every little bit counts...

A was so proud to help me lay out this quilt. i laid out the 4 patch blocks, and she filled them in with the larger, solid squares.

B helped a little, but mostly watched. (and bossed) A enjoyed this so much that we laid out another top as well.


here is the completed top, ready to go into church and be tied. hopefully we can catch the deadline for the MCC to get it to Haiti.


we also did the relief buckets. the girls helped me as we shopped at Dollar General, and we purchased enough stuff for 3 buckets.

the girls are too little to understand the magnitude of what happened in Haiti, but they are certainly old enough to understand when a family needs help.

they are eager to help, and we want to encourage compassion as much as we can; we want them to be little girls with a tender heart for serving others.

even if everyone does just a little bit...

our church's sewing circle, Scraps to Wraps continues to be a regular and favorite part of our monthly routine.

all 3 of my daughters participate with me, and it's such a blessing to be part of this close knit multi-generational group.

here you can see M working on the scrappy plaid stars quilt. M, Joanne and i each pieced about 25 of these fun and quick blocks.


some months when we meet we can really churn out an astounding number of quilts- once we tied 7 comforters (quilts)! we all take turns, according to our schedules, to take the completed quilts home to bind, returning them to the church as soon as we're done.


A loves to go and help. she asks for her own needle and thread, and will sit diligently and "tie" the quilts right alongside her grandmotherly friends.

some of our quilts stay in our community and given to folks who have experienced a fire or some other tragedy.

some of our "uglies" are sleeping bags that we've made specifically for the homeless. you can read more about that (and even make an "uglie" of your own) here.

others are taken to the MCC, (Mennonite Central Committee) to be distributed to disaster victims all over the world.

with the recent earthquake in Haiti, MCC is asking for even more quilts. 10,000 quilts (comforters) and flat sheets, to be exact! they are also asking for relief kits, to provide basic hygiene supplies to a Haitian family.

the little girls and i have been working on some extra scrap quilts that we can take to the church to be knotted at our next Scraps to Wraps meeting. I'd like the quilts to be able to go to Haiti and offer some measure of comfort to those in such dire need right now.

the relief kits are also something that our church is doing. Dave is excited about that particular project, since Haiti is near and dear to his heart after serving on 3 mission trips with CSI. we have several missionary friends who are in Haiti right now, serving God despite the very difficult circumstances. our family plans on doing several of these buckets for our Haitian friends.

below is the information on both the comforters and relief kits, if you'd like to get involved. if you're a local reader, and would like to participate, I'll be glad to take the stuff to church and see that it gets to the MCC. (this would be a good opportunity to get rid of one of those unfinished quilting projects that's nagging at you from your sewing closet!)

Comforter and Blankets:

Comforter specifications:

Use new or nearly new material
Single/twin-size preferred ( 60in x 80in) Double/full-size accepted ( 82in x 90in)
Winter weight are requested for the Haiti earthquake response (please use quilt batting)
Knotted with crochet cotton (not more than 4-8in apart)
Get children involved: use fabric markers or fabric crayons to draw pictures on blank muslin or solid fabric comforter tops

Relief Kit:

Contents: (NEW items only)

4 large bars bath soap (leave in wrapping)
1 plastic bottle shampoo (13-24oz; place bottle in a re-sealable plastic bag)
4 large bars of laundry soap (Some stores carry Fels Naptha, Sunlight or Zote brands)
1 squeeze-tube toothpaste ( 6oz; leave in box)
4 adult-size toothbrushes (leave in packaging)
4 new bath towels (medium weight, dark or bright colors)
2 wide-tooth combs(6 to 8in)
1 fingernail clipper
1 box adhesive bandages (minimum 40, assorted)
1 package sanitary pads (18-24 thin maxi)

galloping just to stay behind!

would you be shocked if i told you that we've been a little busy around here? i know you might be, because I've never said that before!

so kidding.

it seems as if it has truly been busier than normal around here, with a plethora of things to do~ and that's just the list for the AM!

we did 350+ ears of corn on Monday, and with all of us working at it, we were done by lunch time. (which was good, considering that we still had 3 bushels of tomatoes to do up into spaghetti sauce!)
every one had corn for breakfast. and dinner.


we were able to borrow a turkey fryer, and we did the corn outside. not so starchy and sticky for the new kitchen= Happy family.


everyone helped- whether it was with husking, blanching, cutting the kernels off the cob, freezer bagging, cleaning up or washing the dishes. it's a ton of work, and we only have a little over half the corn we need, but i did want to get the bulk of the corn done before the kids left for college. (on Friday!!!)


after lunch we did the "divide and conquer" game plan, with some of us finishing up the corn, and others washing and cooking tomatoes, ready for the squeezo. in spite of the fact that the kitchen stove did its level best to either die or blow up, (or both!) we managed to churn out 40+ quarts of spaghetti sauce. and perhaps even more amazing, they were all our own tomatoes, wrested from the evil and determined clutches of the tomato blight! additionally, both the peppers and onions that we used for the spaghetti sauce were also grown in our very own garden. as were the herbs. but I'll stop bragging now.

then, as if there wasn't enough going on this week, we just butchered 11 of the buff orpington roosters. because 12 roosters is clearly too many.

clearly.


add to that freezing green peppers and the occasional mess of green beans, and i would say that everyone should just be happy with clean underwear.

