn for the face, and the rest in worsted weight bamboo yarn. We doubled the number of stitches in the pattern for a larger gnome, but the smaller gnomes are perfect for little hands, too. There are many sizes of gnomes you can make, depending on what needles you use, or what machines or how many stitches you knit.
Little gnome snuggly and matching knitted woven ball.
Here is one of the regular size smaller gnomes we made and donated to the hospital. This little gnome and ball were knitted on an Ultimate Sweater Machine knitting machine (the kind you buy at JoAnn Fabrics) that is not mechanized. We used Love That Yarn acrylic yarn from Hobby Lobby. The pattern for the knitted ball is here on our blog as well – please feel free to knit and send them for our sick and needy babies as well.
Pomegranate gnome next to Sea Turtle gnome
We knitted a little pomegranate gnome by hand and you can see the difference between the same pattern knitted on the machine and by hand. Either way, they are a lot of fun. The little pomegranate gnome was given to a darling little boy at church who was good as gold for the entire hour with his little gnome to keep him company. There is magic in these little gnomes, we think
Donations of knitted items, knitting supplies such as yarn, needles, etc can be sent to :
Relief Share,
6078 Lundy Rd,
Houston, MO 65483-2225
We are a 501 (c) 3 non profit registered with the IRS. Tax deductible receipts and thank you letters are sent out for donations received. Please include your name and address so we can thank you.
Part of the Texas County Memorial Hospital donation.
Relief Share volunteers and donors have been very busy lately. Just like the elves who helped the shoemakers as they slept, there have been many hearts and hands anxiously engaged in a good cause – working hard quietly and efficiently to be the answer to fervent prayer from those who need help. God answers many prayers through those who serve him here below.
Donations out recently include:
Over 80 items donated to Texas County Memorial Hospital in Houston, Missouri today (Saturday, June 2, 2012) – baby hats, soft toys, diapers, wipes, baby lotion, baby bath, baby shampoo, nursing covers, preemie clothing, newborn and 0-3 month clothing and more. It was wonderful to hear that our donations are important to the hospital. One nurse expressed gratitude for the preemie clothes we brought, she said that there was a little 4 pound baby born recently who needed the clothing. It makes us feel good to be able to help one of God’s tiniest children.
A donation for a tiny baby girl - soon to be born: afghans, blankets, cocoons, a soft toy, and clothing.
Baby girl - afghans, onesies, sleepers, socks, hats, swaddlers, toys, bottles, pacifiers, receiving blankets, quilts and stuffties.
Baby boy – soft scratch mitts, soft knitted woven toy balls.
An non profit organization who helps the sick and needy: fabric, sewing supplies, knitting supplies. (Yes, we share our supplies
Newborns in Need Ozarks Chapter, Missouri – yarn and flannel
Newborns in Need Springfield Chapter, Missouri - clothing, fabric, sewing supplies, PUL for diaper covers, velcro, elastic, fold over elastic – 6 garbage bags full.
Texas County Food Pantry, Missouri – a big box and large bag of children’s and adults clothing, household articles for needy.
St Vincent de Paul - 11 baby swaddler cocoons, teddy bears for sick and needy children.
St Lukes Hospital – teddy bears, stuffed animals, baby clothing, baby blankets
Donation to single mom for baby girl – stuffed animals, receiving blankets and sewing supplies to make her daughter items needed.
Donation to family of needed clothing, household items , supplies and household machines.
Deseret Industries – LDS Humanitarian - baby clothing, adult clothing, household items, toys, books
Donation to a church of knitting needles and yarn for their ladies to make items to for preemie and newborn sick and needy babies in hospital.
These are not all of the donations given but a sample of what has been recently donated to let you know what types of activities Relief Share helps with. Other donations have been given to families in need of food, clothing, bedding and essentials, also donations given for animals that need help. Pet blankets and supplies for pet blankets have been donated to the Animal Shelter.
We seek to alleviate suffering and lack where ever it may be. We try to do what Jesus would do in the same situation.
May God bless all that have been so generous with their time, talents, funds and skills to help those who need care, love and temporal items. It is the synergy of working together that makes miracles happen.
We welcome all to the Relief Share ‘family’, regardless of color, creed, belief or any real or imagined barriers or boundaries. In God’s world, in the real world of unconditional love, you are one of us if you want to be…..so want to be
Relief Share is here with open arms to share our love, caring, workload and satisfying activities.
We have been asked what type of donations Relief Share accepts. Answer? Everything and anything. Just think about what you would need if a disaster hit, if you lost your job, if your baby was born too early and struggled for life with your family finances totally drained in simply keeping your son or daughter alive. What would you need if a flood washed away your home, if you had lived in Joplin and the tornado took your car and tossed it into a tree – ripped off the roof of your house and while you struggle to accept the reality of destruction around you, find out your wife, husband or son or daughter was taken home to heaven at the same time.
What would you want, what would you need, how would you cope? Relief Share provides food, clothing, bedding, toys for children to make horrible situations tolerable, tiny clothing for burial of little ones who needed just one last outfit to be snuggled in before the last goodbye. We provide sewing, crochet and knitting supplies to mothers who have the skill to make the items their family needs but don’t have the supplies to do it with. It’s hard to sew when your sewing machine was snatched up by a tornado or melted in the fire. Last year, with the help of two donors, we were able to place a number of sewing machines, knitting machines and sergers where they were most needed – even to the extent of doing without ourselves until a donor replaced our work day sewing machines and sergers with more after they learned we donated ours out for more immediate emergencies.
We share. You share. Those who care share and we sacrifice to help others. That is what life is really supposed to be like if we all want to live in peace and happiness. We give Relief through Sharing – love in action and we do it with your help.
Look around your home, clean out your closets for a good cause. Don’t need it, don’t want it? We can guarantee you that some one needs what you have. Put it in a box – or boxes – and ship it or bring it to Relief Share 6078 Lundy Road, Houston, MO 65483-2225.
We have been here for 20 years helping the sick and needy through non profits and will continue to be the help God sends to the sick and needy with you May your days be as blessed as you bless the lives of others. Thank you.
Love and hugs,
Carol C Green
President
ReliefShare.org
non profit charity – all donations are tax deductible
Most recent donation from TW - thank you so much!
What a wonderful summer this is shaping up to be. Lots of laughing, family and happy times. The best part of summer is watching the ebb and flow of donations in and out through Relief Share. While we are having fun enjoying ourselves, we also want others to be happy and enjoy this beautiful life God has blessed us with. Our efforts to help the sick and needy also are a blessing to us to help us appreciate more what we have.
Some of the donations in are:
A marvelous Accuquilt Go! machine to help us make baby quilts, diaper bags, tote bags, school book bags, foster care bags, twin size quilts for the hospital, and soft toys. It came with a die to cut small triangles and a square – perfect for all those little scraps of fabric we have been hoarding and cutting up as our hands can handle. As you know, it can be quite painful to do a lot of cutting out, either with scissors or rotary cutters, and the GO! machine is a wonderful blessing to help us be more effective, productive, timely and pain free Thank you to JW! We are very grateful for your insightful and much appreciated donation. JW from VA is Relief Share’s special angel who always seem to know exactly what we need, when we need it. She has been a long time donor and friend. She makes miracles happen!
What is brown, rectangular, and has the most wonderful surprise inside? A box from TW from Manhattan, KS! Inside we discovered the most darling baby clothing, soft stuffties and soft blocks. They are going right to the hospital, where they are very much needed by sick and needy children. Perfect cute choices, TW – you have excellent taste We will have some very well dressed little ones due to your love and generous donation!
Did you know Relief Share has the most wonderful friends? Of course you did Well, our wonderful friends from the Newborns in Need Springfield Chapter drove all the way here to Houston, MO to bring us the most delicious soft cuddly fabric to use for soft toys and lovey comfort blankets. We were doubly blessed by the good companionship of Judy and Jill for the afternoon. They are such delightful ladies and its a blast to be able to chat about charity work with kindred spirits. In return we donated clothing, fabric, sewing supplies, PUL for diaper covers, velcro, elastic, fold over elastic – 6 garbage bags full. It’s fun sharing – together we can help those who need us. I love Judy so much, she is a marvelous lady with a big kind heart and the ability to handle hundreds of volunteers and keep them all happy helping others.
A lady who is always ready to help is KS. She donates a portion of her ebay auctions to Relief Share through the Mission Fish function on the online action site and also sends us boxes of baby and children’s clothing, etc. It always puts a smile on my face to see the postage stamp that reads Wise, VA as I know the box will be filled with lots of love. She is also a talented reborn baby doll maker, we love her for all she does for the sick and needy we serve.
CR sends us the most wonderful crocheted afghans, baby cocoons, baby hats and other hand made items. She has a heart as big as the outdoors and puts her love in action by sharing with God’s tiniest and most helpless babies through Relief Share. God bless you for your care
MP from Calvert City, KY has been with us for many many years. Her dedication and sacrifice for others who are sick and needy is an inspiration to all of us, no challenge too big, no need to small. If you want help, she is always right there for you. Boxes of supplies, quilt batting, clothing, toys, and other essentials that are much needed come in from MP, just when they are needed the most. Thank you so much, we love you!
MP of Elizabeth Park, CA sent the sweetest knitted baby clothing. The love for children is apparent in every article. Thank you!!
JM of Martinsburg, WV blessed our sick and needy little ones with a large box of darling knitted baby clothing and toys. Thank you for your donation, it was very much appreciated.
These are just some of the donations received in – we will post more later along with donations out so you can see donations coming in and where they are going, too
May your summer be as bright and happy as you have made others’
God bless you,
Carol C Green
ReliefShare.org
info@ReliefShare.org
All donations can be sent to
Relief Share
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
Note: We have been at this address for 20 years! Isn’t it nice to know some things remain constant?! 
Someone to watch over me
Debra Cox was a marvelous sweetheart who loved the babies and children everywhere. She put her love in action by doing marvelous charity work to make sure the sick and needy had warm clothes and bedding and essential items necessary for a great start in life for God’s tiniest and most helpless children.
Relief Share misses our beloved friend and volunteer – Debbie’s kind heart was felt over the miles and throughout the day as we pondered her kindness and generosity she shared with everyone with the help of her supportive husband, Ray. Heaven needed another angel and Debbie is probably very busy being God’s angel watching over babies for him.
Ray has kept her love alive and her good works continuing by his donations to Relief Share . Just recently he made a marvelous (and much needed donation) of a large amount of gorgeous fabric that is being used to make baby blankets, comfort lovey blankets, infant clothing, soft toys and more.
With the economy taking it’s toll on the ability of folks to donate, fabric donations are becoming essential for us to continue our charitable efforts. Ray knows and understands just how important donations are to help Relief Share answer God’s call the bless the lives of his most helpless little ones.
Ray also shared Debbie’s sewing supplies and machines with us so more volunteers have the tools and supplies they need to get involved. I know the angels are doing high fives, with Debbie in the lead, as they see Ray continuing to move the work forward and helping to turn tragedy into triumph in the lives of those who have great need and now are swaddled in beautiful warm baby quilts and have the necessary clothing to sustain life.
A letter from one of the hospitals we donate to stated: “your gift of baby items allowed us to send a baby home with all the necessities needed, a baby that previously had nothing - what a huge blessing, thank you. Your donation arrived just in the nick of time for that little one!” It is thank you letters like that, inspiring and motivating hearts and hands, that confirm the holy work we do for God.
Our hearts are full, we can never express enough gratitude for Ray Cox and his continuing love and help for the babies, done in memorium of our beloved Debbie. Usually, when someone passes, we say ‘rest in peace’, but we know Debbie – she is very very busy happily engaged in her calling as an angel helping everyone where ever she can. May we all live up to her standards and be happy in the life that God has given us.
If you are struggling and suffering and need a blessing, take a leaf from Debbie’s book and reach out to bless others. Debbie struggled with the cancer that finally took her life, but she lived life to the fullest and enriched the lives of all she came in contact with. That is the key – forget yourself and give your troubles to God (he wants you to and he is up 24/7 anyway) and after you have helped others and returned to your own troubles, you will find they are a lot less and easier to manage.
God bless you Ray – and God bless Debbie – we know you are there helping in the best way possible.
Love and hugs
Carol Green
President
Relief Share
info@ReliefShare.org
Quick and easy baby booties pattern - knit
This darling Relief Share baby booties knitting pattern is great for beginners and experts alike. (Picture compliments of Wendy).
Knitting needles: size 5 or 6, depending on how tightly you knit.
Gauge: 8 stitches per inch. Use baby yarn.
Size given for small (med, lg)
Cast on 36 (40,44) stitches. Work in garter stitch (knit all rows) for 12 rows.
Next row: Knit 16 (18, 20) stitches. Knit next two stitches together (k2tog), slip one stitch from one needle to the other without knitting it (slst), then knit the next stitch and pick up the slipped stitch in front of it and pass it over the knitted stitch (psso), then knit to the end of the row.
Next row: Purl 15 (17, 19) stitches. Purl 2 stitches together (p2tog), then purl the next two stitches together (p2tog), purl to end of row.
Next row: Knit 14 (16, 18) sts. K2tog, slst, psso (see above for the meaning of the abbreviations), then knit to end of row.
Next row: Purl 13 (15, 17), p2tog, p2tog, p to end of row. Continue this way decreasing 2 sts each row until 24 (28, 32) sts remain on needle as follows:
Next row: K 12 (14, 16), k2tog, slst, psso, knit to end of row.
Next row: P 11 (13, 15), p2tog, p2tog, p to end of row.
Next row: k1, (yarn over, k2tog), continue to end of row. Knit next 6 rows and bind off LOOSELY.
With a crochet hook, chain 80 to make the tie (not show in picture), and run through the eyelet row. Sew up back and bottom of booties. Ta da!
Have fun knitting up a bunch and pop them into a package to send to Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225 to keep the sick and needy babies tootsies warm in hospital and in the shelters.
Lovely blanket and comfort ball
The babies in hospital and children at the shelters love these soft comforting lovey blankets and balls that our ReliefShare.org volunteers make. They love the balls so much that we call them ‘Comfort Balls”.
The blankets are made of soft material – usually 12″ square. One side is polar fleece or flannel and the other minky or fuzzy microfleece – any kind of material can be used as long as it is washable and soft – we’ve even used satin on one side – babies love soft material. Around the edge are loops of knitted i-cord that are sewn securelyl so toys can be attached to the loops or the blanket can be hung on an IV pole for distraction when the medical staff need to work on the child. The babies and children love to play with the loops as well. That’s what makes the blanket fun!
The knitted ball is a huge hit with all ages, there are times the volunteers play with the balls more than the children do. The balls are knitted in 6 strips that measure 8″ long by 2″ wide. (note: yes, the strips can be crocheted as well and so can the icord) For most sport or worsted weight yarn, that means 15 stitches by 50 stitches but you have to use a ruler and adjust the number of stitches as you use other yarn to make the balls. After the strips are knitted, the ball is woven together.
The first attempt at assembling the ball is usually a challenge but if you stick with it, something clicks and then you can assemble the balls with no problem.
The pattern for the knitted ball is found on ravelry.com – just type in ‘knitted ball’ in the search on their website and it pops right up.
Use your scraps of yarn to make comfort balls for all your grandchildren, children, kids at church and local hospital and if you have some left over, we would love it if you would like to send them to us to donate out.
Assembling the balls is not for the faint at heart. If you simply want to knit the strips and send them to us for our volunteers to assemble, that would be wonderful. You can even clean out your yarn stash for a good cause, pop your donation into a box and address it to Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225 and we will be happy to knit up the balls and icord for the lovey blankets.
All donations are tax deductible and any and all donations are very welcome. There are no restrictions on what you can send, we make every donation count, no matter what it is.
Any type of yarn will do and any color. Children love lots of color and texture.
The lovey blankets are very easy to assemble as well, sew on the icord – or if you don’t have icord, you can sew on medium and wide width ribbon that is 4″ long and doubled around the edge of the blanket. Sandwich the ribbon inside the two pieces of fabric that are right sides together and sew 1/4″ to 1/2″ seam, leaving a place to turn the blanket right side out. Turn the blanket right side out and sew 1/2″ from the edge all the way around to make sure the icord or ribbon stays in place securely. Ta da! You have created a darling lovey blanket for a little one.
Questions? Email us at info@ReliefShare.org we’d love to hear from you or simply post a reply under this blog post! Happy knitting and sewing.
Add fun fur and a top knot to make a hat special. It may be the only hat the sick or needy receive. Show them your love by making it special.
Do you like to make hats?
ReliefShare.org volunteers love to makes hats. Baby hats, chemo hats, hats to keep families warm in cold weather, hats to brighten and cheer and bless, hats knitted, sewn and crocheted with love and prayers. We make them at home, on the road as we travel, at church or visiting with friends. You can make them with us for the sick and needy. Send them to us to distribute or donate to your favorite charity locally.
When knitting hats, we use soft yarn, like Love that Yarn from Hobby Lobby, Bernat, Lion Brand or Caron Simply Soft – something gentle to the skin and easy to wash (yes, that usually means acrylic so hospitals can put it in the washer and dryer). We also use wool, alpaca and cotton for hats if they are going to individuals who are willing to hand wash them.
The men like the grey ones we do with a black stripe or two, blue shades or the camo yarn hats. Red Heart makes Softee yarn and Red Heart kids yarn that is soft and wonderful. Some of the super saver yarns, depending on color are okay but some are rough, close your eyes and run your hands over the yarn. The touch test is the best way to tell.
Ladies like it when we put a crocheted flower on the hat and seem to prefer pink or pastel. Kids love lots of color. Babies look cute in anything pastel or colorful, but then again, babies look cute in anything 
We usually use size 7 circular needles with worsted weight yarn, but you can use your favorite yarn and needles.
With circular needles or double pointed needles, cast on 80 sts (depending on how large you want the hat to be and the kind of yarn you are using you can cast on 70 or 80). We love using a long tail cast on as it provides and nice even stretchy base to knit from. There is nothing more disappointing in spending the time to knit a wonderful hat and find that it won’t stretch over the head (we lovingly call those kind of hats ‘cast iron cuties” and they wind up getting redone or used for doll clothing if the size is right – nothing is ever wasted).
Join in the round, placing a stitch marker on first stitch to mark beginning of round.
Knit for approximately 7 inches then begin decreasing.
Row 1. Knit 8, knit 2 together (repeat to end of row. Row should end with last 2 sts knit together).
Row 2. Knit all sts.
Row 3. Knit 7, knit 2 together (repeat to end of row. Row should end with last 2 sts knit together).
Row 4. Knit all sts.
Row 5. Knit 6, knit 2 together (repeat to end of row. Row should end with last 2 sts knit together).
Row 6. Knit all sts.
Row 7. Knit 5, knit 2 together (repeat to end of row. Row should end with last 2 sts knit together).
Row 8. Knit all sts.
Continue in this manner, switching to double pointed needle (DPN) when it gets too small for the circular needles – or use the magic loop technique if using circulars to finish, until only 8 stitches remain. Cut or break yarn leaving a long tail to thread through the remaining 8 stitches. Tighten the bottom and secure yarn by weaving it up into the inside of the bag a bit until you feel it is secure and won’t come out.
Weave in any ends ( if you choose to do stripes you will have lots of them) and ta-da! All done
Sometimes we do an icord knot finish and sometimes an icord loop finish. Details can make the hat special for the recipient.
Note: Childrens hats are the same pattern as the adult but cast on only 60 for babies or 70 for toddlers/children. Knit for 4 1/2″ for babies and 5 1/2″ for kids then decrease. Women with small heads you can knit for 6 1/2″ instead of 7, depending on how much of a self rolled brim you want the hat to have.
Feel free to knit, sew, felt, craft or crochet hats of all colors and sizes to donate to charity. Our address is Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225. All donations are tax deductible and we are happy to send a thank you letter and tax paperwork to acknowledge your donation.
Relief Share Presidents note:
Reuben's lovely blanket with icord
How do you like the lovey blankets I am working on?
This is my grandson’s – he gets to test ‘new’ items, and so far, it’s a huge success.
I was making tons of taggie blankets for the hospital but the ribbon cost so much that I decided to knit icords for the edge instead. Yes, it is time consuming but can be done with yarn scraps
If you want to help, you can sew the lovey blankets and send them finished to
Relief Share,
6078 Lundy Rd,
Houston, MO 65483-2225 – they are 12″ square and you can use up your scraps for a good cause.
We are needing more soft fuzzy fabric like you see in the picture and minky, chenille, polar fleece, kids prints, flannel, etc to make them with.
Send your left over yarn scraps as well, they make great loops! If you crochet tubes pretty tightly, they can be used, too.
You should see the kids with this, it’s a lot of fun! These fun comfort lovey blankets go to children in hospital, crisis centers, homeless shelters, adoption agencies, mental health organizations, indian reservations, refugee centers, women’s shelters, etc.
Thank you so much from our heart to yours!
A wonderful heartfelt thank you to the anonymous donor who is helping us meet the need of the sick and indigent by donating fabric supplies. May God bless you as you have blessed many many today!!
Things just keep getting better and better! The postman brought 3 HUGE boxes of fabric. What a wonderful and much needed donation!
There is polar fleece, flannel, cotton, heavier material, quilting fabric, baby fabric…1/2 of it is already gone, being made into baby blankets, diaper bags, foster children tote bags, soft toys, baby layettes and the lace for infant burial gowns.
Donation boxes from JB
We just got in donations of teddies, stuffed toy dogs, baby cocoons and fabric. It was like Christmas!
The stuffed toys and cocoons were immediately donated to the hospital and the fabric is being sewn up quickly into items for the sick and needy.
Thank you to the wonderful donors and volunteers that make miracles happen for the babies and children in the hospital and crisis centers.
The hospital was so happy to get the items for the children and babies they treat in their children’s hospital. It makes a difficult time for the little ones a little more tolerable with soft blankets, cuddly toys and snuggly cocoons to provide comfort and warmth for healing.
A wonderful lady in the Treasure Valley area of Idaho has gathered together friends and encouraged them to make wonderful hand knitted baby cocoons for the hospital and crisis centers sick and needy. It is a real treat to have bags of lovely cocoons dropped off at our Boise, Idaho Relief Share office for us to distribute to those who need them the most.
Donation out to St Luke's Childrens Hospital in Boise, Idaho
You can see the pretty cocoons in the donation box next to the super soft teddies and puppies for the children. Lots of love, time, and prayers are in these soft cuddly baby cocoons.
If you like to knit, crochet or sew and want to help God’s tiniest and most helpless children, feel free to jump in anytime and donate finished items, supplies for our volunteers to make into what is needed and reach out to others who need your love and caring.
Urgent Needs are:
baby clothing, bedding and accessories – anything baby – pacifiers, diapers, wipes, lotion, shampoo, toys, burp cloths, bibs, blankets
toddlers clothing, toys, books, dvds, comfort teddies or soft toys, pillowcases and bedding
family needs – bedding, clothing of all sizes, undergarments, women’s personal items, toothbrushes, soap, towels, washcloths, shampoo, lotion, toothpaste, basic cleaning and hygeniene items, books, food items.
Supplies to make needed items: fabric, thread, yarn, patterns, craft supplies, ribbon (for baby taggie blankets, burial layettes), smocking, tatting, knitting, crochet, embroidery, spinning tools and supplies, etc
Donations can be sent to:
Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225
Visit us on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/ReliefShare
Our email is info@ReliefShare.org – drop us a line or post a comment on our blog.
Relief Share charity – urgent needs – spring 2012
By · Comments
Baby in a hospital incubator
Relief Share charity efforts are focused this spring of 2012 on the most urgent needs – and right now they are for babies. Here is a brief list of supplies and items needed the most, however, we accept all donations of any kind.
Supplies needed: – jumbo rick rack for the edges of the receiving blankets (lots of it – it takes 2 packages per receiving blanket), The rick rack helps the blankets last longer on the edges as it stabilizes the fabric and adds a pretty edging.
- flannel for baby layettes, quilts and blankets
- sewing thread, serging thread, embroidery thread, tatting thread, quilting thread – yes, any kind of thread We go through a lot of it.
- fabric – baby print, minky, chenille, flannel, knit, cotton, pastel – any kind of fabric is used, right down to the scraps. We do whole cloth quilts, scrap quilts, patchwork quilts, baby clothing, diaper bags, etc. Think soft and think baby colors.
- yarn – all colors, all kinds for hats, layettes, blankets, toys, etc. – ribbon for baby taggie blankets and burial layettes
- trims for baby clothing and blankets (bias, twill, rosettes, appliques, etc)
- scissors, rotary cutters, tools, knitting needles (circular needles are the best), crochet hooks, felt, craft supplies, sewing, crochet, crafting, beading, embroidery, tatting and knitting supplies.
Items needed:
- baby clothing such as onesies, layettes, sleepers, gowns, hats, booties, socks, hats
- baby accessories such as diaper bags, hygiene items (diaper rash lotion, shampoo, soap, lotion, baby powder), formula, diapers (cloth and disposable), pacifiers, bottles, nursing pillows – anything a baby needs.
- baby afghans, baby cocoons, swaddlers and baby afghans remain our number one most requested items. Keeping little ones warm and snuggled for healing and growth is very important.
Ship donations to:
Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, Missouri 65483-2225
Thank you for your supporting our cause. We love the babies and their families and it feels wonderful to help the sick and needy. Relief Share is a non profit charity registered with the IRS and charity reporting agency, GuideStar. All donations receive a thank you letter and tax deductible letter – please put a note in the donation boxes with your address so we can send you your thank you letter.
President Carol Green
www.ReliefShare.org
info@ReliefShare.org – email us – we’d love to hear from you.
Donation made in memory of Debra Cox
By · CommentsIt’s spring and the time of year for renewal and contemplation. As we review the blessings received from wonderful volunteers and donors we are honored to have made a donation to St Alphonus Hospital, St Lukes Hospital and area organizations that serve the sick and needy in memory of one of our very dear Relief Share family member who has gone through that doorway we call death and left a legacy of love and dedication. Her husband, Ray, continues his charitable efforts with us in her memory and we are very grateful for the love of the Cox family.
Donations out on Deb’s behalf were: pacifiers, baby headbands, diapers, onesies, undershirts, shirts, hats, sleepers, swaddlers, cocoons, baby sweaters, tights, pants, booties, socks, gowns, newborn jackets, child’s books, diaper pins, bibs, mitts, blankets, afghans, and shoes. The sick and needy who received these items are very grateful for the help.
St Vincent de Paul was delighted to get the needed items for the sick and needy they serve. Our volunteers enjoy supporting local efforts to help those who are struggling with economic downturns. The weather is getting warmer but still nippy on days – especially when folks are homeless with babies and small children. Thank you to the wonderful Relief Share family of donors and volunteers who work hard to make what is needed and provide the supplies to make the items.
Donations out
Donation out:
2 crib sheets
3 afghans
3 receiving blankets
2 baby blankets
5 pr of handmade baby booties
7 hand knit hats
fabric
2 shirts
1 toy
5 embroidery hoops
4 toy bags
1 child’s game
1 child’s apron
2 boxes of baby clothing and bedding, 1 box of toys
baby cocoons and hats
Baby Cocoon donation out to hospital today
By · Comments
donation to the hospital
St Lukes Hospital System in Eagle, Idaho was so glad to get a donation of 7 hand knitted baby cocoons today, made with loving hearts and hands by volunteers who care for the sick and needy.
Another cocoon was given out to a needy family made by the same volunteers Thank you, VaLere!
Relief Share - love in action
Together we can make a difference in the lives of the sick and needy. Thank you to all our Relief Share donors and volunteers who made donations this week possible.
DONATIONS OUT:
HOSPITAL – Boise, Idaho
60 pair of newborn booties
7 burial layette sets – hand crocheted preemie blankets, hats, booties & sewn gowns
5 preemie sets – hand crocheted afghans, hat, booties
1 baby cocoon swaddler
4 hand knitted hats
1 headband for infant
1 sewn burial sacque for baby
84 cloth diapers
1 knitted ball toy
7 crocheted afghans
4 sewn newborn gowns
40 soft knit newborn hats for NICU
100 new toothbrushes
INDIVIDUAL FAMILY
material for 3 queen size quilts, 2 quilting books
INDIVIDUAL FAMILY
clothing, household items, sewing machine, fabric, thread, sewing supplies
DONATIONS IN:
Fabric, sewing supplies, yarn, baby clothing, crocheted and knitted items
If you would like to join the Relief Share family of donors and volunteers, please send donations of new or gently used items or supplies to
Relief Share,
6078 Lundy Rd,
Houston, MO 65483-2225.
All donations will be acknowledged with a thank you letter/tax receipt. We are a 501 (c) 3 non profit charity registered with the IRS.
Carol Green
President
ReliefShare.org – love in action, giving relief through sharing
Donations out March 2012
By · Comments
120 hand knitted baby booties donated to St Alphonsus Hospital in Boise, ID
Donations have been flowing in and out, in a steady rhythym, to help the sick and needy. A large donation was taken to St Alphonsus Hospital System Foundation in Boise, Idaho this week of 120 handmade knitted booties, 96 diapers, and a truckload of burial layettes, baby afghans, hats, clothing, gowns, toys and more.
A donation of children’s clothing and blankets were donated to St Vincent de Paul outreach program in Garden City, Missouri.
A donation of 3 queen size patchwork quilts were taken to the Vets for Success Program.
A donation of baby items were given to a needy family, another donation of children’s items were given to a family who had a need for them.
A donation of sewing supplies and yarn were given out to several people who had needs but were willing to make the items needed, they just needed the supplies and we were happy to provide them.
Burial layette sets, hats, cocoons, afghans, receiving blankets donated to the hospital.
Much needed sewing machines were donated to churches and organizations who are using them to help the sick and needy. Crochet hooks, knitting needles, an electric yarn winder and other supplies and equipment were donated out for the benefit of the indigent and ailing.
Some of the donated items were from the LDS Humanitarian Service Room who permanently closed their doors this past week to transition the charity efforts locally to Branches, Wards and Stakes throughout the Mormon Church in an effort to reach even more of those needing help and keeping resources local to the communities who donate them.
Relief Share volunteers shall miss working in with amazing LDS volunteers who rise above and beyond the call of duty, many of them suffering hardships and loss of family members, but keep on donating their service and time in a Christlike manner.
It has been an honor and pleasure for Relief Share volunteers to work in the service room and we are grateful for our association with them.
96 brand new diapers in packages from LDS Humanitarian donated to St Als Hospital in Boise Idaho
Relief Share continues to meet the needs of the sick and indigent, as we have done for years, with the rising number of natural disasters and the downturn in the economy having broached the ability for previously proficient breadwinners to continue to provide for their families.
You can help! Please send donations to:
Relief Share,
6078 Lundy Rd,
Houston, MO 65483-2225
TORNADO RELIEF – Missouri area – urgent need list
By · Comments
Missouri tornado damage - digging out
Relief Share is working with an organization that is getting several referrals from the Red Cross for those that were affected by the recent tornado in Branson and the one in Buffalo.
The urgent need list is: diapers, wipes, toiletries, socks, bottles,pacifiers, and items which have to be purchased by those affected.
Sewing supplies (fabric, thread, quilt batting), knitting and crochet supplies are needed as well. We will be making and donating many quilts.
Gift cards from larger department stores such as Walmart and Target are appreciated and donations of money to info@ReliefShare.org through Paypal are helpful as are donations via check, money orders or Western Union.
Every little bit helps – please reach out and offer support to those who need you.
Helping others in the service of the Lord - Missouri tornado relief
New or used household items are also much needed – clean out your closets to a good cause and put them in a box. Ship them to Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225 attn: disaster relief outreach.
Heart Baby Blanket Knitting Pattern
By · CommentsHeart Baby Blanket Knitting Pattern
Heart blanket to warm the body and the heart
An easy knitting pattern for a baby blanket featuring hearts. Garter stitch is knit between the hearts which are reverse stockinette stitch on a stockinette background.
Finished Size
30″ x 40″
Gauge
5 sts=1″
Materials
Size 6 US (4.25 mm) circular needles, 29″ or longer
7 skeins Bernat Satin
100% Acrylic
3.5 oz / 100 g
163 yd / 149 m
Instructions: CO 135 sts.
K 8 rows.
Rows 1, 3 and 5 (RS): K
Rows 2, 4 and 6: K8, (p19, k6) 4 times, p19, k8
Row 7: K8, (k9, p1, k15) 4 times, k9, p1, k17
Row 8: K8, (p8, k3, p8, k6) 4 times, p8, k3, p8, k8
Row 9: K8, (k7, p5, k13) 4 times, k7, p5, k15
Row 10: K8, (p6, k7, p6, k6) 4 times, p6, k7, p6, k8
Row 11: K8, (k5, p9, k11) 4 times, k5, p9, k13
Row 12: K8, (p5, k9, p5, k6) 4 times, p5, k9, p5, k8
Row 13: K8, (k4, p11, k10) 4 times, k4, p11, k12
Row 14: K8, (p4, k11, p4, k6) 4 times, p4, k11, p4, k8
Row 15: K8, (k3, p13, k9) 4 times, k3, p13, k11
Row 16: K8, (p3, k13, p3, k6) 4 times, p3, k13, p3, k8
Rows 17 and 19: Rep Row 15
Row 18: Rep Row 16
Row 20: K8, (p3, k6, p1, k6, p3, k6) 4 times, p3, k6, p1, k6, p3, k8
Row 21: K8, (k3, p6, k1, p6, k9) 4 times, k3, p6, k1, p6, k11
Row 22: K8, (p4, k4, p3, k4, p4, k6) 4 times, p4, k4, p3, k4, p4, k8
Row 23: K8, (k5, p2, k5, p2, k11) 4 times, k5, p2, k5, p2, k13
Row 24: Rep Row 2 Rep Rows 1-24 until desired length.
