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

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, 6200 N River Pointe Dr, C208, Boise, ID 83714.  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!

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.

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.

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/wordpress/index.php/2011/06/07/braided-knitted-ball-for-charity-pattern-children-love-these/
Sewn baby cocoon pattern – http://www.reliefshare.org/wordpress/index.php/2010/11/30/free-baby-cocoon-pattern-to-sew/
Infant demise sewn pattern – http://www.reliefshare.org/wordpress/index.php/2011/08/20/relief-share-infant-demise-burial-gown/ – http://www.smocking.org/files/nt7n_weecare_program1.pdf

Hugs,
Carol Green,
ReliefShare.org charity
Ebay – dec2057 auctions
Fine-Air.com blog
GrandmothersAttic.net store

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/wordpress/index.php/2010/11/15/350-baby-cocoons-for-the-hospital-are-needed/

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/wordpress/index.php/2011/08/20/relief-share-infant-demise-burial-gown/

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

Soft woven knitted balls

One of the items that we love 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, please email info@ReliefShare.org for the pattern.  You’ll have fun and will bless the lives of others as well.

Warn knitted hat - one size fits children and adult

This entry in our 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 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

or

ReliefShare
6200 N River Pointe Dr c208
Boise, Idaho 83714

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, 6200 N River Pointe Dr C208, Boise, ID 83714 or 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

log cabin quilt

How does the title for this blog post hit you?  That tells you how long and hard I 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 I 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 Relief Share, 6200 N River Pointe Dr., C208, Boise, Idaho 83714, also 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

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, 6200 N River Pointe Dr C208, Boise, Idaho 83714 or 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

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
6200 N River Pointe Dr C208
Boise, Idaho 83714

Yarn spinner / winder / twister

I just listed this on ebay.  It is a yarn/winder/spinner/twister to make your own yarn.  ReliefShare.org needs a jumbo yarn winder and the best way to get it is to sell the yarn spinner/plyer to buy one.  The one we need is a lot cheaper than the one we are selling as it only takes yarn from a skein and puts it into a center pull ball for our knitting machine and for hand knitters and crocheters.  The one we are selling can actually make plyed yarn from a number of different balls creating a new individual yarn.  It is fun and works well but we need the other winder worse as it makes jumbo balls and we use a winder daily.  We are in need of 2 or three more for the volunteers.

Please spread this link around so we can raise the funds for the jumbo yarn winders to make center pull balls that we need.  If you have one you can donate – even if it isn’t a jumbo one – we would love it.  Our address is Relief Share, 6200 N River Pointe Dr C208, Boise, Idaho 83714.  We made 250 queen size quilts last month with donations of batting and fabric that went to the hospital – a huge thank you to everyone who participated in that effort.  Now we are making baby blankets, afghans for the aged and cancer patients, baby cocoons and hats for all ages with fall approaching and winter coming on. This is when we ramp up to get everyone knitting and crocheting to meet the needs when the weather turns colder.

We got a wonderful donation of knitting needles to share with our volunteers and gorgeous yarn from our angel donor who always sense exactly what we need when we need it – I swear she has a direct connection with God – she’s amazing (yes, she is here on this list   We can use any yarn you have, even scraps, as we make the wonderful scrappy afghans that the children in Shriner’s Hospital love – all the colors and types of yarn in their afghans keeps their attention away from the pain they are in and keeps them cuddled and comfortable.

President Carol C Green
info@ReliefShare.org
www.ReliefShare.org
www.ReliefShare.org/wordpress/

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*

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

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, 6200 N River Pointe Dr E302, Boise Idaho, 83714

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.

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
6200 N River Pointe Dr E302
Boise, ID 83714

Angel Wing Burial Gown

There are times our love and 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
6200 N River Pointe Dr E302
Boise, Idaho 83714

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!

This can be 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.

We completely machine knitted this ball on the Ultimate Sweater Machine (USM)from JoAnn Fabric.  It takes about 2 hours.

Here is our pattern – this ball was knitted with keyplate 3 and worsted weight using a rag hem and claw weights.

Strip 1 – Knit 15 stitches wide by 10″ long.  Pick up the stitches from the bottom of the strip and put them on the needles with the top of the strip.  Using the cast off method, remove the strip and it will be joined into a tube.

Strip 2 – same as strip 1.

Strip 3 – knit the same as strip one, but when you are joining the tube, weave it through the other two – see instructions from ravelry on placement.

Strip 4, 5 and 6 – see instructions for strip 3.

When you have knitted the last strip and joined it, the ball will be complete.  We like to roll the strips into a tube for more definition.  If you find the strips are too loose, you can knit them shorter.

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!  If you want to join the strips by hand with a yarn needle, you can make yourself a ‘kit’ of strips to take along to the doctor’s office or on trips.  To keep the loops from unraveling, secure by putting the loops on a safety pin.

Work in progress - braided ball on USM - partially made ball on top of the machine waiting for the next strip.

The 6th strip being joined on the USM knitting machine.

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
6200 N River Pointe Dr E302,
Boise, Idaho 83714

All donations are tax deductible, please include your email address so we can thank you

President Carol C Green
info@ReliefShare.org

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
6200 N River Pointe Dr E302
Boise, Idaho 83714

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

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:

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)

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, 6200 North River Pointe Dr E302, Boise, Idaho, 83714 OR 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

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

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.

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
6200 River Pointe Dr E302
Boise, Idaho, 83714

we also have a location in Missouri to send donations to:

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

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

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.  If you live in the Boise area and would like to attend, email info@ReliefShare.org for more information.

Donations for the next two months (at least) should be sent to our Boise location at: Relief Share, 6200 River Pointe Dr E302, Boise, ID 83714. 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

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.

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