my brain must have burped or something...

even though I've been pretty sparse and sporadic about posting regularly, i have been making an effort to keep my sidebar updated with all our Garden 2009 news and happenings. (and even though it's not Thursday, I'm giving you a little update.)

if you've been following my updates there, you'll have already noticed that i put in a new button- "Give What You Grow". i found out about this ~not so new~ concept in my bloggy wanderings. i can't even remember how i stumbled upon it.

anyway, it's pretty easy. just share whatever you grow in your garden with the local food bank, or others in need. (just click on the picture and you can go see for yourself.)

when i bought my *150 pounds* of seed potatoes, it was March. it was cold. it was windy. this winter was the longest that i can ever remember. spring seemed a long way off. and most importantly, I'm a very optimistic person by nature.

and i thought- heck, how much potatoes that really be, anyway?

and my family really likes potatoes, and in many different ways.

(while I'm optimistic by nature, i could definitely not be described as astute. this is evidenced by the fact that all my farmer friends from church kept asking me incredulously "how many pounds of seed potatoes did you say you bought?" then the farmer would invariably shake his head in amazement and then turn to another farmer and say "did Jennifer tell you how many pounds of seed potatoes she bought?" at which point that farmer would shake his head in amazement. i should have realized what i was in for several weeks ago...)

well, fast forward to today, and a very healthy (and hot) dose of reality.

let me just tell you that *150 pounds* of seed potatoes is alot of potatoes. ALOT.

G and i have been working steadily all afternoon, and we still have 50 pounds of potatoes to cut and plant. we're on our 5th row of potatoes, and the rows keep getting longer and longer...

but here's where my nifty new button comes in. God has abundantly blessed my family though the years, in many miraculous and even amazing ways. and this year, with my garden and the produce that i hope will be produced, i plan on sharing our abundance with others in our community who may not have as much as they need right now.

and i think that maybe I'll start with all my farmer friends; because the Good Lord knows that we can't eat all those potatoes ourselves!

it's sew good!

shortly after moving to Bradford county last May, i was invited to join a special group of women. it's a quilting group that they call the Friendship Quilters, and they have graciously included me in their meetings and projects ever since. some of those women were the first freindships that i formed after moving to this new place, and i will always be grateful for the warm welcome that they showed me.

one of the things that they do every month is have a block exchange. it's very simple, really. as a group we decide on what quilt block we'd like to make; what pattern we'll use and the colors. whoever wants to participate makes a block. then when we get together again, if you made a block your name goes in the hat. we all take turns winning, and then start all over again. last month i was the fortunate winner! i received 12 of these black and white blocks, and I'm busy thinking about how I'd like to design the quilt that I'll make.

and look what came in the mail today! this wonderful sewing thingy from my bloggy friend Angie. it's part of a project that we both volunteered for, Pay it Forward. even though Angie already sent me a wonderful box of hair bows for the girls, I'm tickled pink to receive this as well!

I'm not sure what to properly and respectfully call it, but i know what it is! there is a pin cushion, weighted with rice. it's big enough for pins, needles and safety pins. there is also the removable trash bag, which is a very nice feature. and then there are the little pockets for miscellaneous sewing notions: scissors, tape, thread and more pins.

thanks so much, Angie! the fabric is beautiful. i love stripes, florals and checks together. now i'm off to go sew!

greetings from zambia!

for many years now our family has made shoe boxes for Operation Christmas child. it's a part of our family tradition, and often part of my kids' Christmas present to fill a shoe box full of little goodies- practical as well as fun- to send halfway around the world to some child who has nothing. it's a reminder to us on Christmas morning, amidst the flurry of presents and paper, gifts and giving, that somewhere there is a small child opening our boxes. what they have received in their carefully packed box may be the only worldly possessions they own. good reminders for us, who have so much!

M has gone on several mission trips with a local church to Charlotte, North Carolina, to work in the Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child distribution center, getting the boxes ready to ship overseas. she has also taken Operation Christmas Child on as her own personal mission throughout the year, saving most of her tithe money to buy things for shoe boxes. last year she did 17 boxes, just herself, in addition to the mission trip! she has a very generous and tender heart for others!

here are a few pictures from that trip (ignore the date on her camera- she forgot to set it) you can see the massive warehouse, all full of shoe boxes. boys and girls, from ages 2-14 receive shoe boxes especially packed for them. the volunteers go through all the boxes to make sure that nothing inappropriate is in them, as well as to make sure they are filled up all the way. then they are sorted according to age, and boxed and ready to go on the cargo planes.

usually, M will include a little note, as well as a picture. today when dave and A went out to the mailbox, there was an air mail letter for miriam! from Zambia, Africa! the little girl who received M's box took the time, via a translator, to say thank you for her shoebox! her name is Glorious Musonda, and her father is a pastor. she wanted to tell M that they all appreciated her gift- her mother and 3 sisters as well! also enclosed was a picture.

how amazing that on this hot august day we receive a letter thanking us for something that we did all the way back in October! (i say we in the strictest editorial sense of the word!) it's just a reminder that God is always working, even when we can't see it!

and if you've never done a shoebox for OCC with your children, or even for yourself, i encourage you to do one this year! you won't be sorry- and look how we can bless the lives of others with this small act of generosity and kindness!