K 8 rows.
BO.
Thank you to Ann Saglimbene for sharing her free pattern for this blanket. Lots of babies in the hospital will now be cuddly warm. This is also a wonderful pattern for making chemo blankets for patients.
Relief Share
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
Preemie newborn knitted gown pattern
By · Comments
preemie knitted gown
Many times we have requests for patterns that volunteers can use to make items for the sick and needy babies we serve. This pattern is free. When finished, please send to Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225.
This should fit premature baby to newborn size 7 pounds or less.
4 oz Red Heart Baby Soft Yarn Size 6 needles 2 stitch holders 3 buttons Darning needle
Abbreviations:
K Knit
P Purl
St Stitch
Rib K1, P1, repeat across
Stockinette Stitch k1 row, p1 row
K2tog Knit 2 stitches together
P2tog Purl 2 stitches together
Inc Increase
BO Bind Off
OS Other Side
YO Yarn Over
RS Right Side
WS Wrong Side
NECKBAND
(you may design neckband in many variations: 6 rows of rib; garter or eyelet stitches. I used the eyelet pattern for my neckband for this pictured pattern.)
Cast on 40 sts. Knit 2 rows.
RS- (eyelet row) K3, *yo, k2tog, repeat from * to last 3 sts, k3. K 1 row.
Next row
– WS – k8, place marker, k6, place marker, k12, place maker, k6, place marker, k8.
Row 6 – k across row inc 1 st before and after markers.
Row 7 – k4, p across slipping markers, to last 4 sts, K4.
Repeat rows 6 & 7 four times, ending with row 7. There will be 4 purl ridges after the eyelet row
BUTTONHOLE
RS – k2, yo, k2tog, (buttonhole) k across continuing to inc 1 st before and after markers.(place a pin at the end of the row as this will be button placement)
Next row – repeat row 7
Continue pattern of rows 6 & 7 until 120 sts.
DIVIDE FOR SLEEVES AND BODY
(remove markers when you get to them) RS- k18, cast on 4 sts, slip next 26 sts (left sleeve) onto stitch holder, k32 sts (back) cast on 4 sts, slip next 26 sts (right sleeve) onto stitch holder, k18.
Row 1 – k4, p across to last 4 st, k4 (76 st)
Row 2 – k across.
Continue last 2 rows until 9 purl ridges from 1st buttonhole.
RS- k2, yo, k2tog, k across (place a pin at the end of the row as this will be button placement)
Repeat pattern of rows 1 & 2 until 9 purl ridges from 2nd buttonhole.
Make 3rd buttonhole as above. Continue pattern of rows 1 & 2 until 9 purl ridges from 3rd buttonhole.
CONTINUE FOR BODY
Use circular needle.
RS – knit across until last 4 st, (button band) Bind off those 4 st. of button band. Place a marker so that this will be the center by the buttonhole band.
Continue to knit unit desired length. Any where from ll” to 16” from armhole may be good.
K 1 row. P 1 row.
Make the eyelet row of *YO, K2tog * repeat pattern from * K 1 row. P 1 row. Bind off all stitches.
SLEEVES
Using regular straight needles. Pick up stitches from stitch holder. Join yarn. Stockinette stitch (k1 row, p1 row) for 20 rows.
Rib (k1, p1 across) for 6 rows. BO. Sew seam.
Sew buttons onto button band to correspond where buttonholes are from the buttonhole band.
Make a crochet chain approximately 30” to 32” for the drawstring.
Weave through the eyelet stitches at the bottom for a drawstring closure.
Designed and Created by Lois Walters July, 2004 original website listing http://lwalters1-ivil.tripod.com/kimono.html Thank you to Lois for making this pattern free
Lots of love in action – so much to share!
By · Comments
Love in action - working together to help others.
This winter has been cold but filled with hearts made warm and cozy with lots of love in action from ReliefShare.org volunteers and donors from all over the country. A huge thank you going out to all those who have been shopping, knitting, sewing, serging, tatting, crocheting, crafting and de-cluttering for the benefit of the sick and needy we are helping.
Recent donations received include:
- hand knitted and crocheted hats
- prayer shawls
- afghans – all sizes
- baby blankets and snuggler cocoons
- baby sweaters and clothing
- infant demise layette sets
- crocheted, knitted and sewn booties
- children’s clothing and diapers
- hygiene supplies for needy families
- food items
- household goods – kitchen items, bedding, towels, electronics, etc
- beautiful quilts
- knitted and woven soft toys, stuffed animals and balls
- videos, books and toys
Donations have been give out to hospitals, homeless shelters, crisis centers, individuals, pediatric clinics, and other organizations that help the sick and needy.
Honorable mentions for donations and service include:
Janet W – WV
Melody G – CT
Michele H – UT
Kimiko S – VA
Jennifer S – ID
Dan W – MO
Christine R – SD
Herbert P – TX
Mary S – NC
SharpShoppersClub – MO
USCybertek – MO
Light Speed Interactive – ID
LDS Humanitarian – ID
Brian J – AZ
K W – ME
John S – AR
Barbara L – CT
Ethel V – OR
Charlotte B -CA
Cynthia S – WV
Ozark Glass – MO
JC Auto – MO
Marla P – KY
Grace D – PA
Terry W – KS
Diane H – AR
May God bless each and every one of you who answer his call to help. If you would like to help there are many things you can do.
- Spread the work and share our link of www.ReliefShare.org on your facebook page, twitter feed, or website.
- Go shopping and have a blast at the sales, then put your purchases for the sick and needy in a box and send it to Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225.
- Clean out your closets for a good cause, de-clutter your home, teach your children and grandchildren about caring for others at Family Home Evening, family gatherings or one on one times – reach out to others by using your talents God has given you.
- Share your ideas to make the world a better place with others and ACT upon what you know to be right.
Start right were you are, right where you stand with what you have available and bless the lives of those around you.
We love your donations and are happy to get them to where they are needed the most, but you can also donate and help locally to strengthen your community.
Bloom where you are planted and spread God’s message of love and hope in your own special way. It may be a smile, a hug or a warm blanket.
In the words of a wonderful Christian leader of men, Spencer W Kimball - “Just Do It!”
With love and gratitude,
Carol Green
President
Relief Share
info@ReliefShare.org
Do we need supplies? YES!!!!! Batting, fabric, yarn…
By · Comments
Your left over scrap yarn makes wonderful afghans for sick and needy patients in the hospital. Our volunteers love to work with your yarn.
It really makes a big difference to the volunteers when they come to work meetings to have nice supplies for them to work with. The saddest thing I see is folks standing around because there are limited supplies to work with and only so many machines to work on. That’s when I grab a handful of knitting needles or crochet hooks and start encouraging folks to do hand work while they wait their turn on the sergers.
We were out in the garage inventory tonight getting ready for tomorrow’s work meeting and folks even tracked me down out there to get help for a little 4 month old baby. I had toys and formula bottles to give but no clothing for her as she takes 3 to 6 mo size and will be in 6 to 9 soon – she is a big baby I am going to have to see what I can do to get some clothes made for her tomorrow in between working on baby burial layette sets, quilts, blankets, afghans, etc. We only work at the work rooms from 10 to 2 so there is a lot of work crammed into the day. I may just have to see what I can get sold on ebay to get her some clothes. She is okay for a few weeks and that will allow me time to sell something and find some sales.
I love this work, I love helping others and it’s fun to have the challenges of finding the need, organizing the work, working with the volunteers and seeing the fruits of our labors bless the sweet babies and their families. I am so grateful to volunteers for their donations of supplies.
We are washing a bunch of used toys to go to the hospital tomorrow in cocoons. The babies get a warm cocoon and a toy, too – mostly teddy bears and dollies
I get asked all the time what the most urgent needs are. The simple answer is:
FABRIC – flannel, flannelette, soft, minky, chenille, velour, cotton, cotton blends, PUL, muslin, broadcloth, kids print, decorator fabric, felt, sherpa, polar fleece, micro fleece, corderoy, quilters cotton, any kind of fabric.
YARN – wool, cotton, acrylic, blends, all weights and colors, eyelash, fancy, solid colors, variegated – we use everything
SEWING SUPPLIES – serger and sewing thread, scissors, pins, needles, machines – serger and sewing machines, books, patterns, sewing tools, sewing birds
KNITTING & CROCHET SUPPLIES: knitting needles (we use circulars the most), crochet hooks, stitch markers, spinning wheels, yarn winders, swifts, felting supplies and tools,
SMOCKING SUPPLIES – pleaters, thread, patterns, pleater needles, batiste, etc
TATTING SUPPLIES – shuttles, needles, winders, thread, patterns.
BATTING – oh yes, please. We are always running out of batting. Queen size is best and we also need baby quilt batting and twin size, too.
Donations are tax deductible and can be sent to:
Relief Share,
6078 Lundy Rd,
Houston, MO 65483-2225
Please be sure to include your address so we can send you your thank you letter and tax receipt. If you want to help us save money on postage, include your email address and we can email you the letter We are also happy to mail you your letter if you would like a hard copy on file.
Thanks for being part of our Relief Share family. You are an important family member to help this old world be a better place!
Hugs
President Carol Green
info@ReliefShare.org
Sewing for charity is a rewarding activity - both for the volunteers and the ones who receive the needed items.
Tomorrow is a big day. I was a bit worried about it but now everything is going to be just fine.
I have two big work meetings tomorrow and one of them needed more sewing machines than are available. It is frustrating to me to see ladies waiting in line for a chance to help sew what is needed but not enough machines to go around. The Lord knows what we need, who has it and who is willing to help his sick and needy children and take action.
Just in the nick of time, two sewing machines were delivered and will be taken to the morning work meeting so there will be enough machines. I am so relieved and VERY happy. When I let the other volunteers know that two more machines arrived, they were so excited and now instead of not getting any sleep trying to figure out how to cycle the volunteers around on the machines better, I am happily looking forward to seeing the huge auditorium filled with hustle and bustle making all kinds of marvelous things tomorrow at the LDS Stake Humanitarian work meeting.
A huge thank you to our Relief Share guardian angel – I know the angels in heaven are doing high fives over her love and support for God’s most helpless children. The morning work meeting is only once a month and now we have machines that the ladies can take home during the month to keep working.
The afternoon work meeting is going to be pretty thrilling, too. When I went to the service room on Tuesday we had a serious shortage of fabric and yarn and NO batting for quilts. One of the directors on the Relief Share board and myself worked hard last night to get a van load full of fabric and yarn ready for other LDS Humanitarian volunteers to pick up this morning and take over to the service room ready for tomorrow. It cleaned out pretty much everything I had, even all the reserves, but its going to be awesome tomorrow to see the room bustling with activity and lots of warm hats, scarves, mittens, quilts, knitted balls, clothing and bedding being made. We also have volunteers with cars and trucks ready to do donation runs as the boxes fill up with finished goods. The boxes that are shipped to Relief Share are distributed immediately to the most urgent needs.
I have to say that I am exhausted. It’s been full steam ahead since I hit the ground running when I arrived in Boise, ID less than a week ago after being in Misssouri for 4 1/2 months, and I am hoping for a wee break on Sunday as I sit in church quietly knitting and listening to more direction from God from the pulpit. I love getting my batteries recharged. The little baby hat I knitted in church is already on a baby’s head being used LOL.
Charity work is marvelous and I am so grateful for all the wonderful donors and volunteers that make this world a better place.
One of the reasons why Relief Share is so effective is we work with other charities and the synergism is amazing – so many more sick and needy receive the help they need. One of our very favorite organizations we love to work with is LDS Humanitarian Services. If you have activities in your area going on at the LDS Church, get involved. It’s amazing what hearts bound in the same charitable service can do – miracles happen.
If you want to help –
- donate to ReliefShare.org by sending a paypal donation to info@ReliefShare.org
– send a box of gently used or new items for babies, children and adults to
Relief Share,
6078 Lundy Rd,
Houston, MO 65483-2225
- send a box of supplies for our volunteers to make what is needed. Fabric, yarn, sewing, serging, quilting, knitting, crochet, tatting, embroidery and other supplies are needed.
All donations are acknowledged with a thank you letter and tax deductible receipt.
President Carol Green,
ReliefShare.org charity
2012 is going to be a banner year. Relief Share volunteers have rolled up their sleeves, opened their wallets, filled their schedules with charity work and the results of dedicated love for the babies is showing up in a plethora of donations to where it counts the most!
Donation out to Texas County Food Pantry and Crisis Center, January 12, 2012 delivered in person by Relief Share Vice President
1 receiving blanket
3 pair mens pajamas
4 baby bibs
7 baby sleepers
4 coats
4 pants
1 roll masking tape
4 tops
2 baby onesies
1 pr mittens
1 dress
2 pr socks
1 dog bed and pillow
Donation to Newborns in Need, Springfield Chapter (run by a very lovely lady, President Judy McDuffie) Mailed Jan 10, 2012
4 baby afghans
8 baby bibs
5 shirts
10 crocheted children’s soft balls
16 knitted woven children’s soft balls
3 knitted hats
6 crocheted hats
2 pr pants
1 baby sleeper
1 pr baby shoes
1 toddler blue jean jacket
12 preemie hats
1 toy
7 baby onesies
1 baby jacket
Donation to local Church for needy in area.
2 large shelves full of warm adult sweaters – many large garbage size bags full. Thank you to Susan and Phil for delivering those items to where they are needed the most.
Donations to individuals needing items the first two weeks in January 2012:
Baby cocoon for little girl
Baby clothing and accessories for little baby boy
Warm hats to needy family
Sewing supplies for grandmother to make items for grandchildren
Sewing supplies to make items for chemo patients
Toys for needy family
Donation for the babies in Texas County, Missouri
We’ve been donating to Children’s Mercy Hospital for 20 years now. It is wonderful to know our donations are very much appreciated and used to help the sick and needy children that are patients. Here is their thank you letter – it really belongs to everyone – all the donors, the volunteers and those who offer up their prayers for the children – synergism at it’s best!
- Thank you from Children’s Mercy Hospital to Relief Share
Snuggly, cuddly receiving blankets for baby.
Today was a wonderful day here at Relief Share. We were very busy in the morning getting a donation ready to go to the hospital made from the gorgeous flannel that arrived in a donation box from our Relief Share guardian angel (who wishes to remain anonymous, but is very much loved by everyone).
The flannel is darling – little dalmations romping over soft fuzzy flannel in pink and yellow, cute ducks that make you smile when you look at it. Other flannel from our inventory room was also used – in fact, we just used up ALL the flannel on hand so the hospital will have enough receiving blankets this chilly winter for the precious babies. Firemen puppies, cute green dinosaurs, pink check, white and orange polka dot, pastel plaids, cute kids prints – all cut out to 36 x 45 with rounded corners and carefully serged.
We love using the wooly nylon to make the flannel receiving blankets look more store bought and professional when we have it. So much love sewn into the baby blankets….
A large box came in to the office of baby clothing and accessories and it’s already been delivered to the crisis center, along with another box that came in from a wonderful reborner, Kimiko Stallard, who sends boxes of books, childrens clothing and accessories regularly. She also donates part of her ebay auctions to Relief Share and we appreciate her.
This afternoon we took the donation to the hospital and they were so pleased with everything in it. Thank you to all who help us help the sick and needy
New Years Resolutions…ideas on how to keep yours ;-)
By · Comments
What are your New Years resolutions? A quick search on the net shows that the number one New Years resolution is to lose weight. We had to blink twice at that one because many of the sick and needy we serve don’t have that problem. In fact, they have trouble finding the resources to get enough food to eat.
If you are trying to keep your New Years resolution of losing weight, we have some suggestions that might help
1. One day a week fast for one meal (or two) and donate the money you would have spent on those meals to charity. Give it to your church, your local food pantry or send it to
Relief Share,
6078 Lundy Rd,
Houston, MO 65483-2225.
If you would have eaten something you already have in your home in your food storage – take the cans or boxes you don’t eat to your local food pantry, or donate them to a family you know could use them.
2. We all know exercise helps us lose weight. Get off the computer, stop watching the TV and dig out your sewing machine, knitting machine or serger and make some baby blankets or receiving blankets – perhaps a quilt or two to give away. It will stimulate your heart and mind at the same time and bless the lives of the sick and needy. If you prefer to hand knit or crochet – I bet there are some chemo patients that would love a hat to keep their heads warm or a prayer shawl or afghan to keep them snuggled and warm during the long hours of laying there getting chemotherapy for cancer.
3. Gaining weight, for some of us, comes from comfort eating, do something else instead! Bad day – chocolate, upset – ice cream, family party and feeling good – Grandma’s famous peach pie, special occasion – root bear floats and birthday cake…well, you get the idea. Good or bad, we tend to reach for food to complete the situation. Space abhors a vacuum. Instead of reaching for food eating food, try doing something nice for someone else. It’s hard to fork more pie in your mouth if your hands are busy sewing quilts for the crisis center and you can’t reach for the jelly beans at home on the counter if you are giving your neighbor in his wheelchair a walk in the sunshine for a much needed outing. Attend a local charity work meeting, volunteer time at the local library, or keep your hands and mind busy doing another productive service for someone – like weeding their garden when they can’t.
4. There are good weight loss products to help boost your efforts (and there are many bad ones). We recommend a supplement that compliments your efforts, not one that shocks your body into unhealthy weight loss. After a great deal of research, we found that America’s number one health weight loss supplement is HCG drops. Not all drops are good for you, though, depending on what the manufacturer has put in the bottle. The most productive, safe, and cost effective can be found at www.herbalhealthco.com – you must stick to the diet suggested, but if you do, it works well. HCGslim can help you get the body you want, healthy, strong and trim. The company also donates to Relief Share – we are grateful for that.
Good luck! We would love to hear how your New Years resolutions are coming. Please feel free to respond to this post and share!
Its so nice to be able to help. Here is the thank you letter for a donation we took to Shriners Childrens Hospital right before Christmas.
They were very appreciative.
Thank you letter from Shriners
Precious child of God.
You know, it is always a wonderful experience to take donations to where they are needed. We love to go to Shriners Childrens Hospital in St Louis as there is a good feeling at the hospital and it feels marvelous to know that the children there get the help they need at no cost to them.
This time we thought that perhaps the hospital would be inundated with donations because of Christmas. Surprise, surprise – not so. When we took our donation, the bags were immediately gone through as personnel searched for warm clothing and blankets for children in ‘same day’ surgery needed them. Families who had very little needed warm blankets to take their children home in the cold weather. It really made us appreciate the need for our donations and glad we were there to help.
Here is what we took this week – personally delivered by the President – who loves to be knee deep in all the charity work with the volunteers!
SHRINERS CHILDRENS HOSPITAL – ST LOUIS donation
Baby quilts – 5
Baby blankets – 7
Full size Quilts – 2
Games and toys – 2
Children’s pants – 7
Baby bibs – 2
Baby washcloths – new in packages 52
Socks – 1
Little girls hairbands/bows – 15
totebags/diaper bags – 2
receiving blankets – 2
fleece throw blankets – 2
soft stuffed animals – new with tags – 26
children’s shirts – 2
baby lotion – 3
doll pillows – 3
hand knitted hat – 1
baby powder – 1
body wash – 1
shampoo – 1
musical pull toy – 1
We strongly encourage folks to donate to Shriners. You can find their address by typing it in google. Simply put what you want to donate to them in a box and ship it. Items should be NEW. Their most urgents needs are for quilts – all sizes – and blankets or afghans.
Thank you to everyone who sent donations and made this gift to the sick and needy children possible. If you would like to help with donations to Shriners and other hospital and centers, please send your donations of new or gently used clean items to:
Relief Share
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 64583-2225
All donations are acknowledged with a thank you letter/tax receipt mailed out to donors, so please include your name and address in the boxes you are shipping
Lots of love and hard work going out in this donation
When you want to talk to God, pray. When you want God to talk to you, read your scriptures….well, most of the time. Actually God can come in loud and clear just when you need him through friends and good neighbors from all over the world.
Today, God reached out and blessed us at Relief Share in a very good very welcome way. Funds are a bit tight (that is the polite way of saying non-existant) and we were getting pretty frantic about how to get donations out to where they were needed the most.
We always try to use volunteers, or ourselves at the Relief Share offices, to personally deliver the beautiful items our donors and volunteers have been working on and sent for the sick and needy. Most of the time, we are pretty effective at doing just that, however, this wonderful *cough,cough* economy has put a damper on donations this Christmas season. Folks hearts are in the right place but their money tree has had salt poured on the roots and many family’s money trees just not might make it much longer.
Relief Share is mainly funded by public donations, our Ebay auctions, flea market booth, personal donations from the Founders, and picking up quarters in the Wal Mart parking lot if we happen to see them lying there (no kidding).
Today as we realized that the winter cold is getting colder and the Relief Share bank account wasn’t matching the need to get the warm clothing, bedding and essentials to where they were needed, an angel dropped a text message in on our cell phone and asked if we had checked our account recently.
Our hearts were full of gratitude as we saw she had put a sizable amount in our paypal account so we could start shipping the waiting donations immediately. What a marvelous blessing she is to the babies and families we serve. What a wonderful boost of Christmas cheer she has given us to enable us to do what God has called us to do.
God loves everyone and encourages, through a still small voice, our action to help the sick and needy, our love in action is very much needed. There was one more donation that came through later that day from another sweet angel with enough to ship more packages to where they need to go.
Donation going out
Thank you so much for ALL of your help. It takes donors, volunteers, nurses, doctors, crisis center managers, and very precious sweet angels who continue to support this work in a myriad of ways to make miracles happen.
So, what are we sending out?
Here is a small sampling! We would post more, but are busy packing boxes and putting finishing touches on items to go!
Donation 1: (hospital donation for the obstetrical unit):
preemie baby blankets with crocheted edgings – 7 blue, 4 light pink, 1 camo pink, 2 green, 1 blue print, 21 bottles, 1 baby book, 4 baby afghans, 20 baby hats (preemie to newborn sizing), 9 baby booties, baby cocoons, hygiene items, and baby clothing
Donation 2: (County Crisis center):
Large amount of – Shoes, craft supplies for residents, toys, blankets, baby powder, pants, shirts, sweaters.
Donation 3: (Pregnancy Crisis Center)
Boxes of blankets, hats, booties/shoes, receiving blankets, pillows, socks, heart and scratch mitt sets, onesies/tshirts, baby vest for NICU, baby cocoons.
May God bless you this wonderful Christmas season and may he allow miracles to happen in your life.
Merry Christmas to you from Relief Share!
Relief Share – love in action
6078 Lundy Rd,
Houston, MO 65483-2225
God calls us to help his children. Will you?
Waiting for others to do something about the world’s pain and suffering…. something we don’t have time for at Relief Share, as our time is spent knitting, crocheting, sewing, serging, and making items to be donated out. When that is done we must take the donations to where they need to go. Think we are done? Nope. That’s when we have to ‘fill the pipeline’ and get needed supplies to do it all over again.
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Supplies or donations? The answer – both. With no supplies, there aren’t any donations and with donations not being given out, there would be no need for donations. What creates the need at all? The sick and needy. What if all the sick and needy were taken care of and our efforts weren’t needed? The Bible tells us that the poor and afflicted will always be with us. What that means for us is we need to pick up our feet and work harder, longer, more productively and faster.
Sounds like a lot of effort? You betcha. But…it is worth it and it is fun and rewarding.
Do you want to help? It’s really easy – pick one:
- send donations of supplies or finished items to Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225 – there are volunteers at both locations immediately putting your donations to good use and getting them to where they are needed most urgently.
- rev up your sewing machine, knitting machine, knitting needles, crochet hooks or crafting skills and create the items that are needed. There are lots of free patterns on our blog. If you don’t see what you are looking for, email us at info@ReliefShare.org and we will send you a pattern. What is needed?
Here is a list of the most urgently needed items. You can either make them, ‘find’ them in your closets or a friend’s closet while de-cluttering, or buy them and donate by popping them into a box and mailing it or bringing it by one of our locations.
1. Baby bedding – quilts, receiving blankets (if you are making them 36″ x 45″ is marvelous, 45″ x 60″ is wonderful and any size is great), crib sheets, cocoons, anything to keep baby snuggly and warm
2. Baby clothing – onesies, shirt, outfits, sleepers, gowns, socks, booties, shoes, hats, etc
3. Baby accessories – diaper bags, tote bags, toys, nursing pillows and covers, hygiene items (shampoo, wash, diaper cream, conditioner, etc), diapers – cloth and disposable, pacifiers, boppies, bumbos, baby baths, high chairs, cribs, playpens, exersaucers, carriers, wraps, mobiles, toys, books, CDs and DVDs – anything baby.
4. Items for families – food, clothing, hygiene items, books, learning items for homeschooling families or those augmenting public school learning such as workbooks for preschool and grade school, art supplies, pens, pencils, coloring markers, paints, etc. Pots pans, dish cloths, and basic household items as we help the homeless and those in crisis centers. We love to accept donations of prayer shawls and hats for chemo patients.
5. Items for displaced animals – we help animal shelters, individuals that foster displaced animals and can use dog and cat food, veterinary supplies, equine supplies, small animal supplies – cages, flea and tick collars and liquids, milk replacement, dog and cat beds, scratching posts, collars, leashes, and more. Those old blankets make really nice animal pads as well.
5. You fill in this blank. Do you have it and don’t need it? Do you want to de-clutter your house and help someone else? We take anything you want to send and give it to where it is needed the most. Please send items that are clean and in good condition. (I really didn’t want to say that but after having to get the office fumigated because of bugs sent in a large donation of really nasty condition, I have to). Here is your mini lecture – the people who need your help are God’s children. Only send items that you would give to the Christ child, himself. Nuff said.
6. If you want to help with fundraising (this said while lifting our eyes to heaven pleading for help),
- please consider donating part of your ebay auctions to Relief Share.org – we are listed with Mission Fish on Ebay and run charity auctions through GrandmothersAttic.net (for FREE – the time and expense for the ebay auctions is from our family owned business and many items you see offered on ebay are donated from our family store – we put our money where our mouth is) – just choose us from the drop down list on ebay when you list auctions.
- Consider making a donation through Paypal to info@ReliefShare.org – just click on the donate button on this page.
- Drop us a check, money order or cash (accepted but not recommended in the mail) to Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65484-2225. We have been at this address for over 20 years doing charity work and will always be here (barring unforeseen catastrophes that have not been penciled in on our calender so not likely to happen! We will be old and grey and in a wheelchair still here working hard for many years to come.)
- Donate stocks or bonds We have a wonderful stockbroker we work with who will be more than happy to process your donation.
- Donate inventory or goods – many times you can write off the full value for tax benefits. Have a car sitting around, an airplane, a house, closing a business? Talk with your tax people or book keeper – you may find out it is cheaper to donate the items you have than sell what you have and don’t need or want. We have had donated entire inventories of craft and general merchandise stores as the work of trying to tell the left over inventory from a store closure brought a lot less in value that simply donating the inventory and claiming the full value than just pennies on the dollar. We have warehouses and garages to store the inventory as our volunteers quickly process the items to get them to where they are needed the most.
How do we get ‘it’ all done? Folks have asked us that before. It’s easy. We network with other charities and organizations to leverage volunteers and supplies so we are able to respond quickly and effectively to disasters, crisis, and pleas for help from the sick and needy. There is no corner on charity and no need to get credit for what we do. Networking is good for everyone – you included. Network with us to bless God’s children.
Jesus shows us how to be kind & loving. It is up to us to follow him and put our love for others into action.
Relief Share Founder, Carol Green, commented: “We don’t care who gets credit, as long as the need is taken care of. If we all work together, everyone is helped. The only one that really needs to get credit is God. Give ALL praise and glory to God, our Father, as He is the real source of all blessings.”
Having said all this – we want to you consider donating to your own community first. What? Yep, that’s right. Yes, we desperately want what you have to donate to us to share with the sick and needy, but if you donate locally first and strengthen the community you life in – this creates a better world for everyone. Strong caring supportive communities make a better world. So, please consider first what you can do locally, and then, please help us. We need you. The sick and the indigent need you. Please do something and do it today.
Hugs to you for reading all of this, and bigger hugs when you act on it. Thank you so much to all of you who have made miracles happen for those who are in need. Together we are making a wonderful difference in the world.
So now you have items gathered and want to send them, but need to know where they should go. Consider this information and prayerfully consider where you want your donation to go:
Carol C Green and her husband, Richard, are the Founders of Relief Share.org and NewbornsInNeed.org
A comment on Newborns in Need (NIN) from Carol Green: ” My husband and I are the founders of NIN. It is our first ‘baby’ that we helped untold numbers of babies through and our friend, Connie Edwards, took over the reigns when my genetic blood disease got the better of me for a couple of years. She is running NIN as a large successful charity started from the first baby item cut out at my kitchen table. Last year she handled over 6 million dollars in donations.
True to the dream we envisioned when we started Newborns in Need – no one is paid in all of our 50 chapters across the nation and none of the board of directors are paid – it is a work of the heart, not of the wallet. Knowing Connie, there are probably more chapters than that now.
Please check out the NIN website and find a chapter nearest you. They need your help. Now that I am back on my feet and running ReliefShare.org – I expanded my charity mission to include more than just the babies we all adore and promote both ReliefShare.org and NewbornsInNeed.org – find the locations nearest you and help today!”
Knitting a cocoon on the USM Bond machine
http://tracykm.blogspot.com/2011/02/baby-cocoon.html
Here is a wonderful tutorial on the net for making a baby cocoon on your knitting machine with an updated feature – you can seam the cocoon as you go!
Have fun and enjoy and be sure to tell them we sent you. It’s nice to know when you are appreciated for the hard work in putting up a blog post and the gal that put up that tutorial is very much appreciated.
Danny Wright at his piano.
Healing through music – a true gift from God to all of us through Danny Wright who is an international concert pianist. He has sold over 6 million albums since his debut in 1986, he is also my favorite pianist! I just have to share
Danny Wright Releases 35th Album SOUL 2 SOUL and
Launches The Danny Wright Foundation of Music.
Danny Wright’s all-original contemporary piano music interprets healing stories in the purest of ways. The best-selling pianist’s new Danny Wright Foundation of Music will provide music to critically-ill children and seniors, while also supporting musical education in Nevada’s schools.
Las Vegas, NV (October 4, 2011) — International concert pianist Danny Wright’s impressive thirty-fifth recording Soul 2 Soul (released on White Lyte Music, September 26, 2011), sets the bar high for creative and all-original music for contemporary solo piano. Wright’s lifelong training and seemingly innate ability to create moving, magical, and unprecedented aural pieces of art, are represented in this new album. A native Texan, now based in Las Vegas, Wright’s command of musical textures and tones on the wholly-instrumental Soul 2 Soul crosses contemporary, new age and Christian genres.
“This is one of my most heartfelt albums,” Wright said, “My wonderful fans have been asking for a simple solo piano album for years, and the time was just right for these songs to pour out of my soul, inspired by the beautiful people I’ve met through my music.”
On Soul 2 Soul, nearly twenty-five years of music-making has culminated in classic, inspirational and memorable melodies that flow effortlessly through the air. As producer of Soul 2 Soul, Wright – along with co-producer Cheri White – commissioned recording and engineering services from Hyman Stansky at Harbor House Studios in Keller, Texas. A year in the making, Soul 2 Soul is Wright’s first all-original album in twelve years. Wright’s previous release was Walking in Faith (distributed by Inner Knot) a collection of faith-based songs for solo piano recorded in memory of his parents, contributing to his total album sales of over six million copies worldwide.
The inspiration for Soul 2 Soul is vast, drawing from various fans’ and listeners’ stories—whether joyous or painful—and from a range of different Internet sources, concert meetings, and personal friendships. In response to their emotional stories, Wright created compositions to honor their memory or to celebrate their life, either overcoming physical obstacles or comforting those in times of need. Keep in mind, Wright creates these musical landscapes with nothing more than a Steinway piano. All vocals and additional instrumentation are set aside to allow the piano’s “voice” to tell the stories.
The sweet melody of “Adriannes Heart,” most certainly evokes Valentine’s Day imagery with love, faith, and hope for better days to come. The galaxy-titled “To the Moon and Stars and Back” is not necessarily space music, except for the fact Wright’s playing resonates beyond borders, cultures, and, perhaps, planets; this track solidifies Wright’s international (and extraterrestrial) appeal. “Friends are Friends Forever” is a celebration of friendship with a sweeping melody that carries the listener off into another world. “Sweet Jewels” is a tantalizing track with a softly-played melody; but Wright knows how to tickle the high keys in such a manner as to evoke the sparkling characteristics of gemstones tumbling out of a bag. The tragic result of a son’s motorcycle accident and his eventual awakening from a coma is the subject of “Have Faith.” “Where There’s A Will There’s A Way” is titled after the name of an inspiring baby (Will) born prematurely with developmental disabilities and autism effects. “At Peace” is a tribute to co-producer and album cover artist, Cheri White, whose husband passed away in his sleep. The events, though seemingly somber, offer catharsis and healing through Wright’s uplifting musical spirit throughout the album. Other tracks include “Tara’s Theme,” “I Found You,” “Carole’s Odyssey,” and “White Lyte,” all expertly ordered and arranged to offer the type of healing and loving experience that has endeared Wright to his fans worldwide. Surely, listeners will find companionship in these spiritual interpretations of challenging events.
