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
6200 N River Pointe Dr C208, Boise, Idaho 83714

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

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

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!

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

OR

Relief Share
6200 N River Pointe Dr C208
Boise, ID 83714

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

info@ReliefShare.org

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

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

and

Relief Share
6200 N River Pointe Dr C208,
Boise, Idaho 83714

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

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

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

417-260-2500

Relief Share
6078 Lundy Rd
Houston, MO 65483-2225

Relief Share
6200 N River Pointe Dr C208
Boise, ID 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

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 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/

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*

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.

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
6200 N River Pointe Dr C208,
Boise, Idaho 83714

or

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

Love in action - working together.

We are all enjoying the summer and being very productive.  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
6200 N River Pointe Dr C208,
Boise, Idaho 83714

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

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

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