12 Months of Giving: JANUARY

Three entries in a week and a half must be some kind of record for me!  I was excited, however, to come across my first project, which I just sent out this weekend and I wanted to share.

First, some stats:
The Organization:  Craft Hope (The website is currently down, but they do have a Facebook page)
The Cause:  Hurricane Sandy Relief
The Project: Homemade softies for children who lost toys during the hurricane
The Deadline:  January 10th (but it's a flexible deadline, so I'm sure getting a little project in the mail by this weekend would be fine)

This was a great first project for me during my 12 Months of Giving because it was fairly simple and also got something I didn't really need out of my house.

I found this fabric panel a while back at a church thrift shop.

I thought it was so sweet, but I had absolutely no use for it.  The panel made four softies total:  A frog wearing glasses, a pink bunny, a tiger kitty, and a puppy with floppy ears.  I could tell the previous owner had high hopes for the kit because she had begun to embroider the details on the bunny and the frog.  It was cheap enough that it was silly to leave it there.

When I took it home, I realized that the little guys would be pretty small when the seam allowance was taken into consideration, so I thought they might make sweet baby rattles.  Upon asking for a "rattle piece" at the fabric store, however, I was met with some weird looks.  Then, a very sweet old lady in the shop pulled me aside and said that a jingle bell would do the trick; it was small enough to fit inside a small toy, and would rattle (rather than jingle) when it was surrounded by the plush stuffing.  Thank goodness, really, for sweet old ladies in quilt stores.

So then, with everything all picked out for my little rattles, they sat, for about 6 months... in a box...

All cut up and ready for sewing!

Then, I read about this project and it caused me to smile, thinking of the little rattles, unmade, sitting in a box, and I knew it was time to dig them out.

It took me one night to make them and address the envelope and it has brought me so much joy to think of the little babies that they are bound for.  They came out so sweetly and I would feel blessed to own one.  I know that they are all bound for good homes.

Whoever their previous owner was, I hope somewhere she has a happy feeling as well.  After all, we did technically make them together.

God is good.
Life is good.
Little lingonberries are everywhere.