White’s contribution to the cover album artwork illustrates the therapeutic side of painting with a flowing stream in the middle of higher, autumn-colored bluffs and hillsides. In a way, the music flows beautifully in the middle of the natural environment, as well as between individuals. The water imagery serves as a creative flow of musical ingenuity that showcases Wright’s way of giving back to the people that inspired the new work.
As a Steinway and PianoDisc artist, Wright celebrates the sounds of piano, while steering close to fellow contemporaries Tom Barabas, George Winston, Dave Grusin, David Foster, Billy Joel, and Barbra Streisand. In fact, Streisand’s passion for music and Wright’s emotive piano compositions have inspired fans to draw parallels between their music. Recently, Wright was delighted when one of his fans told him “You play the piano like Barbra Streisand sings.”
In addition to recording Soul 2 Soul over the past year or so, Wright also co-founded the Danny Wright Foundation of Music, which produced a star-studded benefit event at The Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV on September 18, 2011. The foundation’s mission statement is “Healing the Planet one Heart at a time.” Essentially, the foundation will provide instruments and instructors to sick children in hospitals throughout Nevada and by supporting music programs in schools. Moreover, ten-percent of all proceeds from Soul 2 Soul and other albums will be donated to the Danny Wright Foundation of Music when purchased at the foundation’s website. (www.dw-foundation.org)
Soul 2 Soul is available for purchase via iTunes and Amazon, and at fine music stores everywhere via distribution by Inner Knot and E1 Entertainment. White Lyte Music is also reissuing four of Wright’s best-selling albums including An Intimate Christmas, Real Romance, Keys From My Heart, and Walking in Faith; all albums will be available both digitally and at brick-and-mortar retail stores.
Links:
Official Artist Website: http://www.dannywright.com
CD Review: http://michaeldiamondmusic.com/2011/10/08/soul-2-soul-by-danny-wright/#more-1152
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Danny-Wright/e/B000AP9O84/ref=ntt_mus_dp_pel
Official Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1622935260&ref=ts
Danny Wright Foundation of Music: www.dw-foundation.org
VNR: http://Wrightwright.com/dw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=125&Itemid=174
About Danny Wright
Danny Wright is an international concert pianist who has sold over 6 million albums since his debut in 1986. Wright’s talent stems from musical training from age 4, studying with some of the best piano instructors in the world. He has been named twice by Billboard Magazine as a Top 10 artist in his genre, with three of his albums in Billboard’s Top 10 New Age Albums for three consecutive years. He is currently represented by White Lyte Music LLC in Las Vegas, NV, and is founder of the Danny Wright Foundation of Music.
About The Danny Wright Foundation of Music
The Danny Wright Foundation was formed to help people through the power of music. The Mission Statement is: “Healing the planet one heart at a time. Dedicated to the enrichment of the lives of All People with the understanding and appreciation in the healing power of music. Helping people the “Wright Way.”
Patches fused in place on jeans getting mended
Your favorite pair of blue jeans (or your son or daughter’s) doesn’t have to be thrown out because of a tear or hole. Here is a fast, quick and easy way to mend your jeans.
I had a pair of jeans that needed patching and after searching the net for quite some time, I was frustrated with the lack of instructions to fix the holes and tears in my blue jeans. I did find an expensive repair place that you could send your jeans away to for fixing (no thanks, I can buy a new pair cheaper) and I found some tutorials that left the jeans looking pretty sad and homemade with the patching – also the jeans would be pretty stiff with all the sewing they wanted you to do.
This is a pretty easy no sew fix, and you don’t have to use the stiff patches you buy at Wal Mart to fuse on the knees of your jeans. You can make your own patches that are softer and a closer color to the jeans as I wanted an almost invisible fix. I didn’t want it to look like they were home made patched.
The picture shows the patches ironed on to the inside of the jeans – they are soft and flexible as they are made from flannel and the fusible web is also soft and flexible, comfortable to wear.
For those of you who are searching the net and need to fix your jeans so they look nice, here is what you need to fix it:
1. an iron – I used a small Clover mini iron for convenience, but any iron will do
2. a pair of scissors
3. a matching color piece of fabric – I used blue flannel because it is soft
4. an ironing board or other surface that is heat resistant.
5. Steam a seam (double stick fusible web) or any other fusible product like Heat N Bond, etc. I used Steam a seam because it can be fused to the fabric, then fused to the jeans. Some of the other products must be fused to both the patching fabric and jeans at the same time, making the repair process a little bit harder.
Here we go
- Wash and dry your jeans and don’t use any fabric softener. Turn the jeans inside out.
- Cut a patch out larger than the hole or tear, and fuse the Steam A Seam to it by removing the paper from the web on one side and placing on the patch.
- Hold the iron long enough for the fusible web to adhere to the patch (I used the cotton setting on my iron).
- Trim the patch so the edges are rounded – the patch will last longer and not pull away from the jeans at the corners.
- Pull away the cover paper on the Steam A Seam and place the patch over the hole or tear. Fuse the patch to the inside of the jeans over the hole or tear by pressing the iron on the patch until the web fuses all layers together.
-Turn the jeans inside out and run the iron over the jean material to make sure the patch is fused.
- Let the patch cool and wash the jeans on the cold setting on your washer and tumble try.
mended jeans - it just looks like distressing now.
Enjoy using the jeans for a lot longer. If you like this tutorial, please respond to the blog with a comment, and feel free to add any hints or tips you would like to share on this subject As you can see, the tear simply looks like it was done on
Soft comfortable mend, now looks like chic distressing.
purpose, like the more expensive jeans you buy now with the distressing.
Thank you for asking about our free patterns. Here they are – have fun! Note – you have to copy the links and paste them into your browser. We don’t know why but the hyperlinks in our wordpress blog aren’t working. However, the links work just fine if you cut and paste them
Knitted baby cocoon pattern – http://www.reliefshare.org/wordpress/index.php/2010/10/26/knitting-for-baby-cocoons/
Knitted braided woven ball – http://www.reliefshare.org/
Sewn baby cocoon pattern – http://www.reliefshare.org/
Infant demise sewn pattern – http://www.reliefshare.org/
Hugs,
Carol Green,
ReliefShare.org charity
Ebay – dec2057 auctions
Fine-Air.com blog
GrandmothersAttic.net store
Hospital donation
It always warms the heart to see the gorgeous donations of handmade and purchased items flood in for the sick and needy babies we serve.
Today it was my great privilege to assemble the donations together and personally take them to the obstetrical unit of the Texas County Memorial Hospital. In the donation were beautiful scarves made for the mothers of the babies to keep the cold out, soft plush blankets to snuggle new tiny babies in, hand knit stretchy baby cocoons in pretty colors to swaddle baby, gorgeous crocheted baby booties for the babies (some of them to be used for the burial layettes that are unfortunately, needed), bottles, rattles, baby books, toys, and lots of luscious plush soft sleepers in preemie and newborn sizes.
Donation to Texas County Memorial Hospital:
Donation for TCMHospital
6 baby booties
1 sweater
12 hats
4 blankets
1 bottle
3 nipples
1 cocoon
3 buntings
8 sleepers
1 outfit
2 rattles
1 toy
3 books
4 scarves
We have been donating to that particular hospital since 1992. There have been nursing supervisors and nurses come and go but the hospital is still welcomes us and is grateful for the donations we bring. In the past we have provided free pictures of babies to new families who can’t afford baby pictures and quickly sewn up layettes overnight for tiny preemie babies. We provide them with everything for baby as we have it available – diapers – cloth and disposable, bottles, nursing pillows, blankets, afghans, socks, booties, buntings, cocoons, hats, onesies, t-shirts, diaper bags, pacifiers, baby lotion, shampoo, baby wash, diaper ointment, baby quilts and a lot more.
If you want to help the babies, please send your donation of either purchased, handmade or gently used items to:
Relief Share
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
Carol Green
President/Founder
ReliefShare.org
Getting into the Christmas Spirit – NEED vs GREED
By · Comments
Getting into the Christmas Spirit - NEED vs GREED
I have been reading and pondering the list of “I wants” for Christmas that have been hitting the internet and the circumstances around them with some folks justifying their requests for ‘help’. I wonder how many of them Christ would have approved of.
Asking for help to bless the life of a baby, who no fault of their own, has a dire health situation thrust upon her that needs serious attention and help is a sweet, selfless kind thing to do.
Asking for MORE presents because you don’t feel that efforts of mooching has gotten enough freebies for your kids or yourself who are already getting presents at Christmas is simply not Christ-like. I am referring to a mother stating that her kids were ‘only’ getting a few presents each from Toys for Tots and that just wasn’t enough! To make it worse, she and her husband work, but she decided to ask for more Christmas presents from the public anyway. (that sound you just heard was my jaw dropping at the ingratitude and blatant greed).
What has me in such a knot? As most of you know, I run a charity. I see the worst of the worst and the most helpless and serious cases of lack. It really makes me sad to see essential donations siphoned off because of greed, when they are desperately needed.
The truth is there are people who have zero food, they aren’t even asking for a traditional Christmas dinner (though there is nothing wrong with that, food is essential) – they are asking for anything – a little bit of bread and clean drinking water. Yes, there are areas in the USA that people have to purchase their water as the drinking water is not safe. Imagine that – just wanting some water to drink and not getting it because someone decided that ‘Santa’ needed to be more generous with them and their already taken care of kids.
Let’s turn these negative comments I just made criticizing people for being greedy and selfish (yes, I admit I did that out of sheer frustration and indignation) into something positive.
If folks really want to make a difference this Christmas, here is the start of a list of some things that are actually needed and wanted:
- bottled water, food, multi-vitamins, bread, milk, fruits and vegetables
- body soap, shampoo, conditioner, dish soap, cleaners
- clean underwear, a basic outfit – a sweat suit or something warm, a coat, gloves, hats, mittens
- basic baby items like diapers, blankets, sleepers, hats, pacifiers, etc.
- a toothbrush ( and if you are feeling really frivolous, some toothpaste
as well).
- blankets, sheets, pillows
- a Christmas card. Oh, you don’t think this is an essential? Ask the folks in the old folks home whose kids – living off the money they are taking from their aged parents and going on beach vacations – never come to see. The ones the workers in the less reputable old folks home drug to make them easier to take care of and dampen their sadness and upset.
Take these items to your nearest homeless shelter, crisis center or church to donate out. Those folks, like me, work with the sick and needy all the time and know exactly where the items need to go. We stand anxiously waiting for donation boxes to arrive to immediately get the life saving food and water and clean clothing to those who have nothing.
It is best for folks to donate locally to save on shipping – the money spent shipping items can help more people, but when you have taken care of those in your area, please consider donating to other charity. There are folks in the US who desperately need your kindness and help so step up this Christmas, lengthen your stride, and please, please do something. Anything. Send essentials and whatever else you would like to send and do it wholeheartedly with your love and prayers.
This is a wonderful horrible time of year. Wonderful if a miracle happens in your world and terribly horrible when it doesn’t and suffering happens. Somehow everything is magnified at this time of year – happiness, sadness, love, hate, joy, sorrow – you can be the difference in your life and someone else’s life, if you choose to do so.
If you find this post overwhelming, please just delete it. Sometimes we need to withdraw from life to catch our breath, and that’s okay for survival, but if you are feeling able to help – do something, give something – even if it is just a kind word, a smile or a little help. One pacifier send in a package will just cost a few dollars, but to that mother whose baby needs it, it is very much important. One box of Mylicon drops for baby’s gas from Wal Mart (the generic Equate is a lot less and just as good) makes the difference between tears of joy and tears of sorrow for a family who just doesn’t have the money to get any.
If God has placed you in a position to sacrifice to bless someone else’s life and you can give more, let me share with you a secret of the universe. What you send out in love, returns back to you many times over.
Service and charity blesses the giver just as it blesses the receiver. We can be both givers AND receivers at the same time. That’s the secret and the key to happiness. The world says it like this: Spread the joy. And I say, please do.
May God bless all of you according to your actions, and may you be worthy of great blessings.
Carol Green
ReliefShare.org
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
Relief Share Director Richard Green loading up a much needed donation - everyone at home office is directly involved with helping.
The weather has turned colder and the need for warm clothing and bedding, especially for babies and children is urgent. Thanks to the hard work of volunteers and donations of supplies and finished items, Relief Share was able to make a donation of a large box of essential items for families in the Ozarks who would otherwise go with out and suffer with the cold.
The donation for the Crisis Center contained:
BABY & TODDLER ITEMS
shirts – 3
pants/overalls – 13
outfits – 13
socks – 11 pair
shoes/booties – 13 pair
receiving blankets – 16
baby blankets – 6
bottles – 5
tops – 11
rattle – 1
onesies/undershirts – 6
pjs/sleepers – 9
snowsuits – 1
crib sheet – 1
jacket – 1
1 ladies sweater as well.
A huge thank you to the donors and volunteers that made this donation possible. It is everyone working together that makes miracles happen.
Carol Green
President
ReliefShare.org
What floats your boat? (I hope it’s not sinking…)
By · Comments
Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in Heaven.
Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in Heaven.
In today’s world it is hard to keep your nose above water. What floats your boat? What makes you do what you do and think what you think?
Well, the short answer is ‘decisions’. Decisions are affected by two forces, and two forces only. Faith and fear. If you think you can, you can, if you think you can’t you can’t. It really is that simple. Decisions made with faith can be empowering and beneficial to everyone – those are the kind of decisions that lead to volunteering to help charities, offering to give assistance to a neighbor, smiling at strangers out of sheer happiness and wanting to share joy.
There are many many children who don’t have decent parents and many without any parents at all. I see a lot of the sad side of life because of the two national charities my husband and I founded.
It is good to always seek for happy productive people to have in your circle of friends. The sad and bad is out there, but life is a choice and reaching for peace, joy, love and happiness is always the way to find more. What we think about and seek is what we will find as our thoughts become actions and actions create our environment.
Want to be happy and have a seaworthy boat that floats? Volunteer or donate today to a charity of your choice!
If you choose to help us, our address to send donations to is:
Relief Share
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
Urgent needs:
Baby items: recieving blankets, baby quilts, clothing, diapers, pacifiers, lotion, etc
sewing and crafting supplies – yarn, fabric, thread, knitting needles, crochet hooks, etc.
Carol Green
President
ReliefShare.org
Basic Quilt Instructions
By · CommentsBASIC QUILT INSTRUCTIONS:
Pillowcase construction style quilt
Material used for quilts could include cotton, cotton blends, knits, polar fleece, flannel, etc. Any and all types of quilt battings are suitable. In the past we have used high loft, low loft, regular, all cotton, thermolam, down, and polyester batting. We have even used old blankets, towels, and old bedspreads for the middle of quilts when we ran out of regular batting. We prefer to use new batting but we will not let a baby go cold simply because we temporarily ran out of batting. Try to use something that washes well, will stay soft and not be stiff or too heavy.
We are thrilled when we receive pieced quilts, they are so beautiful and they really show the love and effort that went into them. We also love the whole cloth quilts that are so cuddly, warm and quick to make. It is your choice as to what you would like to make. Relief Share makes many different types of quilts for the babies and families.
Instructions for “pillowcase construction” quilt.
- Place top fabric and bottom fabric right sides together with batting on the bottom. Top, bottom and batting should all be the same size.
- Stitch around all four edges leaving a gap of approximately 8 inches unsewn.
- Turn quilt inside out with the batting now in the middle (some people call this the pillow case way of making a quilt).
- Whip stitch the opening closed.
- Sew approx. 1/2 inch top stitching around the edge of the quilt to stabilize and secure all three layers.
You are now ready to hand quilt, tie, or machine quilt the quilt. Tied quilts – ties should be no farther apart than 4″. Ties should always be a square knot, never just a stitch or a knot that will come out, hospital laundry is really harsh. Ties should be 1 to 1 1/2 ” depending on what you are tying with. Hand quilted quilts – try to keep your stitches fairly uniform and smaller. Tiny fingers can catch “loops” of thread. Use quilting thread for strength.
Machine Quilted Quilts -
A walking foot for your machine is nice but not necessary. Quilts can be tacked, sewn in a grid pattern, or any other design. Make sure there is enough sewing to hold the three layers together securely without the batting shifting after repeated washings.
Baby cocoons also make wonderful gifts for 'little mothers'. This is our youngest ReliefShare volunteer helping us with pictures of the latest cocoon we made.
This week has been fun with darling hand knit baby cocoons donated out to sweet new babies. One cotton/acrylic blend solid pink cocoon with a flower was donated out to a darling new little girl. Another cocoon in purple and blue swirl was donated out to a precious little baby soon to be born. Three hand knit stripe cocoons in blue and brown were donated out to the hospital in Gilbert, Arizona for babies born to families in need.
The most urgent needs right now are for baby items - quilts, receiving blankets, knitted baby cocoons, booties, baby afghans and baby clothing. These smallest of God’s children are helpless and have no way of providing essentials for themselves.
Baby cocoons are requested by the hospitals. One hospital, alone, has asked for 300 baby cocoons. We have been able to knit and donate 100 of the baby cocoons for them thus far for them and another hospital just asked for 100 more. Cocoons are a great item to knit while you are on the go or using spare moments during the day as they are done on size 7 – 16″ circular needles and is very quick and easy. For preemie/newborn sizes, cast on 70 stitches and knit for 16″ then decrease. For newborn size cocoons, cast on 80 stitches, knit for 18″ and decrease. The matching hats for the cocoons are done by casting on 60 stitches, knitting for 4″ and decreasing. Here is a link to the pattern http://www.reliefshare.org/
Relief Share could also really use help with making burial layettes. These are very precious layettes that have a burial gown, bonnet, blanket, and memorial item. The sewing on these special layettes need to be paid special attention to as this is the last little gown that baby will be snuggled in before returning home to Heavenly Father. Here is the pattern: http://www.reliefshare.org/
When the Lord touches your heart to help, many times he guides you to what is most important and will bless your life as you create the items needed. Finding joy in service brings many blessings to the giver as well as the receiver.
Carol Green
President
ReliefShare.org
Debra & Ray Cox – fine examples for all of us to follow!
By · Comments
.
At Relief Share we receive many packages of love and caring. Some are sewing, knitting and crochet supplies, some are finished items and some are notes that express the desire to help others with a few dollars tucked inside. All packages are signs of compassion, nurturing and wanting to make this world a better place for all.
Recently we received two sewing machines from a very special source. Debra and Ray Cox are long time followers of Christ and show their love for others through years of service by helping the sick and needy. Many times they put their own needs aside to take care of others.
True unconditional Christlike love is a hallmark of the very elite who understand how love is at the very center of a peaceful productive life. Through Ray and Debra’s excellent example, many others followed through the years to work with the charity chapter they ran to help hospitals and other organizations with essential items for the sick and needy.
Debra has since ‘graduated’ and returned home to live with Heavenly Father. We love her and miss her but know we will all be together again on our ‘graduation’ days as we follow her home. Ray continues her legacy of love through service, dedication, donations and caring.
May God bless them for all they do for others and may we follow in their footsteps to be better, kinder and more compassionate.
Carol Green
President
ReliefShare.org
If you would like to help others by knitting, crocheting, sewing, surging, tatting, embroidery, quilting, or even shopping – please ‘think outside the box’ on how you can go the extra mile to help other whose life can be made better by your love, generosity and care.
Wait, did you catch the last idea? Shopping? Yes, we meant to put that in. We have wonderful donors who LOVE to shop. Our marvelous talented shoppers take their ‘fun money’ and go shopping thrift stores, flea markets, garage sales, outlet malls and clearance isles to help others with items such as baby blankets, clothing and accessories, hygiene items like soap, toothpaste, hair brushes, diaper ointment, shampoo and conditioner. Boxes of books, videos, toys, diaper bags, large print books for the elderly, movies to keep children in hospital peaceful and happy, and makeup for teens in Shriners Childrens Hospital who have spent months in hospital – many times years filled with many hospital visits and need to feel ‘normal’. That eyeshadow or lipstick on sale for .25 many not make much of a dent in your household budget, but it could mean the world to a teenager who has been staring at the hospital wall for months, stuck in her body cast and feeling left out of the world.
Children’s videos are extremely important. We have watched children who are in a great deal of pain and have had surgery after surgery settle down and calmly watch a Disney movie and let their bodies heal instead of fighting the nausea that haunts them and focusing in on the pain that washes over their days endlessly. You can give them the distraction they need by providing a toy, book, video, coloring book and crayons to allow them at least a few stolen moments away from the constant pain and drudgery of hospital life. Will you? We do hope so.
A few extra moments of your time, a couple of extra items in your shopping cart – you could be the angel of mercy for those who are suffering, sad and needing your help to feel God’s love through the gift from a stranger who cared. Please don’t wait – the pain and loneliness for the children in the hospital and the aged in the old folks homes doesn’t wait. Do something now, today.
If you only have a moment and no time to go shopping or pack a box for the sick and needy, then please just take a minute to click on the link to donate a few dollars through Paypal to Relief Share. We have volunteer shoppers who would be happy to go shopping on your behalf and take the items to those who need them.
The last donation of funds was given by a beautiful kind lady who wanted to help us with yarn. She donated $50 through Paypal. We were thrilled that she would be the answer to prayers for those who need the baby cocoons that the hospital requested to distribute to the most destitute of their patients. Because we are a charity and have a non profit status, often times we can get the needed supplies and items for a lot less when donations of money come in. Her $50 bought far more than if she had gone to the store and bought it herself. Both Relief Share volunteers and the donor were thrilled!
Carol Green
President
Relief Share
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
Soft woven knitted balls
One of the items that ReliefShare.org loves to make and donate is our knitted woven balls. These soft fun balls are loved by children and adults alike. Hospitals can use them to help patients who are in rehabilitation from eye surgery, burns or need hand to eye coordination activities to toss and catch the soft knitted ball without getting hurt.
The re-purposed function of the knitted woven balls are that the centers are hollow and you can put things in them without them falling out. We use the plastic containers that the knee high pantihose come in from Wal Mart – we put a jingle bell inside the round plastic containers, permanently glue the small container shut and insert it inside the ball. This makes a baby rattle that moms and babies love. The old folks love to use our balls for their animals to play with, providing hours of entertainment for shut ins.
Relief Share donates to locations all across America, we also donate internationally through other organizations as our combined efforts saves us on shipping and helps them to help others.We like to wind a ball of yarn (you can get whole skeins of yarn wound and fitting inside the balls) and insert them in the balls. When the balls are sent out, particularly to regions of the world who are in short supply of essential materials for necessary goods, the yarn can be taken out and used to knit or crochet mittens, hats, baby layettes, crib blankets, etc and the balls use for play or children, babies and curious adults.
Warning: making the balls is fun and addicting. They are like potato chips, you can’t just eat one. The first one you make will seem frustrating and complicated, but once you get the first one done, they are quick, easy and a pleasure to make. The pattern is free and so are the smiles.
If you would like to help by knitting or crocheting soft balls for the sick and needy, we would love the donations. Use your own pattern or make some like these – the babies and children love soft toys. You’ll have fun and will bless the lives of others as well.
- Carol Green
- President
ReliefShare.org - 6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
Warn knitted hat - one size fits children and adult
This entry in our Relief Share blog is bringing attention to the needs of those who are dealing with lack. When we think that an item will be used for a specific purpose, those who have not may use it for our intended purposes, but also have the creativity and inventiveness to re-purpose it for other needs.
We were charmed to see what our Relief Share knitted hat wound up being used for by a sweet little girl who innocently showed us that there are different ways to look at and use the same things. Thinking outside the box allowed her to spend happy hours caring for her baby doll in a soft cuddly bunting pod, and when it gets cold, she can immediately pop the baby dolls ‘bed’ on her head for a cute warm hat to protect her head from the chilly weather. I guess you could look at it this way – warm weather, it’s a dolly bed – cold weather, it’s a hat.
Attention to detail makes the hat fit better and look nicer
Cute soft baby doll bed, re-purposed hat by a little girl - smart thinking.
Just a few extra minutes with a crochet hook and adding a button really puts that 'touch of love' message to recipients.
If you would like to donate knitted or crocheted hats to help the sick and needy, feel free to use your own patterns or email us at info@ReliefShare.org for our pattern shown above.
Hugs to you – may your heart always be warm, your tummy full and you be willing to help others when the spirit of God touches you to do so.
Carol Green
President
Relief Share
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
Cherie Blessing by Vivian Woolum of Heaven's Little Gems Nursery Boutique
This sweet baby is truly a work of love. Created by Vivian Woolum of Heavens Little Gems Nursery Boutique, she was lovingly created and “born on 9-25-1022 at 12″45 pm. Cherie Blessings weighed in at 5 lbs, 4 oz and is 18 3/4″ long. Vivian donated Cherie to help Relief Share with our charitable efforts.
Reborn babies have blessed the lives of many – collectors, mothers, hospital workers and patients. Holding Cherie in your arms, you wonder at how real she is. Every little hair on her head was hand rooted, as was her eyelashes. She has a ‘real’ baby skin complexion that takes your breath away and any second you expect her eyelashes to flutter and her eyes to open.
Vivian packaged Cherie with a beautiful hand chosen rosebud soft blanket and dressed her with love in a gorgeous one piece outfit. Cherie is wearing a lovely sweater and booties that keep her snuggly warm.
Included with Cherie is pacifiers, a Birth Certificate, darling shoes, a tummy plate, diaper, beautiful smocked bonnet, precious little polka dot knit outfit trimmed with tiny mini pink bows, a hooded sweater and sweet pink booties, and a lovely cream Early Birds one piece outfit over a tiny onesie that is just perfect for her size.
This sweet baby will be used for a visual aid in lectures, work meetings, seminars and presentations. She will also be used to test sizing for the hospital and new mothers baby items as Vivian has made her just the perfect size, weighted like a real baby. The nurses at the hospital enjoy visits with the ‘real’ babies and can use them to help education young mothers on baby care and even help ease the suffering of parents who have had to say goodbye to their little one before even saying a proper hello.
In honor of Vivian Woolum, and with gratitude for her generous donation of Cherie Blessing and her accessories – also the wonderful trims for the little burial gowns that we make for the hospital for infant demise, we have added an name on the birth certificate for Cherie Blessing. She is now ‘Vivian Cherie Blessing’.
The name she shall be called by henceforth will be “Vivian”. Each time we say her name and allow her to be used for charitable purposes, we will express our gratitude through using her name for the lovely lady who saw the need, filled the need and blessed many hearts through using her God given gift as a master reborn artist to help others.
Many times we are asked for the source of our donations, as folks want to purchase a similar item. We are pleased to share with you Vivian Woolum’s contact information so you will be able to have a reborn baby doll of your very own, made by an expert in the field.
Heaven's Little Gems Nursery Boutique
Unconditional love in action - charity work.
Relief Share has been very busy week this week.. It is wonderful to see donations like the tide, flowing in and out with a beautiful rhythm of love.
Donations out -
Donation 1 (organization that helps sick and needy)- 260 sweaters and t-shirts, 60 preemie afghans, 600 items of baby clothing, 100 bottles and nipples, 200 pounds of fabric, afghans, blankets, hats, booties, burial layettes, buntings, gowns, washcloths, cocoons, toys, 6 baby quilts and sewing supplies.
Donation 2 (for a family) – barrel of wheat, toys, puzzles, books, office supplies, clothing, suitcase, books, figurines, blankets, sweaters, t-shirts, fabric, yarn, sewing supplies, tapes
Donation 3 (for a family) – 2 large bags of sweaters, 3 boxes of food, toys, books, household items
Donation 4 (hospital) – burial layettes, 15 preemie afghans, hats, booties, baby clothing, diapers, bottles, wet wipes
Donation 5 (for a family) – food, clothing, bean bag chair
Donation 6 (for a family) – donation out, boxes of food, cases of honey
Donation 7 (for an individual) – fabric and sweaters
Donation 8 (for an individual) – fabric, food, sweaters
Donation 9 (for a family) – baby clothing and accessories
Donation 10 (for an individual) -baby clothing and blankets
It is through the generous donations from donors and volunteers of their time, talents, goods, money and love that makes miracles possible. May everyone feel hope, peace, light and love this week as we are blessed and in turn bless others.
All donations are accepted to bless the lives of the sick and needy. Items should be new or nearly new and in good condition. Our volunteers do their best to clean and repair donations but it is nice when they arrive already tidy, in working condition and clean
Carol Green
President
ReliefShare.org
Relief Share
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
.
A much needed donation went out to the hospital. It was only possible through our wonderful donors and volunteers. Thank you so much.
13 crocheted afghans – 3 pink, 2 blue, 4 white, 2 cream, 1 yellow, 1 green
6 receiving blankets
15 fleece blankets with crocheted edges
2 packages of pampers disposable diapers
1 package of wet wipes for baby
4 large bottles – baby lotion, 2 baby oil, 1 wash/shampoo
1 pair of pacifiers – blue , 6 hats
The hospital is in need of pacifiers for the babies. If you have new, sealed in the package pacifiers you would like to donate to help soothe the babies, it is greatly appreciated. We also donated out the last of the diapers, baby lotion, baby oil, shampoo and wet wipes and baby quilts. A trip to the dollar store or other shopping center and putting in a box to ship to us would be a huge blessing to frightened young mothers worried because they have nothing for their babies. If you could see the looks of relief on their faces as they sit in the homeless shelters or crisis centers when given donations of love from strangers who care, you would know how much your efforts are needed and appreciated.
God answers many prayers through those who serve him here below. A gift of sleepers, onesies and a soft afghan brought huge smiles and bright happy tears from a mom who really didn’t know what she was going to do. Her little one is so beautiful – a precious gift of a son from Heavenly Father, and we can be partners with God as we help bless a new baby’s life in the beginning of his journey here on earth.
Relief Share
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
Donations through paypal help us purchase items that we can’t sew, knit or crochet. Bottles, wipes, pacifiers, formula – all these things need to be provided. Our paypal address is info@ReliefShare.org if you would care to send a donation, and all donations are tax deductible. Simply click the button below and donate whatever amount your heart tells you to. A baby is helpless and pure – you can make sure baby’s start in life is a good one with warm clothing and blankets, food and hygiene supplies. Thank you for caring.
Sewing cloth mama pads
What a wonderful time we are having at Relief Share to take care of the sick and needy. In under a week we have donated out 15 lap afghans to the wheelchair bound, boxes and bags of clothing and bedding to the sick and needy, and toys to the children who need them. Donations going out this week is a truckload of sweaters and t-shirts to Missouri residents (some of them survivors of the Joplin tornado), boppies to nursing mothers, baby cocoons to the hospital and new mothers in the area, baby clothing to 3 soon to be babies, pacifiers to the hospital, afghans, blankets, infant burial layettes, dolls and toys, books for the homebound to read and more.
Relief Share has been blessed with very generous donations of fabrics that just came in. The boxes are filled with the most delicious scrumptious high quality fabric that our volunteers are over the moon with. One of the directors kept exclaiming, “Do you know what fabric this is? It’s the very best! Oh my gosh, I LOVE this designer…come see the fabric colors! WOW, this fabric is so soft and dreamy, I can’t wait to get it sewn up for the hospital, it’s perfect for the preemie babies.”
Yes, I listed to nearly an hour of folks thrilled with the fabric sent for our sick and needy. I can’t thank the wonderful donor enough. Everyone is so grateful for her knowledge of fabric and willingness to share it with us to help those who desperately need the items that will be made.
May God bless her as plentifully and generously as she has blessed the most helpless and needy of His children. She is truly his hands and feet here on the earth answering fervent prayers for needed essentials for the babies and their families.
Donations arriving
Boxes of much needed new baby clothing has also arrived from a wonderful long time donor, Terry W. The timing was perfect, as usual, as requests for help had just been documented when her boxes showed up with everything in them for the babies. Marianne C. has sent beautiful preemie afghans for the little ones in the hospital and Shirley B made the most beautiful little burial gowns that are so precious and appreciated. Roberta M. always sends the prettiest blankets with gorgeous crocheted trim and lovely crocheted afghans along with dollies for the little ones in the hospital that love a dolly to snuggle with. Her donations are carefully and lovingly packed with the greatest of care. J. W. blesses us with lovely fabrics that are just perfect for the quilts we make for families to snuggle under. Our volunteers love working with them.
We were also blessed by a sweet lady who was willing to trade some of her yarn stash with us for supplies we didn’t need so we would have the yarn needed to knit baby cocoons, hats, booties and chemo hats and prayer shawls. Yarn is always in short supply and we are so grateful for donations of yarn of any kind and color. It’s fun when white or cream wool yarn is donated and we can color it with koolaide in the microwave for permanent coloring to make fun kids print colors.
It takes all of us working together to help answer God’s call to serve his most helpless and needy children. Great blessings are in store for those who answer the spirit’s whisperings.
All donations can be sent to Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225. Do you know this is the same address we have had for 2 decades now? In a world that is constantly changing, it is nice to know some things don’t change. Our love for God’s children will never change and our efforts on their behalf will never cease. Your efforts combined with ours create miracles. Thank you so much.
unraveling sweaters to get yarn to knit into baby cocoons
What kind of donations are needed?
Supplies:
Sewing – fabric, thread, scissors, rotary cutters, blades, rulers, snaps, pins, needles, patterns, templates, sergers, sewing machines, etc
Knitting and crocheting – yarn (all kinds all colors), knitting needles (circular 16″ size 7 the most but all circular and straight needles, dpns) stitch counters, yarn winders, swifts, spinning wheels, patterns, books, crochet hooks, etc
Tatting – tatting shuttles, patterns, books, threads
Quilting – fabric, templates, quilters basting gun, batting (a huge need), books, patterns, etc
Embroidery – thread, hoops, patterns, books, fabric
Smocking – pleater, pleating needles, batiste, quilting thread, embroidery and kreinik thread
Office supplies – paper, envelopes, cards, pens, TP, wet wipes, canon ink. digital camera (a huge need).
new and gently used baby and childrens clothing.
basic essentials – hygiene items, shampoo, toothpaste, conditioner, combs, brushes, toothpaste, underwear (all sizes) etc.
Baby items: diaper bags, bottles, pacifiers (a huge need – all kinds for the hospital), baby oil, shampoo, lotion, diaper rash, wet ones, cloth and disposable diapers, toys, cribs, bassinets, monitors, sheets, blankets, afghans, hats.
We address a great deal of needs. Any donation that is sent is used to bless the lives of the sick and needy. All donations are accepted with a tax deductible receipt when requested.
Carol Green
President
ReliefShare.org
Infant demise burial layette sets – so important.
By · Comments
Burial layettes
It is an honor and a privilege to be able to provide God’s tiniest children with a much needed last layette set to ‘go home to Heavenly Father’ in. It is also one of the most difficult and emotional activities for volunteers to work on. Relief Share is grateful to the small handful of volunteers who dedicate their time and efforts to preparing and providing infant demise gowns, hats, booties, blankets, TY beanie baby lambs, bears and deer, momento items and more. We have many volunteers, but the ones who are involved in our infant demise program are few in number. It takes a special love for God’s tiniest children and a knowledge of what the families are going through to – and this usually comes from sad experience.
Burial layettes
A humble thank you to those who have made this current donation to the St Alphonsus Foundation for the hospital possible. This particular donation to the hospital was a combination of efforts from LDS Humanitarian Services and Relief Share. Networking with other charities brings a synergy to our charitable efforts so that the number of intended burial layettes wound up being 3 times as many. Also included were gorgeous machine embroidered burp cloths and beautiful baby diaper bags made by Sara J. – one of our generous donors who just blessed us with a very large donation of gorgeous fabric to work with for the sick and needy. She is very talented as well as generous!
May God comfort the broken hearts of the families who have to say goodbye to their little ones before they have had a chance to say a proper hello. Our prayers go out for those suffering from infant death and our love for them is in every stitch sewn in these beautiful tiny layettes.
Burial layettes
If you would like to help with the supplies for these layettes, we are in need of more TY Beanie Baby lambs, deer, and bears to include in the sets, we also need knitted, crocheted, serged and sewn layette items such as newborn and preemie hats, bonnets, gowns, booties, blankets, afghans and more. It is also wonderful to receive finished items to be included in the burial layette sets.
Burial layettes
Carol Green
President
ReliefShare.org
log cabin quilt
How does the title for this Relief Share blog post hit you? That tells you how long and hard we have been searching the net to find a very simple quick log cabin quilt block pattern – one that beginners and experts alike will love.
This is a very fast and easy pattern to do. The two best websites we found tutorial patterns on are these:
http://www.quiltingassistant.com/logcabinblock.html
http://www.cabins-r-us.com/log-cabin-quilt-block-pattern.html
This quilt can be made very easily with strips of fabric. If you want to do a quilt-as-you-go quilt, sew the block on a backing of muslin with batting on top and use binding to put the squares together. This method is used in the Quilt in a Day quilt books that can be bought on half.com – one of my all time favorite quilting books by Eleanor Burns, a marvelous expert quilter:
http://product.half.ebay.com/_W0QQprZ972661
Use a jelly roll (strips of fabric you can purchase at Wal Mart or other fabric stores) or use up the left over fabric you have from other projects. Your serger and rotary cutter can make sewing this quilt even faster and easier.
Relief Share has been blessed with very generous donations of fabric and supplies this past week. Ray Cox has sent many boxes of bolts of quilting fabric that are already being made up into quilts for the sick and needy. Books and a rotary rulers were also included in his boxes of love honoring his sweet wife, Debra. Her legacy of love for the sick and needy goes on through Ray’s continuing efforts to answer God’s call to help the helpless and lift up the hearts and hands that hang down from trial and adversity. The smiles on the faces of mothers who now have warm quilts and clothing for their precious bundles are the badges of honor shining brightly to mark Debra and Ray’s hard work and dedication to alleviate suffering and bless the lives of the sick and and needy.
Our Relief Share angel, who wishes to remain anonymous, sent a lovely box of orange and red quilters fabric that our volunteers fell in love with. This sweet angel seems to have a direct pipeline to heaven and manages to time her donations perfectly depending on what the most urgent need is. A box of yarn arrived from Placentia, California that is just perfect for our baby hats, cocoons, and layettes. Other donations of lace, ribbon, and sewing, knitting, crochet and serging tools also arrived to help us move forward faster with our charity work.
If you would like to help the sick and needy, please send donations to 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225. The greatest need is in Boise at this time so that is the preferred address to ship to. Most of the need in Houston is for baby items and hygiene goods, in Boise we are helping families and a larger number of people. All times of any kind – new or gently used is gratefully accepted. Clean out your closets for a good cause. All donations are tax deductible as Relief Share is a 501 (c) 3 non profit charity registered with the IRS.
May God bless you as you bless others
Carol C Green
President
info@ReliefShare.org
U-nitt.com -
By · Comments
Thanks to Julie at U-nitt.com, Relief Share will be able to help more sick and needy babies in the hospital with hats, baby cocoons, blankets, layette items and booties. We will also be able to make more hats for chemo patients, lap afghans for the wheelchair bound, knitted and crocheted blankets for Shriners Childrens Hospital and many other hospitals and keep little ones and their families snuggled in hand made items knitted or crocheted for them with love by Relief Share volunteers.
A huge thank you to U-nitt.com for your recent generous gift of discounted jumbo high speed yarn winders and donated knitting needles (circulars, straights and double pointed) and crochet hooks to the Relief Share. Your commitment to helping the sick and needy we serve weather the crises in their lives is appreciated by those who help them and, most importantly, by the most helpless who benefit from our services.
yarn winder
With the use of the yarn winders and knitting and crochet tools, our volunteers can spend more time actually working on the items needed instead of winding the yarn by a slower method or waiting for their turn to use the tools needed to create blankets, booties, hats and other items desperately needed. With the cold weather approaching, the need for warm clothing and bedding escalates as a warm blanket can mean the difference to a tiny baby of shivering in the cold and dealing with illness, even death or thriving, with their energy going for healing and growing instead of just trying to stay warm. Time is of the essence when the need is so great, and U-nitt.com is providing a very important donation to help our volunteers fill the need faster and more efficiently.
Thanks to donors like U-nitt.com, the Relief Share has provided many children and families needed items to stay warm, cuddled and happy to thrive and not just survive and now will continue to do so in a more efficient, effective and timely manner.
If you haven’t already visited U-nitt.com you need to do so – it is a wonderful site filled with quality merchandise and the customer service is second to none. U-nitt bamboo knitting needles are made of Moso bamboo, the tallest and biggest bamboo species in the world. Their selection process allows them to use only the part right under the skin of the bamboo, which is the hardest. Bamboo is a fast renewable resource and their craftsmen make it possible for knitters to enjoy the smooth, warm touch and the effortless knitting experience while contributing to our environment.
U-nitt.com bamboo knitting needles are produced with zero chemicals and are hand-crafted and polished to a nice and velvety patina finish that lasts for years. Each needle is laser printed with US and metric sizes, and each pack is in a resealable vinyl sleeve. You will enjoy using these fine products for years to come.
Bamboo needles and hooks - a dream to work with.
All U-nitt.com needles are covered under a one-year warranty against any breakage during normal use.
They also have a valuable selection of wool/ball/yarn winders. You can check them out on the yarn winders page. We LOVE our high speed jumbo yarn winder – it was very busy yesterday at the work meeting! We got a lot of yarn wound into center pull balls for the volunteers to use and it was so much fun to do.
Again, thank you U-nitt.com for all you do for our organization.
Carol C Green
President
ReliefShare.org
Info@ReliefShare.org
Relief Share – Knitted baby hat pattern for newborn – free, fun, quick, easy!
Baby hats are so easy! All you do is cast on 60 stitches on size 7 circular needles – mine are 16″ circulars and knit for 5 1/2″ to 6″ then decrease.
The decrease is done by knitting the 8th stitches together, then knit the next row then knitting the 7th stitches together, then knit the next row then knitting the 6th stitches together, then knit the next row then knitting the 5th stitches together, then knit the next row then knitting the 4th stitches together, then knit the next row then knitting the 3th stitches together, then knit the next row then knitting the 2th stitches together, then knit the next row then cut the thread long and thread a yarn needle. Run the yarn through the last few stitches and pull tight. Weave in the end. Voila! Done!
Here is a hat I finished last night. Instead of doing the top of the hat in the pattern above, I used the last few stitches to knit an icord and then knotted it. Sometimes I will do an icord loop. These hats are fun, quick and easy to knit and the hospital and homeless shelters love them.
If you knit your hats in purple and donate them, you are honoring the ‘prevent shaken baby syndrome’ effort. This is a serious problem and a simple purple hat can help hospitals work with new parents to stop this growing trend that is hurting little ones.
If you have a picture of a baby hat you did you would like to share – please email your picture to info@reliefshare.org with the pattern and we would be happy to include it on our blog.
All of us working together creates a synergy that blesses the lives of the babies we love so much and bonds us together in friendship and purpose.
If you would love to share some of your yarn stash with the volunteers to knit and crochet baby hats, cocoons, afghans and layettes – please send your donation to Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225.
All donations are tax deductible. Share the love
Hugs
Carol Green
President
ReliefShare.org
Relief Share infant demise burial gown.
By · Comments
Relief Share infant demise burial gown
This is a simple, quick and easy pattern for infant demise burial gowns that are in short supply right now and very much needed.
The pattern is easy to size down to micro preemie and up all the way to newborn or even toddler. A casing at the neck with narrow elastic inside is what allows the gowns to be used for multiple sizing. The gown closure can be a snap, ties, velcro or buttons. Only one or two are needed down the back, which is completely open for easy dressing of the baby.
Lace or trim can be added. For little girls we use lace and rosebuds with ribbon and for the little boys, rick rack is added.
Material such as flannel, soft minky, cotton or other soft cuddly fabrics are used to create the little gowns. A bonnet, booties, blanket or cocoon is added to create the baby’s layette. When available, we add a soft toy such as a Ty Fleece Beanie Baby for a momento for mom and dad.
These beautiful little gowns are an honor to sew for these sweet babies who only need one last layette for them to be snuggled in. The pattern can be downloaded here: http://www.smocking.org/files/nt7n_weecare_program1.pdf IMPORTANT NOTICE: SAGA provides this Wee Care Program free of charge for your use for the donations of gowns to hospitals for the express purpose of bereavement. Any other use is a violation of the Copyright.
Instead of smocking the gown, simply gather it. You can use less fabric for a gown that is not as gathered. The hospitals are always very grateful for these burial gowns. If you would like to make and donate burial gowns to Relief Share, please send them to:
Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225
Debra Cox – God has a very special angel with him today.
By · Comments
Debra Cox - - -Aug 18, 2011
Debra Cox, our long time friend and sweet wonderful volunteer has left this world and is with Jesus today in paradise. Debra is very much missed and loved by those here on earth who are separated from her temporarily in death. When it is our turn to go home to our loving God, we will rejoice again in the company of our precious friend.
Debra passed away last night, leaving behind her cherished husband and beloved children. She still reaches out to those in need through Ray as he is donating what she had gathered in her lifetime and will now be blessing others with it.
She has a darling little granddaughter, Amber, that we will be watching grow up in the legacy of love her grandmother set for her. Our hearts and prayers go out to the entire family and all that know and love her.
Ray is such a special sweetheart. He is honoring Debra’s memory by making sure that all of her work, collections, clothing and things she left behind are being used to bless the lives of the sick and needy. In his time of sorrow and need, he is expending efforts to carry on the work that he has spent a lifetime sharing with Debra. Such an unselfish kind response to his own pain is typical of Ray.
Debra and Ray are God’s special team to answer prayers of those here on earth desperate for assistance. Even though Debra is working on other other side in paradise and Ray is working on this side on earth to help God answer prayers, they are only physically separated from death but always together forever in the life and love of the heart.
Debra’s children, grandchildren and extended family have a legacy of all the love, work and kindness both Ray and Debra have extended to the downtrodden, sick, afflicted and most helpless of God’s children. May her memory always burn brightly as a legacy of love and caring to everyone.
Prayers for Ray and Debra’s extended family are most gratefully welcomed. Thank you in advance for your love and caring for this special family in their time of separation and sorrow.
————————————————————
Here is our original post on Debra a few years back: Let us introduce you to a very special leader-servant. Her name is Debra Cox and she is very much in tune with the Holy Spirit. She has been answering prayers for many years, along with her husband Ray. In her community, babies have blankets, sleepers, soft toys, special needs filled and given love from a stranger they may never meet that loves them so much she will sacrifice even her health to provide essentials for them through local hospital and organizations.
I first met Debra years ago. Such a wonderful lady, and so kind. When told about the how the sick and needy babies in her area were suffering from the lack of essentials, her response was “Yea, Lord, I am here – send me!” She jumped right in and gathered volunteers around her to help. Most of the work she did herself, and she is very much loved by all of us.
Debra paid a very high price – her sacrifice and efforts over the years has claimed her health. Today she had surgery for cancer and while some of it was removed, she has weeks of chemotherapy to rid her body of the thousands of nodules that remain. She is no longer able to do all the compassionate service work she has done in the past, but her husband told us today that as soon as she is able, she has already targeted another area of need to address when she gets her feet under her. What a lady, what an angel, and what a fine example of being Christ-like she has set for all of us.
We know God is carefully watching over her with love and compassion and our prayers are with her. What we are calling for today, is not fabric, baby clothing, sewing supplies or hygiene supplies – though we do need those – what we need the most today are prayer for our beloved Debra, and for her comfort and peace while she goes through this earthly trial.
Soft hugs, Debra – we love you!!!!
President Carol C Green
6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225
www.ReliefShare.org
info@ReliefShare.org
Dear little baby, born this day - may God be with you all the way.
Being a ‘good’ Christian. What does that mean to you? That’s the opinion that matters to the face in the mirror.
There are quite a few people who don’t go to church anymore because they were offended by their brothers and sisters who went there.
The bible says not to offend and not to be offended. Easier said than done when our emotions kick in. I’ve been horribly offended, too, and wanted the perpetrators nailed to the cross for the pain they inflicted. It wasn’t right, it wasn’t fair, it was unjustified – oh ya, I could really rant on in what I saw as a justified position as a victim.
Then I realized that I wasn’t a victim. I had become the sinner by refusing to forgive and wanting ‘justice’ – lets call it what is really was – I wanted revenge. Oy! Put an entirely different light on things.
Being a good Christian – and loving God enough to obey him – I took a hard look at MY behavior and realized I needed to stop playing the ‘blame game’ and justifying my non-attendance on others. I humbled myself, forgave the perpetrators (never having received an apology or even seeing any change in their behavior) and found peace.
I now attend church for the right reason (in my eyes) and that is to worship God. Church is not a social club. You don’t primarily go because of mortal friendships but you are supposed to mainly go because of eternal and spiritual friendship with your Heavenly Father and your brother Jesus Christ. It isn’t the “Church of Sally” or the “Church of Ron” – its the “Church of God” and while mortal friendships are beneficial and supportive, it is best to realize that the true purpose of church is to connect with your Creator – the one who loves and supports you the best.
Going to church allows you to strengthen your testimony and faith in God. If you can’t humble yourselves enough to forgive and going to church is counterproductive, then fine – stay away and struggle on your own for a while. However, if you can rise above the pain and misery inflicted on you by others, so you can once again enjoy basking in Gods love with others – please do go to church. Seek out and find a church that meshes with your concept of God, find one that brings peace to your soul. When you find that wonderful place – then you can reach out to others who are hurting, like you are now hurting, and bring them into your circle of love to shelter, care for, and support.
The Bible tells us to become strong first – then reach out. If we are weak and hurting, instead of helping others, we could be dragging them down as we spew anger, frustration and pain all over their life – making it harder for them, instead of being a blessing for them.
Life is a journey, not a destination right now. We live each day at a time, one footstep at a time. Most days we move forward, some days we are backsliding, but we are always going from day to day, moment to moment and praying for help so that it can be forward motion.
Let go of the insult, the anger, the indignation, the frustration – all the negative emotions associated with what is holding you back. You don’t have time or energy for it, life is short and time is fleeting. When you do that, life gets into clearer focus and it is not as hard.
What really gets our life in focus is dealing with challenges, and sometimes other’s challenges can make us very grateful that our similar challenges in the past are over and we can now help others out who are in the same situation we were that hurt so badly.
Before I start to cry again so badly I can’t see the sewing machine, I am going to get off the computer and back to sewing burial gowns. I have such a hard time making them. I lost 3 children and while God has made the loss bearable, it still stings enough to make it very hard to sew the tiny gowns and bonnets for babies whose parents never got the chance to say a decent hello before they had to say goodbye.
Please, dear friends, forget your own pain today and soften the blow for others. Speak kindly, wisely and comfortingly. There are others all around you who are drowning in sorrow. they show it in different ways – some of the evidence of pain is negative – striking out, saying or doing not nice things. Find those people and be a blessing to them. Sew a burial gown, bake a batch of muffins to feed their body as your hug feeds their soul. Give them a hug, Take them to the doctor or shopping for groceries, if thats what they need.
Listen to those who are in need of help without criticizing or even speaking if they need to unload, but most of all – listen to your Heavenly Father who loves you. He needs you most of all as the greatest blessings from heaven usually flow through hands that serve Him here below.
Off to do what has to be done now….pray for me, it’s very very very very hard. (If you need me, I’ll be there. That’s what being a ‘good Christian’ means to me, listening to my Heavenly Father and reaching out to help others as He helps me. )
Soft hugs
Carol Green
President
ReliefShare.org
(Note – this post is introspective. It is not a rant on religion but sharing why we do the things we do at Relief Share. ) We would love to hear from you on your perspective of charity work. Email us at info@ReliefShare.org
Cocoon made with Love That Yarn stripe from Hobby Lobby
Experiment with color. Enjoy the process of crafting a remarkable item to share with those less fortunate or sick. You will be doubly blessed as you put your love for your fellowman in action through service and charity.
We make so many items for the hospitals and for the sick and needy that it can get pretty hum drum to use the same yarn and colors over and over. To spice up our charity work and enjoy what we are doing again – we simply add variation and color. We either change up the pattern just a bit to make it slightly different and interesting – adding seed stitch to our knitting or using a variegated yarn instead of solid colors – and the joy in creating comes flowing back in again giving us a renewed love for the projects we are working on.
I ran across a wonderful tutorial on youtube on how to get the most from your variegated yarn. The idea was simple but brilliant. Mike suggests pulling the yarn from opposite ends to get a color reversal to double your benefit from using variegated yarns.
One of our Directors also has a marvelous way to make the most of variegated yarns. Jennifer Sundquist is an experienced knitter and crocheter and owns “The Tiny Panda” business – you can see her facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Tiny-Panda/177250085656698 Her technique for working with variegated yarns is to watch how the colorway interacts with the pattern. When she sees that there is too much of a color being added to the project, she ties off some of that color and omits it from the yarn being used. By doing this simple technique, she can control how much of any color being integrated in the pattern is impacting the final result. This is especially helpful when using your own dyed yarns if the colorway turned out different than what you wanted. Don’t toss it out or put it in the back of your craft room – simply use the tying off technique to get the amount of any given color you are looking for.
Dyeing yarn with koolaid
If you are in a rut with your charity knitting and crochet by being bored with color – make your own! Another way to get the most from variegated yarn is to dye your own yarn. Wool is the best choice of yarn to work with and it can be dyed with koolaide and your microwave. Yes, it does work and the color is permanent. Jennifer has dyed some incredible colorways that are absolutely gorgeous. Using Koolaid to dye yarn to make beautiful colorway (variegated yarn)
Here is a tutorial on the internet on how to dye wool with koolaid: http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall02/FEATdyedwool.html
Yarn dyed with koolaid - simply gorgeous
Some of the wonderful colorways you can purchase in variegated yarns are found at the major chain craft stores. My favorites are:
Hobby Lobby – the store brand of Love That Yarn is always a good choice. You can find two types of variegated yarns in that brand. The ‘stripe’ version of the yarn will give you, yes, you guessed it, stripes – but not just solid stripes. There are pretty accents in the stripes that make your finished items wonderful. The other type of variegated yarn made by Love That Yarn is the ‘ombre’ – the more traditional type of variegated yarn with spotches of color.
Ombre pattern turned in to argyle with just a tension change - how fun!
I discovered, by accident when working on a charity fundraiser cocoon, that the ombre also makes amazing patterns when you least expect it. When making a cocoon, I put extra tension on the yarn and the basic ombre or splotch coloring turned into an argyle pattern. Very beautiful and more complex coloring and completely unexpected and welcome!
Another colorway that I love to use is Caron Simply Soft. In my opinion, that is some of the best yarn to use for baby projects as it is silky and soft and drapes beautifully. I also discovered that Wal Mart has three colorways that just came out a few weeks ago, as Wal Mart is adding all their fabric departments back (yay, Wal Mart – we love you again!) and the colorways are gorgeous. They are not available at any other stores in our Boise, Idaho area yet so I quickly bought up all that I could.
If you have ideas and comments on using color with yarn in your charity or other projects, we would love to hear from you. Our email is info@ReliefShare.org
Carol C Green
President
ReliefShare.org
ReliefShare.org/wordpress
Chow dog dyed to look like Panda
Oh – just a fun aside note: Yarn isn’t the only thing people like to dye. This is a picture of the latest rage from China – people are dyeing their dogs like other animals. Its safe and fun and quite interesting, but that is an entirely different post altogether *smile*
The charity efforts this summer went light speed with all the donations pouring in and going out. I just made a large donation at a local hospital filled with preemie items, newborn baby essentials and items for the Refugee Center. Full size quilts, baby hats and cocoons, infant burial layettes, soft toys and much more is being worked on right now. Relief Share has a variety of projects that are ongoing in the sewing, knitting, crochet, serging, tatting, embroidery, doll making, toy making and other crafting departments. Something for everyone to be able to lend their time, effort and skills to.
A donation of 5 boxes of fabric just arrived from a wonderful donor. While we use most fabrics, we rarely use double knit polyester but we know that if we put our thinking caps on, we can find a use for it. We are looking for input and ideas on how to use for the benefit of the sick and needy. Please email us with your ideas – we would love to hear.
Have a wonderful summer and enjoy the gorgeous days that God has given us to be happy in.
Carol C Green
President
ReliefShare.org
Volunteer kindness - it's love in action!
Summertime tends to be a more relaxed time when we can enjoy the sunshine and take a look around to see how we can make a difference in the world. We always try to leave a place better than we found it and the earth is very much in need of those who care and do what they can to alleviate suffering and help those in need and in crisis.
Everyone has gifts and talents. We all have something we can offer each other to make life gentler, easier, more precious and kinder. What is your gift? Sewing? Crochet or knitting? Embroidery? Quilting? Tending children? Writing? Baking? Organizing? Leadership? Making others feel better about themselves? You see, there are as many wonderful gifts from God to each of us as there are God’s children here in our earthly family. Take some time today to think about how you can share your special gift with others.
Relief Share volunteers have been working hard to help others. This week boxes of much needed donations have come in filled with finished items, supplies, and love. Many donations have gone out to those who are sick and needy and they express gratitude for the help. Thank you so much to those who share from the heart what they have with those who so desperately need it.
Current projects:
- queen and baby size quilts – for the hospital and shelters
- wool dryer balls (these can save the average family approx $240 a year)
- knit hairbands for refugee children
- baby cocoons and hats for the hospital
- soft toys for refugee and homeless children
- infant burial layettes
- baby items such as diaper bags, totes, layettes, booties, hats, sweaters, onesies, cloth diapers, hygiene items (soap, lotion, rash ointment, conditioner), bottles, feeding pillows
- baby ribbon taggie blankets and toys
- backpacks with school supplies
- tote bags for foster children
- baby afghans
- prayer shawls for cancer patients
- knitted and crocheted hats for chemo patients
Some of the supplies most needed right now are: a Kam Snap press, Kam Snaps (all colors), PUL fabric for diaper covers, fabric (flannel, cotton, knit, woven, any kind, kids print), elastic for diapers, velcro, thread, sewing tools, quilting tools, crochet and knitting supplies and needles and hooks, yarn – any kind, smocking supplies, trim, lace, ribbon roses (burial layettes), ribbon (we need lots of washable ribbon of all widths, colors and patterns for the taggie blankets), USM knitting machine, claw weights, swift for making skeins into center pull balls of yarn, yarn winders, wool yarn for dryer balls, baby longies and hats and blankets.
May your summer be a fun and wonderful one, filled with friends and family and may you bless others as you enjoy all that God has given you. You may want to donate supplies to help volunteers make what is needed, or make items yourself and send them to us to distribute. You may want to help by sending funds to help us ship items to where they are needed to go or purchase needed items. You can donate through paypal by sending your donation to info@reliefshare.org or send a check or money order as well as boxes of donations to:
Relief Share
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
All donations are tax deductible. We are grateful for everyone doing what they can to help us help others
God bless you,
Carol C Green
President
www.ReliefShare.org
info@ReliefShare.org
Dryer balls from wool yarn.
These are dryer balls – they save money and are environmentally friendly. An average family will save approx $240 a year by using them as they don’t have to buy fabric softener or use more electricity to run the dryer longer.
The wool in the dryer balls wick away extra moisture, drying the clothes faster and with the quite soft beating motion in the dryer from the balls makes the clothing soft and keeps the static down. It is a huge plus to be free from the chemicals in fabric softeners and fabric sheets, too.
These are three I just made from wool yarn. You can make them quickly for yourself, your friends and family and to donate to charity, too.
Here is the pattern to crochet them.
1 skein yarn
1 crochet hook
With wool yarn (we recommend Fisherman’s wool yarn from Hobby Lobby – the price is good and it felts well), and a crochet hook (we like size G) make a magic ring. Here is a link to a youtube tutorial on how to do a magic ring if you don’t already know how – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLuSVyKvoUg and crochet 8 sc in the ring. Pull tight and slip stitch into the first sc to make the first ring.
For the second row, chain 2, dc in the same stitch. Follow the instructions in the bracket to the end of the row – (dc in next stitch and 2 dc in the stitch after that) dc in last stitch that you just did 2 dc in. Slip stitch in last stitch to close. This will make half of the cover – a domed shape.
Repeat row 2 for row three. That is the other half of the cover. You will now have 2 half domes that will be whip stitched together over a ball of yarn you have rolled from the same wool yarn. To roll the ball of yarn check out this tutorial on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=equs45JCHwo You will note in the picture that some of the balls have more than just three rows. You can make the balls as big or as small as you like by adding or deleting rows.
These balls are quick and easy to do. After you have them done, toss them in the washer with your laundry, pour the laundry detergent for the load right on the balls. Use hot/cold setting for the load as the temperature extremes, soap, and washer agitation will felt the balls so they work better and hold together better with use. Toss them in the dryer and leave them there permanently. I use approx 8 to 1o balls in my dryer as I tend to do full loads. If you are doing small loads you can use 5 to 6 balls.
Use up your scraps of wool yarn as well by simply tying the ends of shorter pieces – as you crochet the tied ends wind up inside the covers so you don’t see them. These dryer balls are a wonderful gift for a new mother as fabric softeners can cause allergic reactions in small babies. We make them for the refugee center and other places who are helping folks get on their feet with household goods.
The same pattern from acrylic or cotton or blended yarn makes wonderful soft toss toys for the children in hospital, homeless shelters, crisis centers and for individuals in need who would love safe toys for their children.
Do you have a variation on the dryer ball pattern? Please share, we would love to hear from you.
Carol Green
President
info@ReliefShare.org
Summer charity work at Relief Share – join in the fun!
By · Comments
Love in action - working together.
We are all enjoying the summer and being very productive here at ReliefShare.org . Lots of full size quilts, baby cocoons, dryer balls, soft toys, baby layettes, burial layettes, afghans, baby quilts, hats, booties, taggie blankets and more have been made and donated out to the sick and needy.
Volunteers are asking for easier access to our patterns online so we will be working on making a pattern section for folks to use in our charity work. Input is welcomed so we can make it easy, fun and quick to find the patterns you are looking for.
Thank you letters have come in from various hospitals, organizations and individuals for donations received, expressing gratitude to the volunteers for all our hard work. It’s so nice to be appreciated and know what we are doing is wanted and needed.
A big thank you to our wonderful donors who have sent and delivered fabric, batting, yarn, sewing supplies, finished items and quilting books. With everyone working together, miracles happen.
Carol Green
President
Relief Share
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
Knitting pattern for cotton dishcloth – works very well
By · Comments
Cotton knitted dishcloths
These cotton dishcloths are earth friendly and last a lot longer than synthetic mass produced dishcloths – they work better, too. They also save money when you use them instead of paper towels or wipes.
Make some for yourself and extras to donate to the refugee center, homeless shelter or crisis center in your area or send them to us at Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225
Materials: 1 ball of cotton yarn. We like the Peaches and Cream cotton yarn.
Knitting Needles: Size US 7 or 8.
Pattern: Cast on 3 sts.
1st row: Knit.
2nd row: K1. Increase 1 st in next st. Knit to end of row.
Rep last row to 40 – 50 sts. (depending on how big you want the dishcloth.
Next row: K2. K2tog. Knit to end of row.
Rep last row to 3 sts. Cast off.
Note: This pattern makes a darling baby afghan. Use washable acrylic yarn and knit rows until it is as big as you want, then decrease.
We hope everyone is headed for a wonderful 4th of July. Our Relief Share holidays are always better when we know the sick and needy are taken care of first, so we are knitting up a storm on our Ultimate Sweater Machine today making baby cocoons!
For those of you who have a USM or another type of knitting machine, you know that it’s fun, quick and easy. For those of you considering getting an Ultimate Sweater Machine or one of the variations of it – they are available at JoAnn Fabric (be sure to use a 40% or 50% off coupon when you purchase, coupons are usually on their website).
Here are a few tips to make your knitting a lot easier, professional looking and fun!
Instead of just using the black hem that comes with the USM, do a row of double e-wrap so when you are ready to take your knitting off the machine, you don’t have to crochet it off. This youtube video by Diane Sullivan is very good as she explains slowly and clearly how to do a double e-wrap.
This video shows how to make a cast on rag – very helpful if you are making smaller items, such as the braided ball for children in the hospital.
To make the baby cocoons for the hospital, it is a lot nicer and quicker to use the Kris Krafter garter bars to decrease and make a nice rounded end. We made a couple of types of home made garter bars and they just aren’t effective and quick enough for us, when a donation of the KrisKrafter garter bars arrived, everyone was VERY excited and they are in constant use now. Expensive, but worth every penny (thank you to our sweet angel who donated them to us – we love you for it!)
So what can you make with your Sweater Machine (knitting machine)? Anything you can imagine! Send us your pictures for us to include on our blog
We make baby hats, baby cocoons, afghans, prayer shawls, braided balls, cancer patient hats and much more!
President Carol Green
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 6483-2225
What a relief – we LOVE getting the donations in for the sick and needy. When our shelves get bare as donations are all distributed, we take a deep breath in and say a heartfelt prayer that before the next request for help comes in there will be donations to fill them…and then we hit the work room and start sewing, knitting, quilting and crocheting like mad!
Receiving blankets donated by Sylvia Gonzales of Angel Cover Ministry
Sweet stuffed toys, toothbrushes and floss from Jan & Butch
This weekend we received beautiful receiving blankets, stuffed toys, toothbrushes, floss, burial gowns, household goods, baby clothing, toys, books, yarn, fabric, sewing supplies, batting, baby cocoons, totes and waterbottles.
We are delighted to share that the donations are already distributed and the sewing supplies used to make more.
Thank you so much for your love and sharing. God has commanded us to be a blessing to each other and we joyfully obey his will in bringing relief to the sick and needy through sharing our time, talents, love and funds.
Think about all the blessings you have and what you would do if they were all gone. The tornado victims were stripped of everything they had in a very short time. Gone were the beds and warm bedding, clothing and hygiene items, no longer there were the children’s toys, books to read or even a high chair to feed the baby in.
Can you really enjoy what you have when you know others are suffering and have lack? Yes, you can, but only if you share what you don’t need or want with them.
De-clutter your home for a good cause. It lightens your load as we don’t really own possessions, they are just on loan from God and we are stewards, but if we have too many possessions – they own us as we lose energy and time shuffling them from place to place with no real need for them.
If you are saving things for a rainy day, I have to tell you it’s pouring right now for those in need. Give relief through sharing. Put three boxes down as you work to clear your home. One for putting away, one for throwing out and one for charity.
When the charity box is full, put a label on it and send it to:
Relief Share,
6078 Lundy Rd,
Houston, MO
65483-2225.
Include your name, email address and mailing address so we can send you a tax deductible receipt for your kind and much needed donation.
There isn’t anything we don’t take – all is needed as we handle requests for assistance from all walks of life – hospitals, crisis centers, homeless shelters, refugee centers, animal shelters and individuals who need help. Items should be clean, new or gently used.
May you all have a wonderful week and enjoy all God has given you.
President Carol Green
info@ReliefShare.org
www.ReliefShare.org
Angel Wing Burial gowns
By · Comments
Angel Wing Burial Gown
There are times our love and Relief Share sewing skills are called upon for the most tenderest of times. When a family loses their infant – when they have to say goodbye before they get a chance to say hello and share their world with the new arrival- our help is needed in providing one last tiny gown, bonnet, blanket and memorial item to help ease the pain and send the little one back to the arms of God.
Our children are only on loan from our loving Heavenly Father for a time. Some of us only get to have them for a very short while and it can be very difficult to deal with the separation.
Relief Share provides Angel Wing Burial gowns, designed by one of our special volunteers, Dot Fulton. Dot has since gone home to Heavenly Father herself, but every time a little Angel Wing Burial gown is sewn and donated, she is fondly remembered as one of the kindest sweetest ladies whose love for the babies lives on with each gown donated to help another grieving mother. These gowns were made because of requests from the hospital for a gown with sleeves that made it easy to dress baby for burial. This burial layette fits a tiny baby that weighs about 2 to 3 pounds. Mothers and fathers were so grateful for volunteers who showed love for a stranger by providing something that you couldn’t get no matter how much money you have.
These gowns were sewn by a sweet volunteer in Boise, Idaho. She added binding to the neck and sleeves as these are for little boys. When we make the gowns for little girls, there is lace added to the neckline, hem and sleeves – sometimes tatted by hands who love the babies and their families, too.
A thank you letter from a major hospital states:
“We want to thank you for your kind donation of burial layettes. They are so beautiful. The colors are so pretty, you can certainly tell a lot of love and effort went into the creation of these lovely outfits. We make every effort to make the grieving process as painless as possible. The beauty and caring workmanship of the outfits are a comfort to the bereaved family. Hopefully this makes the memories a little less painful. Thanks again for your thoughtfulness.”
Love in action seems to be the only healing power in many cases for overcoming the pain of loss suffered by those experiencing the death of an infant. The gift of a tiny burial gown for a grieving mother or father is so gratefully received. When families feel the most vulnerable and powerless, a burial layette, provided by caring hands and loving hearts is God’s strongest witness that He lives and loves us.
We can be the miracle in someone else’s life today.
Ask yourself: “If not me, then who? If not now, then when?”
Please don’t wait another day, reach out to those who need YOU!
If you would like to help by making burial layettes or sending fabric, trim and supplies to help us make them, we would love it.
President Carol Green
Relief Share
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
What a wonderful day – thank you all so much!
By · Comments
Together we can make a wonderful difference!
Hugs
President Carol Green
info@ReliefShare.org – you can help!
www.ReliefShare.org/wordpress/
An emergency worker carries a girl out of Academy Sports.
http://www.godvine.com/Man-Sacrifices-His-Life-to-Save-his-Wife-From-a-Tornado-453.html
As we go about our daily lives, we need to remember those whose lives were torn from them in the tornado. It’s not over for them. One step in front of the other, one minute at a time – they need our continued love and support.
Thank you to all of you who are sending batting, clothing, hygiene items and sewing supplies to Relief Share.
Our Relief Share volunteers are working around the clock to make quilts to keep folks warm – in many cases that is all the bedding they have.
We are also making baby taggie comfort blankets and can use all widths of ribbon at least 4″ wide (a great way to use up the left overs from crafting).
Supplies needed: Quilt batting – queen size or larger (we can cut it down for smaller sizes when needed). Fabric – cotton (great for the all purpose, all ages, quilts), knit, minky, chenille, flannel, velour (think soft and cuddly for the babies and small children), ribbon – wide, medium and narrow widths for burial gowns and taggie blankets for babies, sewing and serger thread, yarn for baby cocoons, blankets and hats, knitting and crochet needles, quilting supplies, hygiene items like shampoo, soap, deodorant, combs, brushes, toothpaste, toothbrushes, etc, tote bags for refugees, baby clothing, diapers, bottles, pacifiers (anything a baby needs). Anything you send will be put to good use. All donations are tax deductible.
May God bless everyone and keep them safe and comforted.
Soft hugs,
Carol Green – info@ReliefShare.org – you can help!
donation shipping address:
Relief Share,
6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225
www.ReliefShare.org
www.ReliefShare.org/wordpress/
If you wish to donate funds to help with purchasing what is needed for the sick and afflicted, our paypal address is info@ReliefShare.org – please make a note of your email address so we can send you a thank you letter and tax deductible receipt.
Braided blue comfort ball
This is a darling knitted ball that is easy to make. Make 2 – keep one for yourself and give the other to charity!
These are hand knitted – here are the instructions from ravelry.com – if you don’t belong, sign up – it’s free and full of wonderful people and patterns.
These balls are called ‘comfort balls’ and the children in hospital, homeless shelters and crisis centers love the soft toys. So do the adults
If you want to make them for your local animal shelter, you can put a jingle bell inside of the ball inside of a plastic container like the clear balls that knee highs from Wal Mart come in. We don’t recommend bells inside of the ones going to children because of the choking hazard.
This is a perfect project for all the scrap yarn you have left over!.
We could really use donations of yarn to help us make these comfort toys. If you would like to share your stash with us, please mail donations to:
Relief Share
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
All donations are tax deductible, please include your email address so we can thank you
President Carol C Green
info@ReliefShare.org
Relief Share maximizes efforts by working with others.
By · Comments
LDS Humanitarian Work Room
Relief Share maximizes our efforts by working with other established charities. Many times we have what they need to provide for the sick and needy and there are many benefits to working together to be able to reach out farther and more efficiently to meet the needs of those who are in crisis, sick or needing help.
Recently Relief Share volunteers have been thrilled to work with LDS Humanitarian Services, and we invite all to come & enjoy the blessings of service at the work room in Boise, Idaho. The work room is open on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10 am to 2 pm and is always filled with happy productive volunteers guided by the kind & knowledgeable director, Karol Stokes. You will be sure to have a wonderful experience knitting, sewing, serging & quilting for the sick & needy.
Batting donation
We received two large shipments of batting recently – the first donation was 90 yards of batting and was used within 1 1/2 hours. The wonderful donors who gave so generously of their funds to relieve the suffering of those who need their help are such a blessing to the sick and needy. Thank you so much to those who are putting their love in action.
Relief Share just delivered another large shipment of batting on Thursday and it won’t last much longer. More batting is on the way…and we need more still. With the tornadoes, natural disasters and needs of the refugees, homeless and those in crisis – quilts are very important.
If you would like to donate batting (90″ wide is best), please ship it to:
Relief Share
6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225
Batting donation
If you would like to donate funds to purchase batting, we have donated coupons to get the batting at cheaper pricing. We accept cash, checks, money orders, credit cards and paypal. Paypal donations can be sent to info@ReliefShare.org – if you need more information or assistance in making a donation, please email us at info@ReliefShare.org
Pictures speak a thousand words – here are the pictures of the batting donations we received and pictures of the LDS Humanitarian Work rooms where we love to spend most of our time working on behalf of the sick and needy.
Batting donation
Here are some of the volunteers and the quilts they have made for the sick and needy. What wonderful caring people, it is a pleasure to work with them and feel of their love for all of God’s children.
Volunteers come in all sizes and ages!
Happily engaged in a good cause!
Crocheted baby cocoon and hat
Free pattern from FaveCrafts.com Swaddle your newborn with the cozy soft baby cocoon and hat, two free crochet patterns from Red Heart. These beginner crochet patterns make great gifts for new babies.
Directions are for Newborn to 3 months.
Finished Cocoon Circumference: 24″.
Finished Hat Circumference: 18″.
Materials:
- RED HEART® “Buttercup™” 1.76 oz (50 g), 72 yd (66 m) balls: 4 balls 4277 Light Mint Multi
- Crochet hook, 6.5mm [US K-10.5]
- 2 Split-lock stitch markers
- Yarn needle
GAUGE: 9 sts = 4″; 8 rounds = 4″ in sc. CHECK YOUR GAUGE. Use any size hook to obtain the gauge.
Instructions:
COCOON
Round 1: Beginning at lower edge, ch 9; sc in 2nd ch from hook and in next 6 ch, 3 sc in last ch, PM in center sc of the last 3 sc, working on opposite side of ch, sc in next 6 ch, 2 sc in last ch, PM in last sc made – 18 sc. Do not join but work in continuous rounds. Move markers up each round.
Next Round: [Sc in each sc to 1 sc before marked sc, 2 sc in next sc, sc in marked sc] twice – 20 sc. Repeat last round until there are 54 sc.
Body
Work even on 54 sc until 21″ from beginning.
Fasten off. Weave in ends. Fold top edge down for cuff.
HAT
Round 1: Beginning at top of hat, ch 5; sc in 2nd ch from hook and in next 2 ch, 3 sc in last ch, PM in center sc of the last 3 sc, working on opposite side of ch, sc in next 2 ch, 2 sc in last ch, PM in last sc made – 10 sc. Do not join but work in continuous rounds. Move markers up each round.
Next Round: [Sc in each sc to 1 sc before marked sc, 2 sc in next sc, sc in marked sc] twice – 12 sc.
Repeat last round until there are 42 sc.
Body
Work even on 42 sc until 8‖ from beginning.
Fasten off.
Weave in ends. Fold bottom edge up for cuff.
Make some to share and send them to:
Relief Share
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
All donations are tax deductible – include your email address and we will email you your thank you letter and tax paperwork to print out. The babies in the hospitals, homeless shelters, and crisis centers really need the cocoons for warmth for growing and healing.
Note: Caron Simply Soft yarn, Hobby Lobby Love That Yarn, and any worsted weight yarn will do nicely. If using Red Heart, use the softer yarns
- Ted Grabenauer sleeps on his front porch on Monday, the morning after a tornado ripped the roof off his home in Joplin, Missouri.
It’s been a wild time with all the tornados and flooding. Prayers are being offered for the sick, afflicted, homeless, stricken, suffering and experiencing more difficult trials than they have ever had to deal with before. The aftermath of the nasty weather (that is not over yet) is one of shock, loss and deprivation.
Our prayers are very much needed, as there are only some areas that God can heal and handle, but as we pray like everything depends on God, we need to work like everything depends on us.
Urgents needs: QUILT BATTING! Can I say that again? QUILT BATTING! We have material for quilt tops and backs, and even have many of the quilts ready to put together but we are short on quilt batting. 90″ wide is the best size and however long you can get it. JoAnn Fabric is having a wonderful sale right now with only $5 shipping if you do it before tomorrow night. Any kind of batting, any size of batting will be gratefully accepted. Volunteers are standing by to make the life saving, warmth giving quilts that are so desperately needed but we need YOUR HELP in supplying the quilt batting.
- People walk a devastated street in Joplin, Missouri (map), on Sunday, hours after a tornado killed at least 116 people, as of Monday afternoon, and left the town in ruins.
Other urgent needs are:
- BABY CLOTHING - sleepers, socks, booties, bibs, receiving blankets, afghans, soft toys, diaper lotion cream and shampoo, diapers, formula, bottles, diaper bags – anything for a baby.
- basic simple clean clothing for toddlers, children and adults. Many of the people affected have nothing, it’s all gone – just look at the pictures on the news. New clothing is best, but gently used clothing is gratefully accepted.
- basic HYGIENE ITEMS like toilet paper, kleenex, pads, shampoo, shaving cream, razors, hair conditioner, lotion, toothbrushes, toothpaste – just think about what you find in a hotel room that are considered basics. Ttrash bags, face lotion, hairbrushes, combs – even makeup for the women (it helps with morale and to sustain a ‘normal’ life feeling).
- TOYS & BOOKS to keep the little ones happy in crisis shelters, tote bags are a huge help for folks to carry what little they have around with them.
- SURVIVAL ITEMS – matches, flashlights, water containers, tents, tarps, safety pins, MRE food supplies, back packs, writing supplies, batteries, etc
-FOOD. Survival type food is best – lightweight and nourishing. Dehydrated fruit like berries, trail mix, fig newtons, protein bars, water (a biggie)
- basic SEWING KITS (ask your local hotel for a few donations and send them on to us – same thing with the toiletries).
- crochet, knitting, tatting and sewing supplies. Thread, yarn and fabric.
One of the saddest items we must provide are the burial layettes for babies and children that didn’t make it through. Soft fabric in white or pastel colors is best, soft laces and trims and a little ribbon or ribbon roses are needed. Smocking and tatting supplies are needed to make that last little gown, bonnet and blanket special.
Cars smashed by the tornado rest in the parking lot of St. John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Missouri, on May 23.
Please help. Don’t just sit there and listen or read the news – DO something. Fill a box today and ship it to us at Relief Share. The folks that need the help aren’t picky, they are suffering and desperate. If you don’t have anything to send, please send us a donation. A money order or check can be mailed to us, a paypal donation can be sent to info@reliefshare.org and even cash can be sent through the mail (not recommended but accepted).
We are a 501 (c) 3 non profit registered with the IRS. All donations are tax deductible. Please don’t wait another minute, send what you can today, even if it’s only a dollar or a box of used baby clothing. Just do something – anything – to help.
Note: You don’t have to help just through us – please consider other charities in your area if that is a better solution to helping for you. There is no corner on charity and it doesn’t matter who gets the credit for helping. There are people – even little babies suffering with hunger and cold tonight and you are the solution – please be the solution….
Our address to ship and mail to is:
our Missouri address to ship to is
Relief Share
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
It is best to ship to the Boise address as we have more volunteers here to sew and help and arrangements to get the items to the needy areas fast. If you need to ship to the Missouri address because it is cheaper for you to ship there, that is okay, too.
Our email and paypal address is info@ReliefShare.org – please feel free to email with questions, we are so grateful for the help. We do what we can but it takes all of us to create the miracles to ease the suffering for others.
President Carol Green
info@ReliefShare.org
Baby quilt
Relief Share is in desperate need of BATTING for quilts. There is a little baby shivering in the cold today – you can help cover them with warmth of a snuggly quilt. Please send what you can to:
Relief Share
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 6483-2225
Any size of quilt batting – baby (crib), twin, double, queen or king is needed and any kind of batting. Those that are cold don’t care what kind of batting it is, they just need to be warm to use their strength for healing instead of just staying warm.
We’ve been using polyester batting because it is the cheapest – we even split the thick batting into three to make more quilts, but we will be more than happy to take any kind of batting. These quilts go to the hospitals, refugee shelters, crisis centers, homeless shelters and also to individuals and families that need them.
I have lots of wonderful volunteers working on the quilts but all we are able to do right now is piece quilt tops as without the batting, we can’t finish them.
We now email the thank you letter and tax receipt as a .pdf file so as soon as we get donations, we can immediately let folks know they have arrived and email the letter, so please include your email in the package.
If you haven’t got batting to send, please consider sending a Paypal donation to info@ReliefShare.org and note that it’s to pay for batting – we are a non profit charity registered with the IRS so all donations are tax deductible. Please help!
President Carol Green
Spring cleaning – does it fill you with dread or elation? It used to be a time of drudgery, wishing we were somewhere else and wanting the chores to be over. Not any more!
It is spring. Birds are singing, babies are being born, the earth is shaking off her dormancy of winter and bursting forth in blissful colors and sounds. It is a wonderful time to be alive and share what we have with others.
De-cluttering will lighten your load, make your heart sing with freedom and put a smile on your face in knowing you are helping others – with the “trash to treasure” mentality. What clogged your closets, littered your counters and made laundry day a form of torture can be blessing the lives of others who desperately need what you don’t want.
Clean out your closets and homes for a good cause! Here’s how:
1. Line up 4 boxes beside the area that you decide to tackle first. Box one – things you want to keep and store for later use, box two – things you are throwing out, box three – things you are currently using and want to have easy access to; and box four – things you are donating (recycling and re-using useful items keep our landfills free and earths resources not wasted).
2. Set your timer for 15 minutes, take a deep breath and start filling those boxes. For more details on the 15 minute approach, visit www.flylady.com - a wonderful website that has saved the sanity of lots of folks wanting to have a clean house and de-clutter but didn’t know where to start or how to do it.
3. Do NOT tackle the entire house in one day. Choose one area at a time – the craft, hobby, and art room is where we would love you to start Bedrooms are another wonderful place to clean out.
4. The boxes filled with new or gently used items can simply be labeled and mailed to:
Relief Share,
6078 Lundy Rd,
Houston, MO 65483-2225.
All donations are tax deductible and each donor will receive a thank you letter with a tax receipt. We accept anything and everything because the requests we receive for help address all situations of lack, sickness and need.
Recent donations in and out have been quilts, blankets, baby clothing, children’s and adult clothing, books, toys, fabric, yarn, sewing supplies, thread, machinery, sewing machines, sergers, knitting and crochet needles, quilting supplies, jewelry, kitchen supplies, and more. Donations that are not needed directly for immediate needs can be used for fundraisers to pay for shipping, medical expenses, items needed, etc. but most of the donations are given directly to the sick and needy.
Our number one Relief Share urgent need right now is for batting to make quilts. Next to that is baby supplies – diapers, receiving blankets, clothing, hygiene items, hats, socks, undershirts, soft toys, bottles, and diaper bags – anything a baby could use. Next in line is sewing, knitting, crocheting, crafting, quilting and spinning supplies and equipment.
Recent recipients have included St. Alphonsus Hospital System, LDS Humanitarian Center, families with newborn babies who needed basic essential supplies, adults with medical conditions (blindness, tumors, cancer), refugees, and those who are caught in the economic downturn or natural disasters that are struggling with the lack of essentials like food and clothing.
YOU CAN HELP! Turn your unwanted items into much needed treasures by simply giving relief through sharing. There will probably be many boxes to share. Simply pop a box or two in the mail every week, it’s easier on the budget this way and we can go through it and get it donated out easier if it doesn’t come all at once, but if you need to send it all at once, that’s okay, too – we have garage and storage space to process it and volunteers ready and waiting to make sure everything goes out as quickly as possible to those anxiously waiting for help.
May your spring season be rewarding and blissful and after de-cluttering, may you enjoy the song of the birds, the beautiful flowers and trees and the wonderful feeling of knowing that your compassionate sharing is blessing the lives of others. Thank you for all the continuing support, together we are alleviating suffering and lifting up the hearts and hands of those who lack and need not only the items missing, but love from their fellowman in their time of need.
President Carol Green
info@ReliefShare.org – email
ReliefShare.org – static website
ReliefShare.org/wordpress – ongoing updates on our blog
We are also on facebook Spread the word and share the love! www.facebook.com/reliefshare
Love in Action – just what does that mean?
By · Comments
Unto the least of these....
Relief Share believes in ‘love in action’. For many of us, that means a lot of different things. Some of the ways we show love are by honoring those who we love and care for, doing good for them and helping them. We show love to our neighbors by serving them and treating them as we would have them treat us – with kindness. We show our love for our fellow men by setting a good example and sharing what we have with them.
Who is our neighbor, our fellow man? Acts 17:26 says “And [He] hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.” God has made of one blood all of the nations of the earth, we are one family – our brothers and sisters and our neighbors. Jesus has told us that we should ‘love one another’ and that we should even love our enemies. This means to love everyone (though not partaking of their sins) but loving them enough to help when help is needed.
We learn to love by forgetting ourselves and by doing good things for other people. We learn to love those we serve. Love is the sugar of life. The more love we have in our lives and the farther we extend our love to others, the sweeter and more agreeable live becomes.
We would like to recognize some of the people who are the sweet sugar in the lives of those who need help. Their donations have been a huge blessing to many.
Janet – your donation of supplies, fabric, yarn and ongoing support have helped the babies in hospitals, homeless shelters, crisis centers, medical centers, foster homes and refugee shelters. You have literally helped thousands of children, there is a special star in heaven for you.
Marianne and Michael – the beautiful little crocheted preemie blankets cover many tiny babies in the hospital. There is so much love crocheted into every single afghan. What a blessing your kindness is to the babies and their families.
Natalie – 41 pounds of the most gorgeous cone yarn is being made into baby cocoons, baby blankets, afghans, chemo hats, layettes, soft toys and sweaters. What a generous and much needed donation. Thank you so much.
Kathorine – gorgeous baby quilts, lovely soft warm cuddly baby cocoons, supplies, incredible alpaca yarn and fibre, drop spindles, amazing gifts of love. Some of the alpaca yarn you sent has been made into the most darling sweater for a little toddler, it is so soft and cuddly. The baby items have been donated out to refugees from Haiti and Africa and to the local hospitals and shelters. So much love is stitched into every baby quilt, you are greatly appreciated.
Terry – gorgeous brand new snow suits for those who are shivering and cold. It is a precious daughter of God who would think of those in other climates when our own climate becomes warmer, the 8 snow suits have gone out to Japan, where the weather turned colder after the tsunami and mothers huddled with tiny babies needing warm clothing. Now you know that 8 of them are warm and snuggly because of your love! The beautiful little preemie sleepers have been donated to the sick and needy along with the other gifts you have sent!
Gina – your pacifiers came just in time. A little girl was upset as her last paci went missing. Tears turned to smiles as the pretty paci that was just the right shape was popped in her mouth and a huge hug of thank you given. (I love it when I get the hugs from the children we love so much The donated yarn and fabric is being made into dresses, diaper bags, totes, soft toys, blankets, quilts, baby carriers, cocoons, hats, jumpers and clothing for the children. Some of our volunteers don’t have supplies or means to get them, but are happy to give service and sew, knit, crochet, tat, serge and craft for the sick and needy.
Jennifer & Kurt – the computer parts and laptop tote bag you donated was gratefully accepted by a sweet blind man. Household goods, clothing and toys have been donated to LDS Humanitarian Services, Idaho Thrift Ranch, NAC, the hospital, and needy individuals. Cleaning out your closets for a good cause and donating your excess is a beautiful way to share with those who need what you have. Thank you so much.
Kathleen – Not only did you donate much needed yarn, but you went the extra mile and sent squares for our volunteers to crochet together into afghans to snuggle the babies and needy in love. What a wonderful thing to do!
Marla – Oh, Marla, you are so unselfish and kind. Thank you so much for your ongoing love and very generous gifts that bless so many lives. Words escape me as I attempt to express my personal gratitude for decades of service, support and donations. I would pray that God would walk with you but I already knows he is there for every step you take. Your donations of your mother’s sewing and craft supplies on her passing are such a huge blessing to so many people.
There are so many more donors and volunteers – it is impossible to thank them all, but know that each and every act of kindness and generosity is recorded by the angels and carefully noticed by our Heavenly Father who loves us all. Please accept a very grateful thank you from all of us at Relief Share and know that we are glad you are on our team.
So many lives count on the kindness and generosity of others, each act of kindness is like a tiny drop of water that ripples out on the pond of life. Know that God loves each one of us, know that YOU matter (even if your name was not mentioned here, it is certainly recorded in our records and engraved on the heart that matters).
What kind of help is needed?
Donations of yarn (all kinds) , sewing supplies, knitting needles, crochet hooks, tatting shuttles and needles, sewing machines, sergers, spinning wheels, yarn winders, scissors, cutting boards, rotary cutters, fabric (all kinds), patterns, craft supplies, beads, embroidery floss, unfinished kits (these are used to help teach the youth, young mothers and aged crafting skills).
Donations of office supplies – stamps (a big need), paper, pens, pencils, markers, post it notes, etc.
Donations of funds – this is used to help with medical expenses for the sick, purchasing supplies that are not donated, shipping and other urgent cases.
Donations of finished goods: baby clothing, afghans, blankets, household goods, pacifiers, bottles, formula, diapers (cloth or disposable), hygiene items (soap, shampoo, lotion, toothpaste, toothbrushes, hair brushes, toiletries, baby diaper rash lotion, etc), diaper bags, tote bags, walker bags, lap robes, chemo hats. Everything can be new or gently used. These are just a few items mentioned. There is no donation we turn away, we have a place for all that is donated in.
Donations of items for fundraising. Please state that the items you are sending are to be used for fundraising. Unless specifically stated, all donations are used directly for the sick and needy.
Questions or comments?
President Carol Green
info@ReliefShare.org
Relief Share volunteers have been very busy knitting, crocheting, sewing, serging and donating towards our baby cocoon project for the hospital. Lots of questions have been asked and answered so for convenience, we are going to put most of the answers to questions regarding this project in this post for easy accessibility.
Question: What are baby cocoons?
Answer: Baby swaddling items that can be knit, crocheted, tatted, sewn and serged from either new or recycled material. Here is a picture of a baby cocoon in use:
Baby cocoon for swaddling babies
Hand knitting pattern for “THATCHER’S COCOON” – click here.
Machine knitting pattern for the baby cocoon - click here.
Sewing and serging pattern for the baby cocoon – click here.
Crocheted pattern for the baby cocoon – click here.
The general sizes are:
The baby’s weight for the general sizes are:
XXS – 14″ long x 50 stitches wide (6″ across) – 12″ diameter 1.5 to 3 lbs
XS – 16″ long x 60 stitches wide (8″ across) 3 to 5 lbs
S – 18″ long x 70 stitches wide (10″ across) 6 lbs to 8 lbs
M – 20″ long x 80 stitches wide (10″ across) 9 lbs to 11 lbs
L – 23″ long x 80 stitches wide (12″ across) 12 t0 15 lbs
XL – 25″ long x 80 stitches wide (12″ across) 15 to 17 lbs
The hospitals use the XS size the most, the the families we donate to use the S, M and L the most as well as the XL. The XXS are used by the hospital, some of them for infant demise.
Hints and tips for making cocoons have come in from many sources and the ideas volunteers have suggested are wonderful. We’ve been scouring the thrift shops and our own closets for sweaters that are soft and made from yarn that can be washed, taken apart and the yarn used to make the cocoons.
A wonderful thrift shop in Breckenridge Colorado named “For Pets Sake” donated 4 sweaters, we also purchased many of them off their $1 sale rack. Other thrift stores in Boise, Idaho, such as the Deseret Industries yielded beautiful sweaters that we got a lot of yarn from after washing them and taking them apart. We bought a large lot of yarn on craigslist from money donated by caring volunteers to help make baby cocoons, hats, blankets, and layettes. JoAnn Fabrics had a wonderful sale on yarn as well. Use your imagination to come up with sources for materials to make the cocoons from.
Babies love the cocoons and rest peacefully swaddled in them. They are so easy to use, quick and safe, and the hospitals and mother’s love them as well.
If you would love to help with our baby cocoon project, here is what is needed:
1. Volunteers to make the cocoons and send them to
Relief Share,
6078 Lundy Rd,
Houston, MO 65483
2. Donations of yarn, fabric, and sewing, knitting, and crocheting supplies are needed.
3. Funds to purchase supplies and ship the items to where they are needed the most can be sent through paypal to info@reliefshare.org – all donations are tax deductible.
If you have comments, suggestions, ideas or questions, please email us at info@ReliefShare.org – we would love to hear from you. All Relief Share patterns are FREE for charity or personal use.
President Carol Green
info@ReliefShare.org
Baby cocoon pattern by Heather Thompson for Relief Share
By · Comments
Baby cocoon
Thank you so much to master knitter, Heather Thompson, for this pattern to create baby cocoons.
We live in a wonderful world filled with love in action.
By · Comments
Relief Share - giving relief through sharing
This is a wonderful world filled with people who care and step up when needed. Here are some of the donations in and out lately at Relief Share to show you what we are busy doing with your help!
1. A wonderful lady has been troubled with the growth of a football size tumor on her spine. The muscles and nerves have grown into it and the doctors are trying to figure out how to remove it without doing permanent damage. She was scheduled for surgery April 11th but the doctors now want to change that appointment to more testing. This causes a problem due to the need to fly back and forth from Boise, ID to Seattle. She doesn’t have the money to pay for the flights, expenses or medical bills that are mounting up. If you want to help, please send a donation to info@ReliefShare.org through Paypal. So far $189.36 has been raised to help her. You can help, too. It doesn’t have to be much, even just a dollar or two makes a difference and sends a strong message of love and support to her. She will receive every penny of donations that come in to her and all donations are tax deductible. Add a note to your paypal donation that it is for GS
2. The local hospital (St Alphonus) has requested a dozen baby cocoons. If you would like to knit or crochet some to help out, please email info@reliefshare.org and we will be happy to email you the link to the pattern. Baby cocoons are swaddlers that calm and comfort the little ones.
3. Some recent donations IN: Aneta – fleece, trim and assorted sewing supplies; Gina – 2 reborn babies and reborning supplies; Karen – knitted baby cocoons; Marla – fabric, yarn, sewing supplies; Meri and friends – knitting machine needle bed, yarn, patterns, coupons, looms and supplies; Julie & Hartshorn Assembly of God – big box of baby clothing and supplies; Amanda – fabric; Maryse – crocheted baby hats; Sharon – crinolines, skirts and dresses; Jennifer – household goods and essentials; Michael and Marianne – preemie baby afghans; Roberta – crocheted blankets, fleece blankets, boxes and yarn; Carolyn – baby clothes, cocoon; Laura – serger thread, baby quilt, clothing; donations of funds from Doll-Fan members for GS from people who put their love in action.
4. Some of the recent donations OUT: LDS Humanitarian Services – yarn, cocoons, afghans, bedding, baby hats, computer equipment, dishes, fabric; St Alphonsus – reborn baby doll; Sylvia – 3 yards of fabric for quilt backs for charity; TCMHospital – baby clothing, bedding and baby items; TXFP – suburban full of household goods, clothing for the sick and needy, blankets, dishes, books, toys; D – diaper bag and baby clothing; A – purse; Penny – patterns to sew items for charity; other donations when out of food, blankets, cocoons, clothing, household items, dishes, toys, books, DVD player, bags, fabric.
You can help. If you sew, knit, crochet, tat, serge, craft or have supplies or equipment to donate, please email us at info@reliefshare.org or simply send your donation to:
ReliefShare
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
All donations are tax deductible – thank you for caring enough to share! Together we make miracles happen.
President Carol Green
info@reliefshare.org
Christ shows the way with charity.
Here is a wonderful quote about service.. I love the Saviour and his protecting, guiding care. When those around us get too critical, life can become burdensome. All I have to do when situations occur is remember what the Saviour did in the same type of circumstances – he turned the other cheek and lost himself in service.
He knew and understood well what his mission here on earth was. It was not about Him, it was about serving others and offering us His selfless gift of the atonement. Jesus Christ told those who would be His followers that they were to give meat to the hungry and drink to those who thirst. His is a gospel that includes taking in the stranger, loving neighbors as self, and visiting those who are sick or imprisoned. He taught that we are to love and care for each other, that we should visit the fatherless and the widow in their afflictions, and lift up those whose hands hang down and whose knees are feeble.
May this help you as much as it helped me!
President Carol C Green
ReliefShare.org
———————————————————————–
Marion D. Hanks on Christ’s Example of Service
“We rejoice in the wonderful welding in his life of principle and performance. The Savior taught precepts of spiritual perfection, and he practiced and applied them with perfection. He could with authority declare that he was the light and example the people should follow: ‘I have set an example for you… I am the light which ye shall hold up — that which ye have seen me do.’ (3 Ne. 18:16, 24.)
“What he *did*, as we read in a splendid verse in the book of Matthew, was to go ‘about all Galilee, teaching… and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of… disease.’ (Matt. 4:23.) Matthew also recorded that, as he approached the final events of his earthly ministry, Jesus taught his followers the parable of the sheep and the goats, representing the judgment to come, in which he clearly identified those who will inherit ‘life eternal’ and those who will ‘go away into everlasting punishment.’ (Matt. 25:46.) The key difference was that those who should inherit the kingdom with him had developed the habit of helping, had experienced the joy of giving and the satisfaction of serving — they had responded to the needs of the hungry, thirsty, homeless, the naked, the sick, and those in prison. Well known are his words, the words of comfort to them: ‘Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me’ (Matt. 25:40), while to those who were condemned to ‘everlasting punishment’ he made the sad pronouncement, ‘Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me’ (Matt. 25:45; italics added).
“Nothing would seem more clear than the high premium the Savior put upon selfless service to others as an indispensable element of Christian conduct and of salvation. Helping, giving, sacrificing are, or should be, as natural as growing and breathing.”
Whole cloth baby quilt
This really easy project is to make a quilt for babies – suitable for beginners, teens and those who want to get something needed made quickly and donated or given as a gift.
1. Cut two pieces fabric 36″ by 45″. This size is wonderful for newborns and can keep baby covered as it grows. I usually buy a yard and a half of fabric and know it’s the right size. Don’t worry if its a tad bigger or smaller, I have never met a baby with a yardstick yet, or one that complained about size! Use batting, I prefer the cotton batting that is thinner but warmer. If you use synthetic batting, do not use high loft – it’s too stiff. Instead, if that’s all you have to use, split the high loft batting in 2 to make 2 quilts. It’s easy to split.
2. Lay the two pieces of fabric together lining up the edges with right side of fabric facing each other and the batting on the bottom. You can either leave the corners square, or with a dinner plate, cut rounded orders – the plate helps to get them even.
3. Sew along the edge all the way around leaving a 4″ to 6″ opening. I like to serge the seams, it’s faster.
4. Turn the quilt right side out.
5. Stitch 1/4 inches in from the edge to secure the top batting and backing through the years of use so the batting won’t shift. Either tie the quilt with square knots every 4″ to secure all layers or, using a walking foot, sew a grid on the quilt making sure that there are no areas larger than 4″ that are not secured by either sewing, quilting or tying (sometimes called tacking).
Voila!
If you have ideas, suggestions, or a pattern or tips to share, please email info@ReliefShare.org – we’d love to hear from you!
Knitting tips
By · Comments
Knitting
If the yarn will not go 4x the length of the knitting laid out flat, it won’t knit to the end of the row – this hint is for machine knitting with the Bond USM machine as well as hand knitting.
When using scraps of wool to knit stripes on socks, sleeves, or both sides of the front, wind the scraps into two more or less equal balls so you’ll know how much you have for each side.
Especially when improvising, knit both sides or fronts at once, using two balls of yarn or both ends of one skein. This makes sure that both are
the same size and pattern, and prevents from knitting two right fronts or two left sleeves if the sleeves aren’t the same on both sides. Use a circular needle if possible, as it takes less space and the stitches don’t fall off as readily.
SEWING HINTS
By · Comments
Sewing
SEWING HINTS
HEMS AND EDGES
Woven Fabrics
Clean Finish all edges by serger or turning under a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Turn up 1/2 to 5/8 inch and stitch hem in place.
Knit Fabrics
Serge the edges using a 3-thread overlock stitch. Turn up 1/2 to 5/8 inches and stitch in place using a 1.0 mm zig-zag stitch. A twin needle hem is lovely. Wind woolly nylon on the bobbin by hand. Wind smoothly but do not stretch the thread. Using wooly nylon in the bobbin will keep the twin needle stitches from tunneling.
Heirloom Lace/Eyelet Edge
Place edging right sides together with the edging 1/4 inch in from the cut edge. Stitch in place. Set your machine for a 2 or 2.5 mm stitch length and a zig-zag that is wide enough to stitch off the fabric and just on the stitching line previously made. If necessary tighten the thread tension one number or just enough to make the fabric roll when you stitch. Trim any stray threads close to the stitching. Press away from edging.
Serger
Set your serger up for a 3-thread narrow rolled hem. Place the edge of the trim on the fabric so that the needle will catch it but it is not going to be rolled into the seam allowance. An 1/8 inch to the left of the knife is just about the right distance. If the seam will be seen as in around a receiving blanket use woolly nylon in the upper looper otherwise regular sewing thread is fine.
USING LACES AND TRIMS
Most of the time laces and trim 5/8 inch or less in width are more appropriate for baby clothes. Try to purchase flat laces. If you must use pregathered trims remove the heading and press flat. The heading is not suitable for use in garment construction. It’s there for the convenience of crafters who use glue. No glue on baby clothes, thank you.
English and French laces come with a built in thread for gathering. Domestic laces don’t have this feature. Since imported lace is expensive and difficult to find especially if you live in a rural area or a small community domestic lace can be gathered by stitching a loose line in the header or near the top of the trim. This thread will put out easily after the garment is finished.
HANDLING TECHNIQUES
Each fabric has it’s own unique characteristics. Some are crisp and some are soft and drapey. The crisp fabrics are usually easier to handle as they stay where you put them but tend to not ease well. The soft fabrics ease well but can slip all over the place. Knits can stretch where you don’t want them to. All in all it’s important to know what kind of fabric you’re dealing with so that you will choose the appropriate techniques
Wovens have threads running in both directions at right angles to one another. The length of the fabric will stretch little or not at all, however, there is some stretch across the width of the fabric. If it’s important to have a stable border cut it on the length of the fabric not across. Cut ALL garments on the straight of the grain. Be careful not to cut them on the diagonal unless it is part of the garment’s design. Nothing feels worse than a cross-cut garment even on a baby. Flannel, batiste, broadcloth, voile, organdy and seersucker are just a few of the fabrics suitable for babies.
Crepe, satin, and taffeta are not usually used for baby clothes unless it is for a special occasion garment such as a party dress, christening or dedication gown. Even then fine batiste or broadcloth would be preferable. If you receive donated fancy fabrics and want to use them they can be used to make burial gowns for the babies who do not survive the trauma of birth. They, too, deserve beautiful clothes.
Slippery fabrics can be tamed by placing doctor’s examination paper on your cutting table; placing the fabric on it and then pinning the pattern through all thicknesses. Tissue paper can, also, be used but tends to tear easily. Leave the paper on while you sew, the stitching will perforate the paper and it will pull away from the stitching easily. Nice neat seams. Us a .5 zig-zag on chiffon and other very soft drapey fabrics where the seams tend to pull.
Knits
There are double knits, single knits, jacquard knits, tricot and sweater knits. Single knits are what we see used to make most T-shirts. Double knits were the rage of the late 60′s and 70′s and are still around. Jacquards are actually a type of double knit. Lingerie is made of nylon tricot. Sweater knits are most often a type of single knit Cotton double knits are great for baby clothes. You can tell a double knit when both sides look alike.
When stretched the width of the fabric a knit will roll to the front. The width of the fabric is were most of the stretch is at. Some knits have little or no stretch in their length. Most knits are two-way stretch although some are four-way stretch. Regardless of whether it is two or four-way stretch please pay attention to the grain line or length direction of the fabric. Always cut the length of the garment going with the length of the knit. Occasionally you will come across a piece of stable knit with little or now stretch in either direction.
Use ribbing for cuffs and necklines and pant legs. If possible use ribbing for your neck, sleeve and leg trim. When the material is very stretchy knit self-fabric may be used in place of ribbing. Mark with pins the neck, sleeve or leg opening into equal quarters. Then mark the ribbing into quarter. Match ins and stretching slightly stitch or serge. On the small sleeves it is better to sew the ribbing to the flat seam and then sew the underarm seam being careful to keep the folded edges even when you begin or end the sewing.
MACHINE SETTINGS
Set your sewing machine for a 2 – 2.5 mm stitch length and a .5 or 1.0 mm zig-zag. Overcast seam allowance using a 3.0 zig-zag. Don’t use the stretch stitches as they are too bulky and stiff.
Set your serger for a 2.5 stitch length and a narrow 3-thread overlock. Usually only the right needle will be is used, however, there are exceptions.
NOTIONS
Your sewing basket should contain the following:
60 inch tape measure 6 inch hem gauge
bent dressmaker’s shears 6 inch sewing scissors
small embroidery scissors straight pins (our favorites are the Needles, hand & machine, woven & knit glass headed ones)
Use as short and thin a needle as you can manage. You get smaller stitches that way.
bodkin
quality sewing thread
Serger thread is a bit too linty for your sewing machine, but can be used in a pinch.
seam ripper
A tapestry needle makes a great seam ripper if you pull thread to rip seams.
small buttons & snaps for closures
zippers for some sleepers and buntings
gripper snaps
sewing machine, clean & oiled
serger, clean and oiled
iron & ironing board or mat
tissue paper or pattern copy material (i.e. Do-Sew)
GOOD LIGHTING is so important. A flexible arm lamp really helps.
The brand of sewing machine you use is not as important as how well you know how to use the machine. We have our preference (Janome) but work on several different brands regularly. Make your machine’s manual your best friend. Read it until you know all the parts and their names by heart and what they control. When an instructor, service technician or a friend tells you to use a 2.5 mm or a tri-motion stitch you should be able to know what he or she is talking about.
Thinking about a new machine or serger? We suggest that you buy more machine than you think you need or can afford. As soon as you start sewing you’ll wish you’d brought more machine. Go for a machine with needle down, memory and some of the other neat things. Buying a new machine just like what you have is no progress. The lower end machines old today are for all practical purposes the same machine of thirty years ago. The housing may be different and the foot controller may or may not be electronic but most of the change is cosmetic. Gammill Sewing Center in West Plains, Missouri will offer you exceptionally low prices if you tell them the machine you are purchasing is for charity work with Relief Share. Joe or Frank will be happy to assist you to find exactly what you need. We love them!
CONSTRUCTION
Carefully cut out your garment. When cutting make sure that before you make the next cut that the fabric is all the way back into the “V” of the shears. This avoids the jagged edge you see so often. Clean smooth edges make alignment easier. Mark all necessary construction details, i.e. dots; notches, etc. We know it seems like it takes too much time but would you rather pick your seam out later? Use tailor tacks and once you begin using them you’ll love them.
If you have it use matching thread, if not, use white. White is appropriate on all projects when the matching color isn’t available. Also, it avoids changing bobbins. When production sewing wind several bobbins at a time so you can just keep sewing. Make a mental note of about how many garments you can stitch with one bobbin.
Use production techniques whenever possible. Make full size patterns of the half patterns so that you can layout the entire garment without folding the fabric. Also, you can layer four layers of fabric right side up and cut four garments at a time. Sew all the garments’ first seam and then do all the garments’ second seam. Chain stitch between garments to keep them together and save thread. When you finish sewing all the seams you will have several garments finished instead of just one. Press the finished garment.
Use nylon zippers on garments that will be next to the baby’s skin. Reserve the metal ones for outer garments and buntings as they can irritate delicate skin.
Keep your scissor and shears sharp. Try to find someone who can sharpen them by hand and not on a grinder. Better yet, learn how to sharpen them yourself. It’s rather like sharpening a knife only you’re working with just one side. Send your pinking shears back to the manufacturer for sharpening. Keep the points of your sewing scissors protected with point protectors. A quick and easy point protector can be made by tracing around the closed points to the pivot. Cut out two pieces of felt or Ultrasuede and sew around the long edges and point with a 1/8 inch seam. Decorate before or after with embroidery or applique.
Every seamstress has her favorite way of doing something. If it works for you and gives your garment a QUALITY LOOK go for it, but if your garment looks HOMEMADE it’s time to check out a different technique. Are your seams straight? Do the intersections match neatly? When you look at your garment would you be proud to give it to one of your grand-children, or is it not quite good enough. Take a good look at your work. Can it stand improvement? If so, get help from the Internet, someone in Relief Share, an accomplished seamstress or a good sewing book. The very best is Vogue’s, Singer books are also wonderful. While these garments go to the needy, because the have so little, we need to make the best that we can. We are all God’s children and his blessings fall on all mankind
A bamboo skewer makes an excellent tool to push fabric under the presser foot. They can be found in the cooking tool section of the supermarket. The soft bamboo will not damage needles.
A gathering foot for your sewing machine will make gathers a lot easier. Set the machine for a 3 mm stitch length and tighten the thread tension 1 to 3 numbers. Sew a sample and adjust stitch length or tension. Stitch at least a half inch from the right edge of the fabric and don’t let it bunch up under the foot. A tiny bit of tension as it come out from under the back of the foot may help. As with most things practice make perfect.
Most of all, have fun!
Wonderful donations in – and out! Baby afghans and hats
By · Comments
Relief Share has been busy turning donations into items that are needed. Marla P, and her dad, generously donated yarn, polar fleece, sleepers and more from her mother’s craft closet and UFO bins after her sweet mother passed away. We used some of her yarn and yarn from LDS Humanitarian Services to knit up this sweet baby afghan and hat that will be taken to the work meeting and donated Thursday.
Recently we have received pretty quilted fabric from Gina, beautiful crocheted afghans and more from Roberta, baby clothes from Carolyn, baby items from Jennifer, and preemie baby afghans from Michael & Marianne. Laura, Gini and Tamara also donated very much needed items. Thank you so much!
It is lots of fun using all the colorways and different types of yarn to make into fun baby items. The sleepers Marla donated are already out and being used by two sweet babies who needed to be snuggled and warm., as is the baby items that Jennifer donated. Donations come in and go out pretty quickly at Relief Share.
After the afghans are knitted, we wash them in Tide free and clear laundry detergent to make sure they are nice and clean for the little ones who will use it – each afghan has a matching hat for a newborn as well.
The yarn in this afghan was Caron Simply Soft, Red Heart and some other worsted weight yarn in pretty colors.
Look at all the pretty colors!
The interesting thing about this baby afghan was that I worked on it at night and thought I had matched up the greens in the middle of the afghan.
You can clearly see in the picture that the greens don’t match at all. One is a warm green and the other is a cool green. I bet the baby who gets this afghan won’t mind at all
If you have left over yarn from projects, please consider donating them for us to work with to help the children and their families in the hospital, crisis centers, and homeless shelters. We are also working on projects for children in foster homes that we need donated fabric for.
All donations are very much appreciated and acknowledged with a thank you letter and tax receipt.
We accept donations of all kinds, types and sizes and love being creative in using it to the best advantage for those we serve.
Relief Share
706 Hwy 17 N (Box 421)
Houston, MO 65483
Jump right in, the more the merrier! Together, we can give relief through sharing. It’s our love in action
President Carol Green
info@ReliefShare.org
Thank you for donations, here are the URGENT NEEDS!
By · Comments
giving relief through sharing
We are so grateful for the support folks have given to Relief Share. Many babies and families have received help through the generosity and love shown. Warm clothing, blankets, food, hygiene supplies and other essentials have made the difference between suffering and being able to survive, and in turn, help others. The circle of love is enlarged by donors and volunteers and continues to grow to include others. Thank you.
What is needed the most right now are warm blankets and cocoons for babies and children in the crisis centers, hospitals and homeless shelters. The weather is so unpredictable, it can steal a little one’s health just through submitting them to the cold.
Urgent needs are supplies to make the blankets and cocoons: fabric, thread, yarn (all kinds) and sewing, crocheting, and knitting supples. New or gently used blankets and clothing for newborns, toddlers and children are very much needed. As an added bonus, when we send the care packages – we include toys, rattles, pacifiers, books, kids DVDs and other learning items when they are donated.
All donations receive a thank you letter and tax deductible receipt as Relief Share is a non profit approved by the IRS. Thank you again, it takes all of us working hard to create miracles.
Please take the time to pack a box and donate it today. There are babies and children shivering in the cold and you can do something about that!
Love and hugs
President Carol Green
Donations can be sent to:
Relief Share
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
Knitting up a storm! – Baby blankets and hats
By · Comments
Snuggly baby afghan and hat
It’s been a very busy and fun week at Relief Share.
We’ve been knitting up a storm. Here is our latest set we made for charity. It is a USM bond knitting machine knitted baby afghan and matching hat made with scrumptious donated yarn (thanks so much to the folks who donated the yarn).
The colors are ice-cream, strawberry milkshake, tan and chocolate. This is a snuggly warm afghan and hat that will be given to the sick and needy. The afghan is the full width of the Bond knitting machine carriage with 4 extra inserts to make it wider.
It has a rolled him at the top and bottom and 4 rows of gather stitching down both sides. The stripes are narrower at the top and get wider at the bottom for interest – it looks really pretty and is very soft.
The hat was 40 stitches wide with an e-wrap cast on, knit 40 rows then begin decrease. Decrease every 8 stitches, then knit a row, decrease every 7, then knit a row (6, knit r, 5, knit r, 4, knit r, 3, knit r, 2, knit the last two rows) and with a yarn needle gather the last row and mattress stitch the seam up. This makes a longer hat so it can be pulled down over baby’s ears for warmth or rolled up when baby is newborn and smaller.
Baby hat with rolled brim and swirl decrease
This week has been very busy with Humanitarian work meetings in Boise, Idaho and lots of fun. Many baby quilts got done along with bags for foster children. LDS Humanitarian Services is an exceptionally responsive organization that assists with many needs and it was a privilege to work alongside many other dedicated ladies who love the sick and needy and want to help in any way they can.
Relief Share has been knitting, crocheting and serging up a storm to make the baby afghans, baby cocoons, hats, scarves, baby quilts, women’s matching scarves and hats, and infant demise layettes. Donations have come in from wonderful dedicated volunteers via the mail and gone out to hospitals, crisis centers, homeless shelters and individuals across the nation.
A wonderful donation of alpaca yarn and baby quilts was received from Buck Valley Alpacas. The yarn is the highest quality – so soft and hypo-allergenic for babies, it is from their herd. Two beautiful baby quilts were donated from them, also, and have already been given out to the sick and needy. We are so grateful for this generous and lovely donation to bless the lives of the sick and needy we serve. Be sure to visit www.buckvalleyalpacas.com or email KathorineWood@FrontierNet.net if you would like to purchase alpaca yarn for your own projects.
Trena Caneer - cherished volunteer
Trena Caneer
http://www.paducahsun.com/obituaries/437559-trena-caneer
Wednesday, February 16 2011
Trena Gail Caneer, 62, of Paducah passed away at 4:03 p.m. Saturday, February 12, 2011, at Western Baptist Hospital. Mrs. Caneer was a member of Broadway Church of Christ and the Sisters in Christ Sunday School Class. She taught for 27 years in the Livingston County School System and was a member of the Kentucky Retired Teachers Association.
She is survived by her husband of 42 years, Richard Caneer; one daughter, Marla Dawn Caneer Potter and husband Scott of Calvert City; one brother, Jimmy Dale Lampley and wife Marsha of Paducah; and special friends, Lucrecia Glisson, Sharon Brown, Sharon Greeno, and Noelle Craine, all of Paducah.
Trena’s daughter, Marla, has worked with us for many years helping the sick and needy. Trena just recently sent some diapers for the sweet babies we serve. She is a cherished volunteer that will be very much missed.
We will be donating baby items on Trena’s behalf and presenting her family with a certificate showing the donations made. We know she would love this.
President Carol Green
Relief Share – love in action.
Relief Share current news 2011
By · CommentsRelief Share news:
A beautiful donation of 3 lovely granny square baby quilts came in the mail from Marianne C. for our sick and needy preemie babies we serve. Marianne is a wonderful caring senior who loves to make crocheted preemie blankets. Her husband visits her at the nursing home every day and when she had finished blankets to donate, he mails them to us for the babies.
Our sincere condolences to Marla P on the passing of her beloved mother. Recently we received a donation from Marla and her mother of baby items and supplies. In the box was a donation of diapers that Marla’s mother asked to be donate to a baby. Those diapers have already been donated out to a grateful family in need. We are thankful for the blessing Marla and her mother has been, for years, to the sick and needy we serve.
The Houston Herald www.houstonherald.com published a wonderful article on Relief Share with 2 large pictures and a letter to the editor of a thank you letter from the local hospital in Houston, MO.
Two donations went out to the hospital of baby blankets, pacifiers, formula, baby cocoons, dolls and preemie receiving blankets.
Many donations for needy families were picked up at the local Relief Share offices in Houston, MO.
Relief Share is headed for Boise this week to participate in a baby quilt drive at a work meeting on Feb 22nd.
Donations can be sent to:
Relief Share,
6078 Lundy
Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225. All donations are tax deductible and a thank you letter will be sent out with the receipt.
Urgent needs:
Machinery – knitting machines, Kris Krafter garter bars, sewing machines, sergers, knitting machine claw weights, 8mm cast on combs
Supplies: yarn, sewing and serger thread, fabric – all kinds (most used is cotton or cotton blend woven, flannel, minky, ultra suede, knit, chenille, PUL, kids print – think soft, think baby)
Items: baby clothing – undershirts, onesies, sleepers, pants, tops, gowns, christening gowns, booties, socks, shoes, jackets, sweaters, etc
Baby blankets, afghans, receiving blankets, baby hygiene items such as shampoo, lotion, diaper cream, baby oil, baby gel. Toys, learning items, rattles, combs and brushes, pacifiers, bottles, diapers (cloth and disposable), etc.
We are also collecting and donating sample or small size soap, shampoo, lotion, mouthwash, toothpaste, and other personal items that can be given to hospital patients or family members staying at the hospital with patients. These type of items go to Shriners Hospital and shelters. When you are traveling, please save the soaps, shampoo, conditioner, lotion and other toiletries you don’t use and mail them to Relief Share to donate.
Questions or comments:
Email info@ReliefShare.org
Our volunteers just delivered 211 hygiene and bath items (soap, lotion, toothpaste, mouthwash, shampoo, conditioner, etc) and 62 stuffed toys (beanie babies and dolls) to Shriners and here is the thank you letter
thank you letter
Thank you letter from Texas County Memorial Hospital
By · CommentsIt is always fun to get the thank you letters as we know our efforts made a difference Our dear volunteers and donors – this one’s for you!
Thank you letter from TCMH
A precious new baby enters the world…..meet Mason!
By · Comments
Mason at just 3 lbs 2 oz.
Ever wonder “how tiny is tiny” when we are talking about the preemie babies we make things for? A picture speaks a thousand words and this beautiful baby takes our breath away as we see his Daddy’s hand measured up against him. How tiny is tiny? REALLY tiny. Really perfect, really sweet and this little one is no different from thousands of other teeny tiny babies in that he has completely captured our hearts.
In less than one second, eyes are riveted to the picture and hearts committed to helping clothe and snuggle Mason in warm clothing and blankets. That is the power of ‘baby love’ that drives the volunteers at Relief Share.
Thank you to the volunteers who quickly responded to the call to action.
A package went out priority post for Mason filled with all kinds of goodies:
1 preemie afghan
2 crocheted incubator/carriage covers
1 blue outfit
3 preemie tops
4 preemie sleepers
1 preemie jacket
1 preemie snuggler cape
8 washcloths/also used for burp cloths and change pads for preemies
1 baby gown
1 baby bracelet
a number of knitted preemie baby hats
2 teddy bears
1 pair preemie booties
2 baby swaddling cocoons
pkg of 20 preemie disposable diapers
2 to a pk of bottle insulators
There was a lot of love put into this package.
Mason's care box.
The crocheted incubator covers were made by a precious little old lady in a old folks home in Missouri. Her husband travels 2 hours EVERY DAY to go see her and pick up what she has made to donate to us. She loves the preemies and continues to crochet for them on an ongoing basis.
Mason's care box.
I made the cocoons from a gorgeous baby blue sweater (this president loves to roll up her sleeves and participate) donated by the local Food Pantry to help us with supplies through recycling. The soft cocoons will keep Mason snuggly warm and comforted as it is like being back in the womb again.
Mason's care box.
The gown was sewn by a volunteer and has a matching crocheted hat that another volunteer made, they are from West Virginia. The bracelet was made by a third volunteer and the white blanket and booties by another.
Mason's care box.
The preemie clothing is brand new from Wal Mart and bought by yet another volunteer. Everything was donated and worked on with love. Mason has a lot of Relief Share Grannies and Aunties that love him
It is a miracle how all the hands and hearts come together in love to bless the babies and families we serve. No one is paid, we are just happy to help where we can. Now that our care package has gone out to help Mason physically, we will keep him and his family in our prayers He truly is a gift from God.
President Carol Green
info@ReliefShare.org
PS. If you love babies and want to get involved, it’s as easy as 1, 2 3……
Mason's care box.
1. Get a cardboard box
2. Fill it with anything a baby might want or need – either finished or purchased items or sewing, quilting, knitting or crocheting supplies. Items can be new or gently used.
3. Stick a label on it to Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225 and mail it.
Ta da! Done! You are now one of us, a Relief Share donor and volunteer and also counted in God’s book of heavenly acts on earth
Some of the items a baby needs:
sleepers, gowns, onesies, socks, booties, soft shoes, hats, tops, bottoms, diapers (cloth and disposable), burp cloths, diaper bags, swaddlers, cocoons, blankets, afghans, quilts, stuffed animals, crib bedding (sheets, bumper pads, blankets), moses baskets, cribs, swings, activity mats, rattles, bottles, soothers (pacifiers or dummies), bottle liners and nipples, breast feeding items, breast pumps, diaper lotion, baby shampoo, baby oil, baby bath, baby food, formula, shorties, longies, baby slings, baby carriers, car seats (for safely rules they must be new), play pens, baby music CDs, bassinettes, baby brush and comb, baby chair, bath items. Can you think of more?
Mason's care box
Some of the supplies needed:
fabric – all kinds. Minky, chenille, micro fleece, flannel, knit, cotton – think baby!
thread, scissors, pins, quilting rulers, rotary cutters, rotary cutting mat pads, cricut machines and cartridges for quilt appliques, sergers, sewing machines, knitting machines, knitting machine weights, Kris Krafter garter bars for Bond knitting machines, yarn, all kinds, colors and types, elastic, velcro, buttons, zippers, appliques, interfacing, wonder under, knitting needles, crochet needles, tatting shuttles and needles, patterns, pincushions, bias binding, trims, laces, etc.
Clean out your closet for a good cause. Recycle the items you no longer want or need – sweaters and tee shirts become baby cocoons, hats, onesies, gowns and stuffed soft toys. Cut the buttons off of old shirts – they are fun down the front of a sleeper in all colors.
Donation out – baby formula
By · Comments
Baby formula
Today we took baby formula to those needing it at the hospital. Not many know that the hospital will be able to provide formula for baby if the mother is not breastfeeding when she is in the hospital, but when baby goes home it’s up to the parents. We were thrilled that a wonderful mom who had extra cans of formula her baby didn’t use donated it for us to share.
Giving Relief through Sharing – that’s what it’s all about. There are enough resources here on the earth that hunger could be stamped out if folks were just willing to band together to share the excess and get it where it needs to go.
If you have formula, baby items (new or gently used), diaper bags, sleepers, booties, socks, onesies, bibs, burp cloths, pants, tops, shoes, hats, coats, swaddlers, cocoons, snugglies, carriers, mittens, sweaters, layette sets, afghans, blankets, quilts, soft toys, diaper rash ointment, baby lotion, soap, baby shampoo and conditioner, q-tips, cotton balls, bottles, rattles, pacifiers, crib bedding or anything for babies or toddlers that you would like to share with others, please box them up and mail them to:
Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225 We will send you a thank you letter with a tax deductible receipt for your donation.
Clean out your closet for a good cause and send the items your children have outgrown and no longer need to someone else to help them with their baby
72 baby cocoons delivered to the hospital today.
By · Comments
Recycle sweaters and tee shirts turned into baby cocoons
After some very busy cutting and serging, 72 cocoons were delivered to the hospital today. It did my heart good to hear the answer to my query from the nurse. I asked her how were the cocoons working out and she said they loved them. Some of the little babies tend to have a problem keeping their heat and the cocoons helped keep them warm and snuggled. She also said it was a lot easier for new Moms to pop their babies in the cocoons to keep them snuggled up instead of trying to keep them swaddled in the blankets.
The cocoons are fun to make – they can be sewn, serged, knitted, crocheted, hand knitted, and machine knitted. If you are really energetic, you could even tat one The patterns are free and offered on our blog. You can also google for free cocoon patterns on the internet and find a ton of them. A great website for free patterns is www.ravelry.com
The cocoons in the picture are made from recycled sweaters and tee shirts, most of them donated from the local food pantry and crisis center. They are 16″ long by 10″ wide.
Here is a quick way to make a pattern. Take a piece of paper that is 16 x 10 (I buy roll ends
Shape of the cocoon
from the newspaper and it gives me lots of pattern paper to work with) and put a dinner plate on one end and trace with a pen. Cut it out so that will make one short end of the pattern rounded. Then cut a wedge on either side of the other end so that the top of the cocoon slopes in towards the baby’s neck.
Extra Long knitted and serged cocoons
Lay the pattern on the sweater so that the top of the cocoon is the bottom of the sweater – this gives you a finished edge at the neck of the cocoon. Serge around the cocoon on 3 sides with your serger. Ta da! Done.
The general sizes are:
XXS – 14″ long x 50 stitches wide (6″ across) – 12″ diameter
XS – 16″ long x 60 stitches wide (8″ across)
S – 18″ long x 70 stitches wide (10″ across)
M – 20″ long x 80 stitches wide (10″ across)
L – 23″ long x 80 stitches wide (12″ across)
XL – 25″ long x 80 stitches wide (12″ across)
I made the extra long cocoons to test and my grandson is doing really well with them. You can pull them up around the baby’s face in cold weather to keep them snuggly warm.
Long rib knit serged cocoon to snuggle baby.
If you are doing these cocoons for your local hospital or birthright center, be sure to ask them what size they want. If you are making them to help us provide the 350 cocoons the hospital has asked for (yes, we love help!), they use the 16″ long by 10″ wide the most. They also use the smaller ones as well.
Our address to send donations to of finished cocoons, knit and tee shirt material, sweaters and tees to cut up to use, thread -sewing machine and serger thread, and other sewing supplies is:
Relief Share
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
All donations are tax deductible. Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed to this project. We appreciate the donations of sewing machines, sergers, knitting machines and sewing supplies so much. It takes all of us together to make miracles happen.
Carol Green
President
info@ReliefShare.org
Angels are all around us, and there are very special angels that know just what we need. Then when they know, they give it to us. I thank God daily for my special angels who really care about what is important.
Today, those special angels sent another Ultimate Sweater Knitting Machine and some gorgeous kids print fabric to Relief Share to benefit the sick and needy. The first knitting machine that was sent has been such a huge blessing to the babies at the hospital and in needy families in the Ozarks and around the nation. It’s been used every single day and making voluminous amounts of items for the sick and needy.
Be careful what you pray for – it can be very very good. Just the other day I made a comment that I really wished I had another knitting machine here at this location as I could do twice the work. My angel must have been listening because FEDEX brought a brand new USM – the look on my face must have been priceless when my husband opened the box. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but I did know to immediately ask God to bless my special Relief Share angel for her goodness and mercy to others.
Ultimate Sweater Machine - perfect for making baby cocoons and hats
There were two boxes. As I opened the second box, I knew God had a hand in the choices of fabric this angel had made. They were PERFECT for the children in the hospital and one of the prints was one I had been looking for all over the net and in every fabric store I was in for months and months.
There is a baby carrier/tote that I have been wanting to make for Shriners Childrens Hospital but couldn’t find the fabric. I found this one at the flea market someone made and needed to find the fabric to make it out of.
Take a look at the pictures – the fabric that arrived today is so perfect, you couldn’t get any better! Look at the fabric squares of the little girls – I needed the little girls to match with a fabric square in similar colors below to make the little girl’s skirts. It sounds like it’s not important, but when you are stuck in a hospital bed in a full body cast, and sometimes for months, it is something that keeps your attention and makes you smile, especially if you are just a little girl that doesn’t understand what all the pain and restraints are. This tote bag has a pocket for a baby doll and a pillow for its head and then the tote back portion behind it holds books or toys, maybe a small DVD player and a DVD of something Disney, like Barbie to keep a small child’s attention off the pain and distracted with something else positive.
Baby doll tote bag
You just sew a tote bag and sew on a mini quilt on the front of it to make the pocket for the baby to slip in to. Add a piece of narrow elastic on the bottom of the pillow to slip over the baby’s head so it will stay put when being carried by nurses. You can use a soft stuffed dolly or a vinyl and stuffed dolly like the Zapf in the picture. I bet there are mothers or grandmothers on this list that might like to make one for their children
Marvelous donated cotton kids print fabric.
Can’t you just see the smiles on the faces of the children when they see the items made with this wonderful kids print?! I can
Thank you so much, I love my precious Relief Share angels for all they do for others and especially in helping me bless the lives of the sick and needy I love and serve. I can never tell them thank you enough.
They are some of our precious members on the list, they wishes to remain anonymous, but in God’s book of life – their names are written in big bold letters as one of His most precious daughters who listens to the still small voice and answers His call to spread mercy and help where it is needed the most.
Very grateful hugs and happy thoughts,
President Carol Green,
http://www.ReliefShare.org- serving God’s tiniest children & families
info@ReliefShare.org
Relief Share
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
Cocoon pattern for crochet by Marla
By · CommentsPreemie/Small Newborn Baby Cocoon Pattern
by Marla
Materials:
SOFT worsted weight yarn or double baby yarn,
6oz worsted for 5-6lb
size H hook.
Note: Do NOT turn after Joining. Ch 2 at first of round counts as a DC. If you have counted correctly your 2dc space with be made in the first stitch of the 2dc stitch on the row below.
Chain 3
1: Dc 11 times in the end chain. Join with a slip stitch. (12 Dc made)
2: Ch 2, DC in same space, 2dc in each stitch around. Join. (24 DC made)
3: Ch 2, Dc in same stitch, (Dc in next stitch, 2 dc in next stitch) around. Join. (36 Dc made)
4: Ch 2, Dc in same stitch, (Dc in next 2 stitches, 2dc in next stitch) around. Join. (48 Dc made).
5: Ch 2, Dc in same stitch, (Dc in next 3 stitches, 2dc in next stitch) around. Join. (60 Dc made)
6: Ch 2, Dc in NEXT stitch and each stitch around. Join.
For 5-6lb size:
Repeat Row 6, until cocoon reaches about 17-18″
Add Edging if desired.
You may adjust pattern if needed or hook size so that cocoon measures 8″ across (16″ around) by 18″ long.
A huge thank you to Marla for crocheting up this cocoon quickly for us and sharing the pattern. She is a wonderful donor/volunteer and has been helping many many years!
The Mood of America – its a choice, YOUR choice.
By · Comments
Joy
“One day at a time – this is enough. Do not look back and grieve over the past, for it is gone: and do not be troubled about the future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering.”
Ida Scott Taylor
1820-1915, Author
With our challenging economy and hardship of difficult weather, there seems to be a general pervading sense of of regret, fear, hopelessness, and anxiety. In order to flip that kind of thinking over to positive thoughts of gratitude, joy, happiness, contentment, peace and understanding, priorities need to be set.
If you are going on a trip, it is wise to know where you are going, for how long, and properly prepare. The Bible tells us “If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear”. In our “me, too”, “I want it right now” “It isn’t fair if I don’t have what my neighbors have” world, many blessings are missed because they are simply overlooked. It’s not that they aren’t there – they are – but in the lemmings rush to the sea, not many stop to smell the flowers that are along the way.
Have eyes to see, ears to hear with and hearts that are soft enough to take advice, constructive criticism and willingness to change, if change is needed.
May your day today be on a trip towards a better tomorrow, for it is our todays that make the future what it is. Decide now to be happy – happiness is a gift we give ourselves, not something that happens to us by default (though that can and does happen). Be pro-active in your life, and if you are feeling like a victim, realize that there are no true victims here – no one can make you feel unhappy unless you give them the power over you to do that. There are recorded histories of people incarcerated in German holocaust camps that learned how to be happy despite their circumstances.
There is a popular quote that is attributed to Jesus – “I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it”. How shallow our lives would be if we had everything too easy. “The best stuff sometimes happens because we had to fight so hard to grasp hold of it to get it, to savor it, to embrace it.” – This comment was made by a young lady who had a terrible experience of rape at 18 years old. She rose above it – taking time to heal but never gave up.
You only fail when you stop trying. Just remember, you don’t have to do it alone – the Saviour is always here to help you, but he can’t help if you won’t let him. He also can’t talk to you if the yelling, screaming voices around you are so loud that you can’t focus and concentrate on the still small voice. Take time everyday to stop and meditate on your blessings. You will find that life may not be as difficult as you perceive it to be – that’s Satan’s trick.
Life IS good. God loves you. You deserve to be happy and you will be, if you decide here and now that you will do whatever it takes to reach out to the Lord and walk side by side with him. You do not have to be perfect, you only have to try. There is only one perfect person and by following in his footsteps you can go where he is and enjoy all that he has. He promised, and he is a promise keeper!
Donation of yarn being made into a baby cocoon
Sometimes folks wonder if donations sit around not being used for a while or if they get quickly used to help the sick and needy. Here is what we received today in the mail from Pat S. – a wonderful box of 14 balls of beautiful sport/worsted weight yarn to use for the babies in hospital.
Within a very short time it was being knitted on the knitting machine, donated by a wonderful donor, J W (who wishes to remain anonymous so only initials are used). She has blessed many people with her ongoing donations to Relief Share. Because of her recent donation of garter bars and needle stoppers, the work went even faster and very quickly a baby cocoon was completed.
Completed cocoon
A skilled knitter, Judi Meissner, shared with us how to do the decreases even faster so we could get more cocoons to the hospital sooner.
I am on a marvelous yahoo group, who are more than willing to share hints, tips and welcome advice on how to be more effective in knitting with the Bond knitting machines. The patterns shared are fun and the folks on the list genial and helpful. If you own a ISMor a USM knitting machine by Bond, we highly recommend the yahoogroup for a way to be more productive and enjoy with your knitting machine.
Go here to subscribe: incrediblesweatermachineclub-subscribe@yahoogroups.comincrediblesweatermachineclub@yahoogroups.com
Here is the cocoon being modeled by one of my display baby dolls:
Snuggly cocoon for newborn infants
Newborn baby size cocoon
This cocoon is 9″ wide (18″ circumference) and 20″ long. The size that the hospital needs the most is 8″ wide (16″ circumference) and 18″ long. I was trying to downsize a larger cocoon and didn’t quite downside the pattern enough. Today I will make another cocoon the right size!
These cocoons can be knitted, crocheted, sewn and serged. We make many of them from recycled sweaters and tee shirts. The arms from the sweaters can be used to make baby pants and matching hats.
Our recycled sweaters are donated from the local food pantry and crisis center, then donated to the local hospital. The TCMH hospital needs 350 cocoons – so far we have donated 15, and made another 6 for the crisis center.
Would you like to help? We need yarn donated – worsted weight or sport weight is best but we use all types and weights of yarn as we make baby blankets as well. We also need knitters, crocheters and seamstresses to help by making and sending the cocoons to us to take to the hospital.
Our address to send donations to is:
Relief Share
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
All donations are acknowledged with a thank you letter/tax deductible receipt. We are a 501 ( c) 3 non profit registered with the IRS. The patterns for the cocoons are free and found on this blog. We love sharing volunteer and donor patterns as well. If you have a pattern you would like to share with others for the cocoons, or for any baby item, we will be happy to include it on our blog.
Relief Share is staffed by all volunteers, no one is paid and no administration fees are taken out of donations – everything and every penny goes directly to help the sick and needy.
President Carol C Green
info@ReliefShare.org
Merry Christmas – a time of service.
By · CommentsThere is nothing like service to help us get our priorities straight.
I won’t hit you with the blow by blow on our busy day at Relief Share, it would be a book, but today not only was a family with 7 children helped but, through divine intervention, another family with 8 children received food for the Christmas holidays as well. The family of 7 received an entire truckload of Christmas food, clothing, coats, scarves, hats, blankets, toys, books and necessities. Thank you to a very sweet lady who donated some money with the suggestion that I use the flea markets and thrift stores to make it stretch even further – I did also included were toys and books and also hand knitted items from our Relief Share volunteer, Lorene.
I am only 3 years old, but I can help, too!
What was so fun was when my little 3 year old grandson came up to the house from the guest house with Momma in tow with a huge teddy bear. It is his favorite teddy and he uses it for a chair to watch TV in. It has a big red and green plaid bow on its neck. Reuben insisted that I take the teddy bear to the family with all the children. The family with the 7 children have a little boy who is 6 with a birthday tomorrow, the day before Christmas and Reuben wanted to ‘do charity work’ like mommy and grandma. THAT is the reward of a long life – seeing grandchildren make excellent choices and understand sacrifice for others.
Tonight I am busy tying a polar fleece blanket for my 8 week old grandson for Christmas and experiencing gratitude for a loving Heavenly Father.
I am grateful for a loving husband, wonderful children, a firm faith in God, good health (well for me and the ability to serve others. I am also grateful for our volunteers and donors and read email from all of you who make my life more full and happy.
A very Merry Christmas to everyone – may God bless you and touch your hearts as he has done for me. I am grateful for you.
President Carol C Green
info@ReliefShare.org
At this busy season we don’t always get to post as much as we like as our energies are spent on donations to the sick and needy. The best way we can worship the Saviour and thank him for his love and protection is to show extended kindness and compassion to those around us who need our help.
The past few weeks have been a flurry of activity, with a front page article in the Messenger Houston Herald newspaper sharing some of what we are doing. When our scanner is working again (it’s just fine, I only need to upload the drivers), we will scan in the article to share.
The best and most wonderful event that occurred to uplift the lives of a specific family of the area was a donation from a sweet angel who sacrificed so the little family in need could be raised up from their suffering and worries to enjoy a blessed Christmas.
Donations have been taken to the Medical Clinic, Hospital, 911 office for a burn out family, Shriners Childrens Hospital in St Louis and to other organizations that help the families. Many boxes have been hand delivered and lots have been mailed across the country to needy individuals and families.
A HUGE THANK YOU to the Big Piney Sportsmen’s Club, 16866 Hwy B, Houston, MO 65483 for allowing our Relief Share volunteers to collect the used shot gun shells out on the shooting range whenever we need to. We use them to make Christmas lights. Relief Share is very appreciative of support for our charitable activities to take care of the sick and needy.
Cocoon pattern for Bond (ISM) Knitting machine
By · Comments
Finished cocoon in use.
It takes approx 5 hours non stop to make a cocoon on the knitting machine. The main body of the cocoon goes very quickly. Pull out 80 needles – 40 on each side of center. Hang your weighted hem with the elastic thread. Knit with worsted weight and plate 3. (This is what I use but you can make the cocoon out of whatever you want).
Knit for 20″.
Next row:
Decrease every 8th stitch. Knit the row and the next.
Decrease ever 7th stitch. Knit the row and the next.
Decrease every 6th stitch. Knit the row and the next.
Cocoon being knitted on the machine
Decrease ever 5th stitch. Knit the row and the next.
Decrease every 4th stitch. Knit the row and the next.
Decrease ever 3th stitch. Knit the row and the next.
Decrease every 2th stitch. Knit the row and the next.
With a darning needle threaded with the same yarn, run the thread through each one of the stitches left on the needles. Take the knitting off the machine and pull the stitches up tight into a circle.
Seam up the side of the cocoon with a darning needle and same thread to make a tube – one end is open and the other a gathered rounded end. It looks like a bean hat, just long. I use a mattress stitch for an invisible seam. Make sure all ends are threaded in and trimmed off. Fini
Free baby cocoon pattern to sew :-)
By · Comments
Thatcher's Cocoon
I have added a free (albeit rough) pattern here for everyone to enjoy. Hopefully the ‘cocoon’ bug will bite folks and they will be happily making up loads of them and sharing them with local hospitals, neighbors having babies and families. I welcome tips and ideas on how to make them nicer and faster If there are left overs from making cocoons for their own purposes, I would love extras sent my way to take care of the hospital’s needs. I also just delivered one to a 4 month old baby here who keeps pulling the blankets over his face and scaring his mom and grandpa half to death. Problem fixed LOL.
The pattern is so easy. A tube with a rounded end and slightly narrower at the top. approx 18 to 23″ long, depending on how big the baby is you are making it for, and here it is – http://grandmothersattic.net/reliefshare/cocoonpattern.jpg
This is called “Thatcher’s Cocoon”. My newest grandson is Thatcher. Add 1/4 seams on the side and an 1″ at the top. If you are using a tee shirt or sweater, use the hem of the garment as the top of the cocoon and you don’t have to add 1″ at the top. The widest part across is 10 1/4″ inches and the narrowest part at the top is 8″. Use a dinner plate or something round to make the curve at the bottom. I just folded the paper in half and eyeballed it. Cut 2 and sew together.
Hint: pin, pin, pin. If you are doing it out of recycled sweaters, sew FIRST along the seam to make sure all the fibers are caught or you may have a run (thank you so much to the list members here that suggested it when I had such a problem with the serger lettucing the edges). You can zig zag the seam after that for stability or serge.
I love sergers, as they are three times as fast as a sewing machine and sewn and finish the seams in one quick shot, and wish I had more on hand as the ones we have now are going full speed ahead and folks standing in line for their turn to use them. I have 2 Janome 4 thread with differential feed and have one in black thread and one in white thread going all the time so depending on what color items we are making, we just go over to one or the other serger and make the cocoon. Ditto with the sewing machines. My favorite sewing machine, that is used constantly, is the quilting machine with the large plastic tray that allows the items being made to be sew without tugging on the needle. It is a huge blessing and I pray God blesses the donor each and every day for sending it. All the volunteers love it, but I am usually the one on that particular machine as it’s the nicest to use. It has a very nice stitch on it as well. We use it for everything.
I am still working on a nicer way to finish the top inside seam near babies face instead of just having a serged seam. Sometimes it’s rolled down for a smaller baby and sometimes all the way up so I need a way to make both sides of the seam look nice and feel soft. I already though about putting ribbing around the top or a finished edge with the seam inside but it really adds to the time it takes to make the cocoons and takes extra fabric. I never have enough ribbing and go through it like water when it’s here. Ribbing is expensive, too, so I try to find ribbed material to use instead of actual ribbing. I found some wonder ribbing at the flea market once and made the entire cocoon out of it – heaven!
I hope folks enjoy the pattern. I know it’s rough, but it gets the job done. On this blog there is now a pattern to crochet, knit and sew a cocoon. I am working on getting a pattern written for machine knitting a cocoon on the ISM knitting machine. Not hard, just something else I need to do that takes me away from actually making the cocoons LOL.
The Hospital intends on keeping a supply of 350 on stock to use for the babies who are born there – some to stay with the hospital and some to go home with babies. After we have filled the need for their inventory, we will continue to supply the mothers who are needy in the area through DFS, the crisis center, medical center and homeless shelter with cocoons to use and keep for their little ones.
I’ve been sewing quilts and receiving blankets for my charity for 20 years and this is the first time I have heard of cocoons. They originally were made as photographers props, because they are cute and lull the baby into being calm and sleeping. When mothers saw how wonderful they were for comforting babies and found out they were marvelous for transporting babies without wrapping and unwrapping layers of receiving blankets that seemed to slide everywhere, they really caught on and are now the latest ‘hot’ items for mothers in the know. The cocoons are big in the earth friendly mother channels and recyclers as well as you can either take apart sweaters and use the yarn to knit or crochet the items, or you can simply sew the cocoons out of the sweaters or tee shirts themselves. The cocoons do take some kind of stretch material. Velour, knit, tee-shirt material, baby print knit, etc are marvelous – and my favorite – rib knit.
Yes, they will be washed in the hospital laundry, but our hospital has a volunteer that takes items home to wash that can’t go through the high heat and autoclaves in the hospital laundry room. I also deal with hospitals that actually had regular washing machines and dryers installed on their floor for the nurses to wash items in that come from my charity 
The extreme sanitization of items is only required for children with serious contagious diseases and they have their own separate items that are never reintroduced to the regular laundry items.
I don’t use wool for the cocoons as it does felt. (I love wool, though, for the other projects we do). Acrylic is naturally hypoallergenic and bacteria resistant so the #1 choice for hospital and baby items. Cotton is marvelous but expensive. It also tends to be harder in larger yarn weights and more appropriate for wash cloths.
I had one well meaning lady send me a baby blanket out of heavy cotton yarn and the blanket weighed a ton and had huge holes in it due to the pattern. I felt so bad for her, she tried so hard, but it was pretty much unusable for the babies. It wound up as a lap quilt for a elderly person’s wheelchair blanket. We never waste anything – all items that are send in for donations find a useful home somewhere
Yes, this would be a marvelous item to give to a new mother for a baby gift. Like I said, it is the newest ‘hot’ item for buying for baby that is
out on the market. There are fancy swaddling blankets with all kinds of flaps and snaps, but this is so simple, quickly understandable and way more effective than anything else I have seen, that it is very much in demand.
Babies prefer the cocoons over blankets. It’s being nicely wrapped up in something soft, comfortable and warm. Babies stop fussing, twitching, crying and they just calm down and quietly lay there or they go to sleep. Nature’s way of calming baby
You can put a baby in one as long as you want to. I just sew them a longer and a tad wider for older children. There are 4 year olds who love these. It’s basically the same principle as a sleeping bag, too. I know adults who would use one if they could get their hands on one big enough LOL.
President Carol Green,
info@ReliefShare.org
Crochet pattern for baby cocoon
By · Comments
Beautiful baby cocoon by Hyke Groen. This is her pattern.
Here is a picture of a baby cocoon by Hyke Groen – the free pattern for it is offered on www.Ravelry.com – a wonderful place that we highly recommend.
Crocheted baby cocoon
A crochet pattern to make a cocoon (courtesy of Marla Caneer – a very good friend) is as follows:
Materials:
SOFT worsted weight yarn or double baby yarn,
6oz for 5-6lb or about 7oz for 7-10lb sizes and size H hook.
Note: Do NOT turn after Joining. Ch 2 at first of round counts as a DC. If you have counted correctly your 2dc space with be made in the first stitch of the 2dc stitch on the row below.
For all sizes:
Chain 3
1: Dc 11 times in the end chain. Join with a slip stitch. (12 Dc made)
2: Ch 2, DC in same space, 2dc in each stitch around. Join. (24 DC made)
3: Ch 2, Dc in same stitch, (Dc in next stitch, 2 dc in next stitch) around. Join. (36 Dc made)
4: Ch 2, Dc in same stitch, (Dc in next 2 stitches, 2dc in next stitch) around. Join. (48 Dc made).
5: Ch 2, Dc in same stitch, (Dc in next 3 stitches, 2dc in next stitch) around. Join. (60 Dc made)
6: Ch 2, Dc in same stitch, (Dc in next 4 stitches, 2dc in next stitch) around. Join. (72 Dc made)
7: Ch 2, Dc in same stitch, Dc in each stitch around. Join.
8: Ch 2, Dc in NEXT stitch and each stitch around. Join.
For 5-6lb size:
Rows 9-24: Repeat Row 8, for 24 rows or until cocoon reaches about 14″.
For 7-10lb size:
Rows 9-28: Repeat Row 8 for 28 rows or until cocoon reaches about 18″.
For babies a little larger or for a 0-3mos size, you may use a size I hook with worsted weight (SOFT please!) yarn and continue cocoon until it reaches 24″ or desired size.
Now, finish off or for girls you may add a shell or picot edging. I don’t for boys but that is up to you. For Boys you may add a few rows to be turned down at the top, or simply stop at row 28 or so.
Hope you enjoy! I’d love to see what you make, esp if you get creative and use up partial skeins or multi colors. Please make at least one for charity.
Thanks again, Marla for this pattern and your comments. You are a wonderful volunteer and donor and we appreciate you so much!!
Hugs
President Carol Green
info@ReliefShare.org
Got your attention, did I?!
If anyone has some spent shot gun shells, we would love it if they would donate them to our charity. Relief Share can give you a tax deductible receipt for them as they will come to our charity to be donated after they are made into Christmas lights. Yep, you read right. They make the prettiest Christmas lights.
I just finished watching my son in law and daughter make some for their Christmas tree this year. Laura had ordered some off the net and when they came they were only 8 feet long. Yeah right, that really doesn’t go far. She came over to my house to see if I had more white mini light strings and I had a brand new box of 100 feet. Josh had figured out how to make them himself and they turned that string of mini lights into the prettiest Christmas lights you ever saw by using spent shot gun shells – recycling at it’s best! Cost free, too.
I know a lot of folks that would love them. Relief Share volunteers will make the shot gun shell Christmas lights up and donate them to the those who don’t have any money for Christmas decorations We also have a charity flea market booth and when we can take care of all the needy, if we have any left over, we will use them for fundraiser in our charity flea market booth, though probably next year for the fundraising with them as there isn’t enough time to do that this year as well as do the donations as we always take care of the sick and needy first.
Here are pictures You may even want to make some yourself!
Take these:
Hammer, glass eye wash dish, screwdriver, spent shot gun casing
If you don’t have a glass eye wash dish, use anything that has a curved bottom that you can hammer the shot gun shell into to push the bottom concave.
Using the shot gun shells, you can make lights by pushing clear mini lights into the end of the shells and closing the top with the screwdriver pushing the plastic in place so they will stay on the mini light string.
spent shotgun shells
All that effort is worth while (and it’s a lot of effort), will make get these:
That look like this:
and these:
That look like this:
Shotgun shell Christmas lights! Recycling at it's best!
Note: the black ones are too opaque to do much but the other colors, especially the green, red and yellow work great.
The address to send the shot gun shells to is: Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd., Houston, MO 64583-2225. If you have clear mini light strings that you’d like to send as well, that would be wonderful. We will send a tax deductible receipt with your thank you letter. We are a 501 (c ) 3 IRS approved non profit.
President Carol Green
info@ReliefShare.org
Tis the season to be sneezin’ – tissue holder tutorial
By · CommentsWe found this quick and easy tutorial on the net to make cute tissue holders. This would be a wonderful Christmas stocking stuffer or a gift for a friend in hospital (which is what we are using the tutorial for – the hospital patients really appreciate little things like this to know they are loved and not forgotten.
Here is the link for this adorable tissue holder. http://mel-allwrappedup.blogspot.com/2010/11/tissue-pouch.html
It’s also a great soft and quiet tissue holder to slip into the pocket of your temple gown. Rustling plastic at the temple or church is so distracting. Isn’t it cute? You will be amazed at how quickly it sews up with just scraps of material you have laying around!
Soft Tissue Holder
Angel Card Project – it’s fun, get involved!
By · Comments
Angel Card Project for 2010
Mark Martin is the founder of the Angel Card Project. Every year lots and lots of folks come together to spread a little holiday cheer to those who need it. We join together and all send Holiday cards to the less fortunate, sick, elderly, lonely, and those who just generally need a good cheering up!
Many of the people who receive cards from this project might not otherwise have anything to make them smile during the holiday season. This can even include Military Individuals! So we send them Christmas Cards to put a smile on their faces and a nice warm feeling in their hearts. This is strictly a VOLUNTEER project. Mark hosts it every year to give folks an opportunity to give a little something back at Christmas time to folks who deserve it.
Any questions concerning the project should be submitted to Mark and he will answer you back as soon as he has a chance. It may take him a few days, so be patient waiting for your reply. You can Email Mark at scutterbear@aol.com
Baby hats, booties and afghans shipped to Birthright.
By · CommentsA large fun box filled with 372 items for Birthright in St Louis, Missouri is being shipped out in the morning.
knitted baby hats
Lots of love and work went into all the handmade hats, booties and 2 baby afghans. They were knitted and crocheted by volunteers who wanted to help the sick and needy babies we love with warm hats and booties to snuggle in.
A huge thank you to everyone who worked on this care package for the little ones at Birthright.
350 baby cocoons for the hospital are needed!
By · CommentsWe were delighted to receive a donation of an Incredible Sweater Machine for our volunteers to knit on. Thank you so much to the generous donor, we are so grateful as we would never be able to get all the cocoons done if they had to be knitted by hand.
The hospital needs 350 cocoons for their babies and the machine will be a huge help in getting the donations made and out to the hospital in time to snuggle the babies in this cold weather. The cocoons also aid in keeping the babies calm and comfortable so they spend their energy on healing and growing instead of trying to stay warm and peaceful.
We just made the very first cocoon on the knitting machine that arrived yesterday. Here it is!
Baby Cocoon
Baby Cocoon - knitted by machine.
Baby Cocoon
Baby Cocoon
These cocoons can be hand knitted or machine knitted.
Thatcher’s Cocoon (knitted version)
With circular needle or dpn’s, cast on 80 sts (I love using a long tail cast on.
Tutorial for it can be found at www.knittinghelp.com)
Join in round, placing a stitch marker on first stitch to mark beginning of round.
Knit for approximately 18 inches then begin decreasing.
Row 1. Knit 8, knit 2 together (repeat to end of row. Row should end with last 2 sts
knit together).
Row 2. Knit all sts.
Row 3. Knit 7, knit 2 together (repeat to end of row. Row should end with last 2 sts
knit together).
Row 4. Knit all sts.
Row 5. Knit 6, knit 2 together (repeat to end of row. Row should end with last 2 sts
knit together).
Row 6. Knit all sts.
Row 7. Knit 5, knit 2 together (repeat to end of row. Row should end with last 2 sts
knit together).
Row 8. Knit all sts.
Continue in this manner until only 8 stitches remain. Cut or break yarn leaving a long
tail to thread through the remaining 8 stitches. Tighten the bottom and secure yarn by
weaving it up into the inside of the bag a bit until you feel it is secure and won’t come out.
Weave in any ends ( if you choose to do stripes you will have lots of them) and ta-da! All done:)
This size will fit most full term nb’s. Increase or decrease amount of stitches to size up or down.
My gauge for this is 4.5-5 stitches per inch in stockinette stitch with size 7 needles using
worsted weight yarn.
If you would like to help by making knitted cocoons and donating to Relief Share for us to take to the hospital, we would love it. Our address is Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225. Be sure to include your name and address so we can send you a thank you letter and tax deductible donation slip.
Well, the first one is made. Only 349 to go! It took us just over a year to make and donated handmade twin size quilts for Shriners Childrens Hospital in St Louis. I wonder how long it’s going to take to make and donate all the cocoons needed. A lot less with YOUR help
President Carol Green
info@ReliefShare.org
Our sweet earth angel is at it again!……thank goodness!
By · Comments
This marvelous donation came in today from our sweet angel who watches over us and provides a great deal of what is needed to help the sick and needy!
Relief Share is jumping for joy! Our sweet earth angel is at it again, sending us much needed fabric to create the baby and twin size quilts we make and donate to hospitals, crisis centers, homeless shelters and sick and needy individuals around the nation!
Many of our volunteers live under the poverty level themselves, they understand the need for warm bedding and clothing for the children and their families. Hours of selfless dedicated service results in snuggled warm healthier babies and families around the nation. However, these volunteers are not in a position to purchase the supplies needed. That’s where our sweet earth angel comes in.
This precious lady has been carefully and thoughtfully sending what is needed, right in the nick of time, for quite a while now. There is a special place in heaven for her as she has gone over and above in caring for others with her generous donations of essentials for our volunteers to work with. Machines, fabric, thread…….these are just a few of the items she has donated.
She wishes to remain anonymous, and we are careful to respect our volunteers wishes. We would like to thank her publicly for all she has done, and is doing, for our precious and most helpless of God’s children and their families. She is in our hearts and prayers daily as we work with what she has provided.
Many children in Shriners Childrens Hospital, other hospitals, and recipients through crisis center outreaches, as well as individual families have been blessed because of her actions.
May we all be more like her – aware of the needs of others, and willing to step up and help when help is needed. May God walk with her and bless her every day of her life! A huge thank you to her from all of us at Relief Share
—————————————————————————————————————
What do we make with the supplies provided to us? Quilts, diaper covers, booties, onesies, sleepers, receiving blankets, cocoons, swaddling cloths, mama cloths, x ray garments for the hospital, hospital gowns, soft toys, diaper bags, totes, dresses, pants, afghans, hats, layette sets, sweaters and a lot more. Some of our Relief Share board of directors have expertise in knitting, sewing, crocheting, serging, embroidery, pattern design and are more than willing to offer their services in whatever capacity is needed at the time to take care of God’s sick and needy.
If you would like to donate items (new and gently used items are gratefully accepted), please send them to Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225. All donations are tax deductible as we are a 501 (c) 3 charity registered with the IRS. A thank you letter and tax receipt is sent for every donation so be sure to include your name and address
Exciting news – a major company is donating pacifiers!
By · Comments
If you would like to purchase and donate gumdrop pacifiers to help sick and needy babies, please click the link “Order Here” www.gumdroppacifier.com and have Sandbox Medical send your donation to Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225. There are many babies who are in crisis centers, hospitals and homes living under the poverty level that need pacifiers - you can help!”
We are so excited here at Relief Share. One of the items we provide to Texas County Memorial Hospital (TCMH) is pacifiers for newborns.
The economy has created a drop in funds donated to charities, and made it more difficult to come up with enough money to purchase what is needed to go with what is donated to fill the requests for help for the sick and needy.
After scrambling to obtain pacifiers at a price that was affordable and cleaning out two businesses of all the pacifiers they had, we contacted the largest manufacturer of one piece hospital soothers – Natus Medical – and they will be donating Gumdrop soothers directly to the Nursing Director at TCMH!
The newborn size GumDrop has a slightly bigger rim than other pacifiers so babies can enjoy it as they grow. GumDrop pacifiers have a single-body construction so they won’t come apart. They meet Consumer Product Safety Commission standards for pacifiers and are phthalate-free, latex-free and BPA-safe. The GumDrop pacifier is curved to fit better, lighter weight to stay in better and lets you see more of your baby’s face! GumDrop has the same great nipple design as Soothie®, and mothers and babies love them!
We are thrilled that the hospital will be receiving top quality pacifiers from the best resource available at no cost to them. Thank you, Natus Medical, your dedication to babies and providing for their needs is excelled only by the top notch products you provide!
Knitting for baby – Cocoons.
By · Comments
Knitted cocoon
One of the items we love to make for the babies is a swaddling cocoon. Baby stays warm, cuddly and snuggled happily without mother having to constantly re-adjust the receiving blanket.
The cocoons are simple to make.
Thatcher’s Cocoon (knitted version) by Jennifer Sundquist.
With circular needle or dpn’s, cast on 80 sts (I love using a long tail cast on.)
Tutorial for it can be found at www.knittinghelp.com)
Join in round, placing a stitch marker on first stitch to mark beginning of round.
Knit for approximately 18 inches then begin decreasing.
Row 1. Knit 8, knit 2 together (repeat to end of row. Row should end with last 2 sts
knit together).
Row 2. Knit all sts.
Row 3. Knit 7, knit 2 together (repeat to end of row. Row should end with last 2 sts
knit together).
Row 4. Knit all sts.
Row 5. Knit 6, knit 2 together (repeat to end of row. Row should end with last 2 sts
knit together).
Row 6. Knit all sts.
Row 7. Knit 5, knit 2 together (repeat to end of row. Row should end with last 2 sts
knit together).
Row 8. Knit all sts.
Continue in this manner, switching to double pointed needle (DPN when it gets too small for the circular needles, until only 8 stitches remain. Cut or break yarn leaving a long
tail to thread through the remaining 8 stitches. Tighten the bottom and secure yarn by
weaving it up into the inside of the bag a bit until you feel it is secure and won’t come out.
Weave in any ends ( if you choose to do stripes you will have lots of them) and ta-da! All done:)
This size will fit most full term nb’s. Increase or decrease amount of stitches to size up or down.
My gauge for this is 4.5-5 stitches per inch in stockinette stitch with size 7 needles using
worsted weight yarn.
Disclaimer: Please always supervise your infant while using the cocoon. We are not responsible for anything that may result from misuse of any cocoons made from this pattern!
The nurses just love them. They are so simple that even a beginner knitter can do them. If you would like to make some and donate them, please send the finished cocoons to: Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225. We will be happy to send a thank you letter and tax deductible receipt for your donation.
We’ve been busy as a bee around the Relief Share offices Here are some of the donations that just went out:
Sweet baby
Donation to a wee baby girl to be born:
- bottles, washcloths, birth pillow, receiving blankets, brush/comb set, blankets, bottle insulators, onesies, sleepers, baby scissors, and diapers.
Donation for a sweet baby born to be born:
- bassinette, baby clothing & accessories
Donation for a tiny preemie baby boy:
- baby blankets and clothing
Donation for a precious baby boy:
- blankets, quilts, outfits, toys, socks, booties, sweater sets, afghans, shoes, receiving blankets, burp cloths
Donation for a darling baby girl:
- hats, toys, blankets, food, diapers, clothings
Donation for a little girl:
- interactive doll
Donation to church:
- toys, food, clothing, blankets
Donation to Crisis Center:
- clothing for the needy
Donation to charity to helps hospital:
- hospital gowns, fabric, sewing supplies, patterns, thread
Donation to Individual:
- large box of yarn and crochet cotton to be made into charity items.
- fabric remnants and scraps for patchwork quilt making (we use plenty of material ourselves, but when we have the opportunity to share with other charities, we are happy to).
Fabric donation received
By · CommentsWe opened a very special box today at Relief Share. Inside was hopes, dreams, prayers fulfilled, compassion, love, charity, sharing and giving. What does all that look like? Let us show you……
Fabric donation
A super huge hug to our lovely donor who always keeps us in her prayers and on her wish list. This special donor has sent much needed sewing supplies and machinery and has a God given ability to know just when we need a donation the most and always sends exactly what we need.
Thank you so much! I know you want to remain anonymous, but we want everyone to know how much your donation boxes are appreciated
President Carol Green
Relief Share
‘giving Relief through sharing’
Debra Cox
Let us introduce you to a very special leader-servant. Her name is Debra Cox and she is very much in tune with the Holy Spirit. She has been answering prayers for many years, along with her husband Ray. In her community, babies have blankets, sleepers, soft toys, special needs filled and given love from a stranger they may never meet that loves them so much she will sacrifice even her health to provide essentials for them through local hospital and organizations.
I first met Debra years ago. Such a wonderful lady, and so kind. When told about the how the sick and needy babies in her area were suffering from the lack of essentials, her response was “Yea, Lord, I am here – send me!” She jumped right in and gathered volunteers around her to help. Most of the work she did herself, and she is very much loved by all of us.
Debra paid a very high price – her sacrifice and efforts over the years has claimed her health. Today she had surgery for cancer and while some of it was removed, she has weeks of chemotherapy to rid her body of the thousands of nodules that remain. She is no longer able to do all the compassionate service work she has done in the past, but her husband told us today that as soon as she is able, she has already targeted another area of need to address when she gets her feet under her. What a lady, what an angel, and what a fine example of being Christ-like she has set for all of us.
We know God is carefully watching over her with love and compassion and our prayers are with her. What we are calling for today, is not fabric, baby clothing, sewing supplies or hygiene supplies – though we do need those – what we need the most today are prayer for our beloved Debra, and for her comfort and peace while she goes through this earthly trial.
Soft hugs, Debra – we love you!!!!
President Carol Green
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483
www.ReliefShare.org
info@ReliefShare.org
Gone too soon….baby burial layettes
By · CommentsSometimes we have to say goodbye before we get to say a decent hello. Such is the case with tiny babies born to grieving parents who never got to say hello or have only minutes or a few bittersweet hours to say goodbye and hello at the same time. These precious bundles of love straight from heaven from God’s hands to our hearts only need one last little gown, bonnet and blanket to be snuggled in.
There are special angels here on earth who answer the call to provide the tiny gowns called Angel Wing Burial gowns that go in the burial layettes. The pattern for this gown was designed by Dot Fulton of Missouri to fit the little ones God has called home after being here for such a brief time. Dot has since passed away and has now joined the angels she has provided so many perfectly made little gowns for.
A large box of burial items was just donated to the Texas County Memorial Hospital in Houston, Missouri – along with blankets, swaddler blankets, and soft Ty Beanie Baby Fleece Lambs for momentos for the parents to keep to remember their little one by.
Angel Wing Burial gown and bonnet
Today was a busy day at Relief Share. Lots of time was spent going through all the donations that had come in and getting them ready to be taken to where they are needed the most.
Donated to the hospital:
23 baby blankets with lovely crocheted edges
6 large afghans to snuggle new babies in
Donated to the local food pantry and crisis center:
20 pound container of fabric
90 soft handmade medium sized teddy bears
50 gift boxes for babies
Batting, interfacing and sewing supplies
Donated to families:
3 baby beds to families for their new infants
baby layette and blanket for a new baby girl
books
home and personal items items
The work of giving relief through sharing with others is a wonderful way of showing God’s love through us to his home vulnerable children. Our volunteers and donors are very precious to us in helping the compassionate service work we do possible. Thank you.
Carol Green
President Relief Share
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
Info@ReliefShare.org
Donation of essential baby and hygiene items.
There are some things babies cant do without. Diapers and baby powder are essentials in the lifes of little ones and, unfortunately, expensive for single mothers and families who live under the poverty line. Other essentials, such as soap, shampoo, body lotion, etc are important – not only for comfort and cleanliness, but in stopping the spread of germs and disease.
Thanks to the generous donation of a special donor, who is more than willing to help, this large donation has been received in today and also already donated out to where it will do the most good.
It takes all of us working together to answer the prayers of the sick and needy for essentials.
You can help, too – donations of baby items, clothing and bedding are needed as the weather turns colder. Please send donations to Relief Share, 6078 Lundy Rd., Houston, MO 65483-2225. All donations are tax deductible. If you don’t have baby items to send but would like to help with funds for shipping the items to where they are needed, please send a monetary donation through Paypal to info@ReliefShare.org
Hand knitted donations for the sick & needy
Relief Share was blessed to accept a marvelous donation of lovely hand knitted scarves, hats, and afghans from a very special compassionate donor. She is 93 years old and has knitted and donated 500 items that have gone to children’s homes, schools and orphanages. She loves to knit and is happy that the things she makes can be used to help others.
What wonderful gifts of compassion and caring she has been making all these years. Her love of knitting shows in how beautifully made the items are, and to gift them to the sick and needy is truly gracious.
We are grateful for these types of donations. It is a pleasure to be able to give such beautiful hand made items to those who need them. Instead of getting worn out used items to keep warm with, the donations of new quality items have brought a light to the sick and needy’s eyes as they realize someone, a stranger, loved them enough to care and create such beautiful new items for them.
Helping with much needed items is a way of our showing God’s love reaching out in answer to the sick and needy’s prayers. We become worthy servants of God as we help be part of the answer to prayers for essential items.
One of the afghans was donated to a young mother with a 10 month old baby. When I told the mother that the beautiful afghan for her wee baby girl came from a wonderful donor to Relief Share, she said to tell her a very grateful thank you. She was worried about the colder weather coming and concerned about what she was going to do. Now her little one is warm and snuggly because of our donor’s generosity and caring
Thank you so much to everyone who puts their love in action and donates what is needed for us to distribute to those who are in crisis, sick or in need. May God bless you as you bless others
President Carol Green
Relief Share
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
info@ReliefShare.org
Hand knitted donations for the sick & needy
Hand knitted donations for the sick & needy
Donation to needy mothers and babies in Boise.
By · CommentsThis donation went out to needy mothers and babies in the Boise, Idaho area. There are some happy snuggly warm babies and smiling mothers who are very relieved that they could get the items they need for their babies. Thanks to all the volunteers and donors who made this donation of brand new items to needy families possible.
3 Gerber Sleep n Play
3 Bambolina body suits
1 Carter 3 piece outfit
1 zippered Nursery Rhyme outfit
1 2 pce outfit, Baby Essentials
1 Garanimals onesie/shirt
1 froggie applique onesie
1 elastic band blue jeans
1 3 piece First Impression Froggie out fit – bib/shirt/pants
1 jacket and shirt set – UFO
1 Protection System jacket
1 Fisher Price sleep and play outfit – newborn – yellow
4 receiving blankets – animal theme
1 Fisher Price sleep and play outfit – newborn – blue
2 Gerber baby gowns
2 First Impression blue baby gowns
1 Heirloom wooden rattle
2 baby ballet church shoes – newborn pink
1 pr baby sandals – pink
1 pr newborn pink baby shoes
4 pr baby socks
2 pacifiers
Have You Done Something Good In The World Today?
By · CommentsNote from Relief Share President Carol Green: This is a reposted blog my daughter wrote on http://activerain.com/blogs/uscybertek It is so appropriate for the charity work we love to do. I thought we would all enjoy it
There is a song that I love that goes like this:
Have I done any good in the world today?
Have I helped anyone in need?
Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad?
If not, I have failed indeed.
Has anyone’s burden been lighter today
Because I was willing to share?
Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?
When they needed my help was I there?
I felt the need to reflect on my actions of the day. Had I helped someone? Had I helped to fill the needs of someone that could not help themselves? Had I made life better for those around me?
It does not need to be something huge, or some grand gesture to let the world know how good and wonderful you are, that defeats the purpose. Charity and honest affection for your fellow human beings is not about who can make the biggest splash and get noticed the most by doing good deeds. It is about the quiet moments of kindness and simple, unacknowledged goodness that make a life better because it was touched by them.
It’s about lifting those around you when they are too weary to take another step, be it physical or emotional. It’s about taking a moment to talk to that kid at the pool that drives everyone crazy by asking a million questions. . . . probably because he’s lonely. Or about smiling at the massive, scary, tattooed biker guy in the gas station aisle even though your knees turn to jelly. . . . because maybe he’s having a rough day and could use a friendly smile. (Yes, big, scary biker dudes have bad days too!) Or maybe it’s paying for the car behind you at the drive through at Arby’s, or dropping off some school supplies at a local charity.
It’s does not really matter what you do, so long as you just do it. And sorry, but this is not a “it’s the thought that counts” type of deal.
Actions speak volumes louder than words. What do your actions say about you?
Phly Jambor
U.S. Cybertek, Inc.
www.uscybertek.com
Blessing the lives of those who need help is Christlike.
Summer is here – there are manicures and pedicures to take care of ‘summer sandal feet’. You wouldn’t think that would apply to charity as it would seem to be a ‘want’ and not a ‘need’, but for the handicapped and ill, it is a serious need as feet and hands can get sores and cracks leading to infection if not taken care of.
Wheelchair bound patients with braces on their legs develop blisters and open sores that need attention. Caring for those with these special needs takes love, patience and knowledge to give them the assistance they require.
Relief Share donated hygiene products and coordinated efforts to meet the needs of those who required specialized care for their hands and feet. Volunteers, who offered their time and services to give much needed manicures and pedicures, showed compassion and Christlike love to the permanently wheelbound and also patients recovering from serious surgeries as they tenderly ministered to them.
Spirits were lifted, hearts softened, hope returned to those who sometimes seemed forgotten and all were blessed as the spirit of service touched everyone.
We are grateful for our volunteers who blessed the lives of those who needed this specialized kind of help. We are also grateful for the wonderful donors who provided the funds and supplies that the volunteers put to use for the benefit of those needing personal care in these areas.
President Carol Green
ReliefShare.org
info@ReliefShare.org
Soft dollies, cuddly blankets equals happy children.
By · Comments
Soft dollies, cuddly quilts - love in action for the children!
Being in hospital looking out the windows and seeing other children happily playing in the sunshine can be hard for little ones. One of our ongoing donors continues to spread sunshine and dry tears with her sweet donations of blankets, dollies, teddies.
Included in her donations are some very special preemie receiving blankets. She takes the time to carefully crochet lacy edges around the blankets to make them beautiful. These soft pretty blankets are used for the most precious of God’s children who need only one last blanket to be cuddled in. Those who are too perfect, too special, to remain here on earth for long are gently placed and wrapped in the blankets made with so much love and then they go on to God’s arms from ours.
Some of the little ones, born too soon or very small, are strong enough to fight and and stay here to continue to bless the lives of the families God has sent them to, and their blankets become a family heirloom.
We are grateful to R. M. for her love and continuing kindness to God’s precious sick and needy babies and children. She continues to reach out and bless the lives of strangers with love in action through her donations
Carol C Green
Relief Share President
info@Relief Share.org
Keeping children safe with donated car seats.
Its the middle of summer and most folks are having fun with their families and enjoying the pretty weather. In the midst of all the summer fun, there are families who are struggling to make ends meet and obtain basics like clothing, car seats, and essentials. It feels good to be able to help.
A little girl is now safely transported in her family’s vehicle with a car seat to protect her and has new clothing to brighten her day. It sounds like such a small thing, but makes a huge difference in her and her family’s life.
Essential Baby items
A huge thank you goes out to all our wonderful volunteers and donors who sent in items for us to distribute the past two weeks. Some of our donors prefer to remain anonymous so no names will be mentioned but we are very grateful for all the love and support shown to those we serve.
Donations in this week include baby quilts, blankets, burp cloths, rattles, toys, shoes, socks, bottles pacifiers, sewing supplies and equipment, fabric and much more.
Donations of machinery are very important to us and we are extremely grateful to be able to provide more items to a greater number of recipients because of the use of added machinery. Fabric is central to our donations as hospital gowns, xray shorts, baby clothing, quilts, diaper bags, toys, diaper covers, and much more is made from donated and purchased fabric. Kids print is at the top of our list, followed with chenille, minky, polar and plush fleece (soft on the skin) for our precious children and their families. Kids knit is hard to find and very much appreciated. Our volunteers can sew a much needed baby gown in under 20 minutes with rib knit for the collar and cuff and baby knit for the yoke and gown! Just think – supplies and 20 minutes are all that stands between a shivering baby and the gown they need – won’t you please help by sending the supplies we need to help the babies? Many other have and we are so grateful.
Something that we don’t mention much with donations is cash. There are some things that we can’t sew knit or crochet and don’t always have in our inventory room when it is desperately needed. The funds that are donated allow us to get formula, diapers, bottles and essentials for babies and food for families who are hungry. If you would like to donate funds to Relief Share through paypal, our paypal address is info@reliefshare.org
All donations are tax deductible and a thank you/tax receipt letter will be sent for each and every donation.
May God bless all the hearts and hands who serve Him here below in blessing the lives of His sick and needy who need answers to their prayers.
President Carol Green
info@ReliefShare.org
Donations OUT – new baby, orphanage, animal shelter
By · CommentsRelief Share volunteers have been very busy the last few weeks sewing, crocheting, serging, shopping, shipping and, in general, thoroughly enjoying our compassionate service efforts!
Donations out:
- donation July 17, a nice large box of essentials to a baby soon to arrive of bottles, receiving blankets, burp cloths, toys, shoes, socks, rattles, washcloths, towel, diaper bag, quilts, blankets, pacifiers and more. Baby’s Momma was very grateful for the much needed items. With this economy it can be quite a jolt to the family budget to provide for a new little one.
- donation July 11 to orphanage of socks, shoes/booties, blankets, toys, pacifiers, crib sheets, receiving blankets, socks, burp cloths.
- donation July 18 to orphanage of baby quilts, receiving blankets, burp cloths, rattles, toy ducks, pacifiers, socks, booties, toys, bottles, teddy bears, bunny, birdie – 86 items.
- donation of essential items to local animal shelter to help displaced animals and also owners who can’t afford to neuter and spay their animals.
These are some of the items donated out this week.
A huge thank you to all the volunteers and donors who made these donations possible.
Oh my, you know that huge cheering you hear? Well, that is all our volunteers here at Relief Share celebrating our huge quilt drive for Shriners Childrens Hospital in St Louis. A little over a year ago they requested 240 twin size quilts for the patients beds in the hospital. Our volunteers have patchworked and sewn quilts for a year – the quilts took over our waking moments and even started showing up in our dreams as we slept! We adore the sweet children who are being cared for at Shriners and love the wonderful nurses, doctors and personnel who give their time, effort and expertise to make each and every child’s experience at Shriners Childrens Hospital a positive experience.
We delivered the first quilts on 4/30/2009 and the last quilts were mailed today. We would like to thank everyone who made this large product such a wonderful success. Lucky Dollar Store in Licking gave Relief Share discounted pricing on all the fabric and batting purchased, a donation of yarn for tying the quilts came from the closeout of a knitting shop through E. Warner, Houston, MO, Grandmother’s Attic and USCybertek owned by Carol & Richard Green, RS Founders donated a great deal of the fabric, batting, sewing thread, gas and money for deliveries, T. Lund and J Stice made many of the quilts that were donated, T. Lund donated a great deal of the batting for the quilts and also some of the fabric, A. Mooney finished the edges of many of the quilts and donated a Mickey Mouse baby quilt that was sold on Ebay along with books to raise funds for supplies for the quilts. A wonderful quilting shop in Licking, MO donated the time to machine quilt many of the quilts, and other quilting shops and guilds were also involved in helping. A sweet lady who wishes to remain anonymous donated the machines we needed to get the job done! There were so many people from all walks of life, economic situations and beliefs that came together to join in love to help the sick and needy.
Most of all, we would like to thank Shriners Childrens Hospital in St Louis for allowing to bless the children’s lives in this way. All the volunteers in the world couldn’t make a difference if there was no one willing to accept our donations. Providing us an opportunity to help others is a wonderful gift that we deeply appreciate.
Motivation to help is found in each one of us. There are many reasons to get involved in charity work and we would like so share with you why we were (and still are) highly motivated with deep gratitude to assist Shriners in their work for the world’s sick and needy children. A picture can say a thousand words, 2 pictures are even better. This is our precious granddaughter – she had a health care practioner dislocate her hip in a well baby checkup at 3 months old. We rushed her to a specialist and they took ultrasounds that showed that the doctor had indeed put her joint out of socket but it appeared to be back in. She got to be 18 months old and couldn’t walk – she would take a few steps and fall, so we took her back to the specialist who immediately called Shriners.
Until then we had no idea what Shriners did, only that they were the men in the funny hats in parades and occasionally had a monkey with them! After a number of surgeries and many body casts to correct the problem in her hip that now affected her entire life – we are overwhelmed with gratitude when we tell you that no only is she walking – she is running and doing very well. Her walk is not perfect, but she can now lead a normal life and walk and run like God intended her to do.
See for yourself…… Embry Claire, born perfect in every way – a bright life ahead of her. April 2006
This is Embry at her first stay in Shriners – the doctor did traction for two and a half weeks first and then surgery. Yes, she is supposed to be lying down with her feet elevated for traction but she was pretty good at sitting herself up when we looked away *grin*
The first surgery was on her affected hip alone. Sadly, more surgery was needed to help her be able to walk.
Grandpa and Grandma flew Embry Claire up to St Louis for her surgeries. You can see the donations we took up from Relief Share on the ground in the clear bags each time we went. Her Mommy is stepping down out of the plane after unloading the delivery bags.
Embry Claire loves to fly, she wasn’t so thrilled when she figured out that surgeries were on the other end, but flying was a super treat for her.
Embry Claire watches another patient play a game in the red room at Shriners. The surgery this time was on both hips and she can’t sit up with her body cast on. We pulled her around in a little red wagon for a long time until the body cast came off.
Embry Claire using her walker. Her hips ache but she is such a little trooper and she sticks with it. I am so proud of her and stay right there with her.
THANK YOU SHRINERS AND DR SHOENECKER! Look at her go! Embry Claire loves the beach! She is RUNNING!
She has grown from that tiny baby and is now a beautiful 4 year old – walking on her own.
We would love to hear from you what YOUR motivation is for helping others. Is it gratitude, a need to share, love for others, all of those and more? Email us or reply to this blog
President Carol Green
Embry Claire’s happy and grateful grandmother.
info@ReliefShare.org
In the quiet of the night we dropped by Shriners Childrens Hospital in St Louis after making a pickup at the airport. It felt really good to deliver the 3 patchwork quilts to be used on the patients beds. We are only 2 quilts away from the goal of 240 quilts requested by the hospital last year for their patients beds. A huge thank you goes out to all who are participating and it will be wonderful to be able to send the last two quilts to the hospital to complete the project.
It’s going to be fun to see where the quilts will come from – who will be the first to get their quilts turned in for delivery? Quilts are something that are always needed, we have a number of places that are waiting for donations and encourage everyone to finish working on their quilts and get them sent in to Relief Share 700 Hwy 17 N, Houston, MO 65483-2225. For those who don’t sew, donations can be sent to the same address or to info@Relief Share.org through Paypal. To donate by credit card, please call 1-866-967-2011 ext 305.
There is a pleasant smooth rhythm of donations that come in and go out like the tide at Relief Share. A large donation of fabric from lovely ladies who drove all the way up from Arkansas to bring the material to us was immediately put to good use. A local church organization is making dresses and garments for young ladies in Zimbabwe and needed fabric for their projects. Relief Share was able to share the fabric that came in with Amy who is heading up the church project, She was thrilled to accept the donation for their compassionate service efforts and we were glad for the opportunity to help.
A box of the cutest juvenile fabrics was received from a wonderful donor whose continuing help is a huge blessing to us here at Relief Share in our charity work. Must of the fabric was already cut in to squares so our volunteers can simply start sewing them into quilts for Shriners and other organizations who require warm quilts for the sick and needy they serve.
Cotton prints donated in for making into quilts for the sick and needy.
Thank you so much to those who take time out of their busy schedules and funds from their already stretched budgets to help us to provide essentials for the sick and needy. May God bless you as you bless others.
Carol Green
Relief Share President
6078 Lundy Rd, Houston, MO 65483-2225
700 Hwy 17 N, Houston, MO 65483
1-866-967-2011 ext 3
Relief Share founder, Carol Green, has been taking care of the area’s sick and needy since 1992 with a lot of love, work, and help from local businesses and volunteers. Our mission statement reaches out to encompass all of God’s children in a way that resonates in the heart of each of us. Artificial barriers are overcome through joining hearts and hands focused on the work. Race, creed, age, and diversity are not only not a problem, but celebrated as each of us brings our own special gifts and skills to the table as we can accomplish so much more together.
Recent donations out given by Relief Share include 235 twin size quilts for patients beds at Shriners Childrens Hospital in St Louis, some of our local children have been blessed with care at that hospital. Another important donation was received from Fabrics and More on N Bishop Ave here in Rolla. A donation of a treadle sewing table was received to assist in the created of the quilts given to the sick and needy. It is with everyone working together that the needs of area children and families are met.
Carol Green
Relief Share President
www.ReliefShare.org
www.ReliefShare.org/wordpress - blog
This is the owner of Fabric and More with the wonderful donation to help with the quilts for Shriners and other charity projects.
.
Fabric and More Proprietor with donation to Relief Share
What a wonderful time we had getting a large donation ready for our friends at Newborns in Need (charity for sick and needy preemie babies) in Springfield, MO. The chapter is located across the road from Bass Pro and we encourage everyone in the area to get involved and help them address the needs of the children in their community. Contact information for Judy’s chapter can be found at www.newbornsinneed.org
We were happy to share with them a serger that had been donated by a lovely lady who cares very deeply about the sick and needy. We also donated 259 baby hats, 27 hat/bootie sets, 8 booties, 14 baby shirts, 30 pounds of red and blue material that has lots of spandex so it can be made into baby carriers for kangarooing, 145 large spools of machine knitting yarn, a play center with a tent and tunnels for children to play in, receiving blankets, stockings/socks/shoes, shorts, mittens, coats, purses, toys, fabric yardage, a box of sewing supplies such as snaps, ribbon, pins, etc, panties, dolls, pillows, pillow cases, bassinette and crib sheets, burial momento satin hearts and bracelets, burial layette sets, burial gowns, afghans, quilt pieces, diaper, washcloths, leggings, scissor pins, bags, dresses, blankets, clothing, pants, outfits, books, baby bottle lids, crochet hook, bibs, gowns, polar fleece kitty blankets, and more….
We are thrilled to be able to assist with the compassionate service efforts of the wonderful folks at Newborns in Need and encourage everyone else to do the same.
We also just sent a large box of minky fabric to the West Virginia chapter for President Debra Cox. She is a wonderful lady who is very helpful and giving and deserves support from her area. If you live in West Virginia, you’ll love working with Debra to help the area’s sick and needy babies.
My daughter, Ashley, and I had a lot of fun taking a large donation to Shriners Childrens Hospital in St Louis. We drove up the three hours to attend a wedding at the St Louis temple (absolutely beautiful) and then went to the hospital to drop off the donation. We arrived at the front desk as usual and filled in the customary donation form, then drove around the side of the building to unload the Suburban with the help of Wayne, the cheerful Shriners volunteer who helps with the larger donations.
As we unloaded the vehicle, my mind mentally traced all the items in the donation to the volunteers who had given so much of their time, talents and hearts to make this miracle for the little patients at Shriners as possibility. A pair of crutches that will now give the gift of movement to a child laid on top of the patchwork quilt that will snuggle a little one fresh out of surgery and needing warmth to heal. Over to the right, many large clear plastic bags were filled with over 65 afghans, lovingly knitted and crocheted by those who put their caring into action.
Special teddies that are made with materials to combat sensitive bodies and noses waited patiently for little arms to wrap around them and a gaggle of cutie smaller teddy bears in tan and happy purple looked darling with all their smiles peeking over the edge of the box.
The box picked up next was heavy. It was filled with 70+ boxer type shorts for the xray room so children would be able to wear modest clothing while getting xrays to determine how their surgeries were going. The shorts were a fun treasure hunt for Ashley and I – we shopped in Springfield, Rolla, Cabool, Mountain Grove, Houston, and Licking before finding what we were looking for in West Plains at Shay’s store – a huge clearance table with just what the doctor ordered – literally – shorts for the xray room with comfortable elastic waistbands and in sizes all the way from xsmall to very large for the older children. As we checked out, we told the salesgirl what the shorts were for and she called her manager to get us a further discount for charity. What a wonderful thing for them to do and we were so grateful to get the shorts we needed for just over $100. There were a few more we had picked up along the way at sales and delivering the box was a culmination of fun, shopping and a lot of love. We didn’t have time to sew the shorts like last year so were delighted to find what we needed already sewn.
Another heavy box, this time filled with hygiene items – shampoo, conditioners, body lotion, face cleansers, toothpaste, mouthwash and more. Saving all the little bottles when we go traveling is fun, much to the chagrin of my husband who hears me holler “Don’t use the bottles, I need them for the hospital” at every hotel room We managed to find someone selling a large box of sample size hygiene items at the local flea market – H & K in Houston, MO. That’s a lovely flea market and antique mall. Nice and clean and filled with wonderful treasures and also basics. The folks who own the flea market donate a booth to Relief Share to use as a fundraiser, many times we find what is needed at the flea market as we are there cleaning the booth and adding more things for folks to buy – usually from another de-cluttering episode at my house and the homes of volunteers.
Also in the donation is toys, books, blankets, clothing, and many more needed items. Roughly a year ago we had a request from Shriners to make and donate 240 twin size quilts for their small patients to use on the hospital beds. After the donation on Saturday we only need 5 more to make 240. The quilts are very much needed, if you are reading this and would like to donate a twin size quilt to Shriners, please send it directly to them in St Louis (you can find their address on Lindbergh Blvd using google) and email is at info@ReliefShare.org to let us know you did.
We are so grateful to all those who made and donated quilts through us to Shriners. There are a lot of happy cuddled children there now. We also sent a big box of toys from my www.GrandmothersAttic.net shop. Berenguer baby dolls just the right size for little hands, teddy bears, puppy dogs and more.
Here are a few pictures taken when we dropped the donation off:
Lots of love and smiles to unload at Shriners Childrens Hospital in St Louis for the children
Volunteer, Wayne, cheerfully helps us unload.
Bags of handmade hats and afghans – over 50 of them for the children in those two bags alone!
The gift of crutches will allow a child to be mobile.
Tigger talks - the children love that, and a puppy waits for snuggles
A warm quilt to cuddle a child in the recovery room.
Donations
I help get the toys out of the back of the Suburban
¸.•♥´¨`♥•.¸¸.•♥´¨`♥•.¸¸.•♥´¨`♥•¨`♥•.¸¸.•♥´¨`♥•.♥•.¸¸.•♥´¨`♥•.♥•.¸¸.•♥´¨`♥•.¸¸.•♥´¨`♥•.¸¸.•♥´¨`♥•¨`♥•.¸¸.•♥´¨`♥•. ♥•.¸¸.•♥´¨`♥•.♥•.¸¸.•♥´¨`♥•.¸¸.•♥´¨`♥•.¸¸.•♥´¨`♥•¨`♥•.¸¸.•♥´¨`♥•.♥•.¸¸.•♥´¨`♥•.♥•.¸¸.•♥´¨`♥♥ ♥•.¸¸.•♥´…¸¸.•♥´¨`♥•.¸¸.•♥´¨
Lots of love and work in the donation, now to get busy on the next donation!
We are almost there…..we promised a total of 240 twin size quilts to Shriners Childrens Hospital and we only need a few more. If anyone would like to donate a twin size quilt to be used on the patients beds at the hospital, please let us know. It can be hand tied, machine quilted, hand quilted or even store bought.
I bought a really pretty quilt from the flea market in town that had a note on it that there were”no holes or wear on the quilt and it was in good condition”, so I never untied it to check. When I got home to wash it I found the colors had all bled inside and it was terribly stained. A great disapointment, as I was going to take it to St Louis when I went with our next donation of shorts and personal hygiene items. Wouldn’t life be a lot nicer if everyone was honest?
Shorts are needed in kids sizes – S to XL and adult sizes S to 4XL. The reason for the adult sizes is that Shriners takes older children that sometimes wears as large as 4XL due to medical problems. It is hard enough to be sick and in pain but even worse when there is nothing to fit. We are also making larger hospital gowns for the older children. If you would like to sew some hospital gowns or shorts, please do Fun kids print is the best choice for fabric.
Carol Green
President.
Update on baby to be born….sad news.
By · CommentsThis is an update on the wee preemie baby that was about to be born recently. Unfortunately, she was born too soon and her mother was only able to hold her for a few moments before she slipped away to God’s arms again. Sometimes we have to say goodbye before we get a chance to say hello.
Her mother wished me to express her deep gratitude to the volunteers to helped get things ready for the baby and the love shown her in this difficult situation. Grandma is taking care of the other children, while momma adjusts to empty arms and reality sets in. God will bless her with comfort and peace as time goes on, but it’s never an easy situation.
We are grateful for those who make and donate the beautiful little burial layettes for God’s tiniest angels that only need one last gown, bonnet and blanket to be snuggled in.
The pattern for a neonatal positioning aid is very simple. It’s basically a tube with an elastic at one end to catch the other end in to make a circle. The baby nest provides a boundary for developing neonates and promotes containment, flexion, correct positioning and musculoskeletal development.
From selvedge to selvedge cut a 6″ wide strip for a small size diameter and an 8″ wide strip for a larger size diameter. Sew it into a tube, stuff it, and sew it closed. Place an elastic loop about 6″ down from the top on one end (I sew it into the seam so it doesn’t rip out). The elastic should be large enough for both ends of the tube to go through.
Form a circle with the tube putting the one end of the tube into the elastic on the other end, making sure that both ends are inside the elastic for stability.
Place a receiving blanket over the entire tube and place baby down in the center – like you would if you were taking baby to the swimming pool and were going to float him in an inner tube.
This positioning aid can also be used by doubling the tube up and placing behind baby to keep him on his side. Babies should not be placed on their stomach, ever, according to recent statistics from the SIDS Council, and laying baby on his back is best unless dealing with reflux problems.
A tube is a tube – you really can’t improve on that We have made thousands of these, the hospitals love them and use them as rewards for mothers to take Lamaze and prenatal classes. They are fun to make and your children’s group or our own kids might like to make them and donate them to your local hospital or crisis center.
Tip for stuffing. Cut out the ends of a tin can with a can opener so you have a tube. Put the fabric tube you have made down through the middle of the can and pull the fabric opening over the edge of the can. Stuff the fabric tube, pulling the tin can further and further down it as you go until you are at the end. The tin can provides stability while you are stuff the nest
Carol
Info@ReliefShare.org
Baby Quilt Pattern – quick & easy!
By · Comments
Supplies Needed for this darling Baby Quilt (make 2 – one for yourself and one to donate
Color One: 1/2 yard of 44-45″ fabric (1 yard for larger size)
Color Two: 1/3 yard of 44-45″ fabric (1/2 yard for larger size)
Color Three: 1/3 yard of 44-45″ fabric (1/2 yard for larger size)
Binding: Cut binding either 1.5″ wide or 2″ wide (your preference), and long enough to go all the way around your quilt – about 120 inches for the smaller size and 180 inches for the larger size (you may piece strips).
Batting: You will need a 28.5″ x 28.5″ piece of batting (or 42.5″ x 42.5″ if you are making the larger size).
Quilt Backing: 28.5″ x 28.5″ piece of fabric for the quilt back (or 42.5″ x 42.5″ if you are making the larger size).
Cutting Instructions
PRE-WASH AND DRY YOUR FABRIC before beginning, if desired.
Small Quilt – Baby Blanket Size (28.5″ x 28.5″) Cut strips of fabric 4.5″ x w.o.f. (width of fabric) For color one, cut three strips, each 4.5″ x 44-45″ (your width of fabric) For colors two and three, cut two strips of fabric 4.5″ x w.o.f. Cut strips into 4.5″ squares. For color one, you will need a total of 25 squares. For colors two and three you will need a total of 12 squares of each color.
Larger Quilt – Lap Size (42.5″ x 42.5″) Cut strips of fabric 6.5″ x w.o.f. (width of fabric)
For color one, cut four strips, each 6.5″ x 44-45″ (your width of fabric), plus one more square that measures 6.5″ x 6.5″ For colors two and three, cut two strips of fabric 6.5″ x w.o.f. Cut strips into 6.5″ squares. For color one, you will need a total of 25 squares. For colors two and three you will need a total of 12 squares of each color.
Sewing Instructions
Using 1/4″ seam allowances, sew the squares together. It is easiest to assemble the squares into one row at a time. You can create horizontal or vertical rows. After your rows are created, sew the rows together. TIP: Iron all squares before sewing them into rows. Iron the rows before sewing them together. It works best to press the seams in opposite directions. In other words, if row one has seams pressed to the left, press the seams of row two to the right. That way, when you sew the rows together, it is easier to match corners more precisely.
Quilting Instructions
You can now stitch the three layers together, either by tying with yarns or embroidery floss, hand quilting or machine quilting.
President Carol Green
ReliefShare.org
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
417-763-3288
Funds are needed to ship donations to recipients, please help by donating to info@ReliefShare.org through paypal or call us to donate over the phone with a credit card or check 417-763-3288. All donations are tax deductible as we are a 501 (c) 3 non profit charity.
Many times requests for help seem to be brought to us by an invisible hand. Folks who would normally never connect do in an effortless way that seems to be fate. Those who have love for others and want to help are ready to hear the still small voice who whispers to their heart and lets them know when to take action and when to wait quietly for promptings.
Have you ever had this kind of an experience? You just felt that you should be somewhere, or call someone, or do something, and don’t know why, but you know you should so you do it? What happened?
Please share your experiences with us by emailing info@Relief Share.org for us to share with others on our blog. When we share with each other similar experiences, we strengthen and validate our feelings, thoughts and efforts.
We can tell you from experience that great blessings for both the giver and receiver result from listening to God’s promptings to help each other.
No action was ever taken without it being a thought, first. The scriptures say it this way: “for as a man thinketh, so is he.” Have you thought about helping others but don’t know how or who? Wondered which charity to join as there are so many and all have good causes? Making a priority list may help you decide where to focus your efforts.
PRIORITIZING, WISDOM & KNOWLEDGE
- prioritize your projects to make sure you’re working on what’s truly important instead of getting caught up in minor things. Prioritizing is logically thinking about how to spend your time. Wisdom is knowing how to do that and knowledge is applying your wisdom to achieve the best results.
- you will want to make the greatest amount of progress towards your goals with the least amount of effort.
- for prioritization to have any meaning, it’s imperative that you have a clear objective. Can you visualize what you want to do? Can you see how accomplishing your goal will make you feel? Are you passionate about helping others?
- effective prioritization is the essential skill you need to make the very best use of your own efforts and other volunteers.
CHOOSING WHERE TO PUT YOUR EFFORTS
One key to choosing a charitable activity is the reason for your motivation. Why do you want to help Relief Share? Has a need personally touched you? Do you identify with how Relief Share is addressing the need – such as working with Shriners Childrens Hospital to make warm quilts for the tiny patients, donating food for the hungry, or books to help children read? Does contributing your time, effort and goods give you a sense of ownership and partnership? Giving to a compassionate service effort you believe in, or share a common vision with, means so much more than giving just for tax purposes.
Your efforts should also be what is needed. You should be convinced your gift would make a positive difference in the lives of the recipients. You should have no regrets, no afterthoughts, just confidence in your decision. Ask questions via email to see if we are actively working on a project that your heart is in, and feel free to suggest a cause that you care about but be ready to be part of the solution to the need you suggested.
Currently we are working on twin size quilts for Shriner Childrens Hospital in St Louis – also hospital gowns and xray shorts for them. We are also making and donating crocheted and knitted blankets, afghans and sweater sets for crisis centers and homeless shelters. Toys for children in church nurseries, food for the hungry, supplies for community groups and the aged to help others, clothing for tiny babies and warm bedding for families in need – this is some of what we have handled this week.
“I love my job!” – Have you heard many folks say that about their job? Well you hear it a lot around the Relief Share office. We truly love our jobs, though unpaid, our pay is the smiles on faces who were sad, grateful hugs from little children now snuggled in warm blankets, messy faces on children who have food all over their mouths who, before we arrived, had their tummies growling.
Come join us – let us know if you sew, knit, crochet, craft or have items you would like to donate. Email us, we would love to hear from you. Input is always welcome! info@ReliefShare.org
Carol Green
President
www.ReliefShare.org
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225
Thank you to all volunteers everywhere!
By · CommentsThere are so many volunteers all across America that work so hard to care for babies and children in families that are struggling. We hear about the relief efforts overseas or in other countries as that is what the news tends to report on, but we have marvelous people in every town, city and area that give unselfish service right in their own communities – many of them here in Relief Share.
We loved it when the movie – Pay It Forward – came out. We love the concept of simply trying to do what we can, large or small, right were we are.
Our thanks go out to all the unnoticed and unmentioned angels of God who do what they can, when they can, with whatever they have to do it with, right where they are. It’s all of us working together to make the world a better place that creates the synergistic miracle of love and hope.
If you have ever looked into the eyes of a child who has just been fed and given a warm blanket and toy after spending a frightening time in a strange place, in less than acceptable circumstances, and see the light of hope and love come washing over their face then felt little arms wrap themselves around you – you will know that every effort you make is very much worth it.
We are now in our third week of sales for our fundraiser for Relief Share. Instead of having folks come inside our building, we took it to the parking lot in our mall. It’s been very busy as we set everything up like a garage sale to attract people and have a HUGE room all set up inside with tables and everything is just one