Hopeful Threads – Page 7 – Sew Bittersweet Designs

I did it!

16 Comments / Hopeful Threads, Swoon / By Melissa Dunworth

So I conquered a fear this weekend. I made a dress! It is actually my second one. I made one this time last year too for Anne.

I originally blogged about this dress last May. I have a fear of clothes, for several reasons. Mainly just two: curved seams and not really being able to fudge the measurements. I mean measure or cut wrong and it isn’t going to FIT and then you have a bunch of wasted time, energy and most depressingly FABRIC! So I made Anne one dress and never made another…until now!

This only happened because of Kristy at Hopeful Threads. She is such an inspiration, in sew many ways, that I finally decided that I needed to go outside my comfort zone for somebody else. I followed a really great tutorial from Sew Like My Mom, and it took me a little over an hour. Thank you Kristy for inspiring me to get off my duff! (And PS. Anne will have one of these in no time!)

On a totally different note, I also finished my fourth Swoon block! Just in time to make it 4 for 4 – four months four blocks. What do you think?

On an entirely non-sewing related note – I hope you all have had a fabulous weekend. We had a great weekend! We took Anne to our local Children’s Museum and she also learned how to pedal a trike this weekend! That was so cool to see, one day she couldn’t do it and the next day, like magic, she could. Big proud mama moment 🙂

Don’t forget to enter my TWO open giveaways! One from Fat Quarter Shop and one from Marie Bostwick.

I’m linking up to Connie’s linky party over at Quilting by the River.

When you have the heart to give

6 Comments / Charity, Hopeful Threads / By Melissa Dunworth

As I have said many times on this blog, I have the heart to give and as often as I can I do. Whether it be donating quilt block to Do.Good Stitches or to Quilting for Kids. There is something to be said for helping someone you have never met before. Most everything I donate to is quilt related, this is because I am not confident in my non-quilting sewing skills.

Kristy, of Hopeful Threads, also has the heart to give. She is truly an inspiration to not only me, but hundreds of others. Every month Kristy collects handmade items for a specific charity. Every month I have wanted to donate, it has been in my heart, but I just haven’t felt comfortable with my skill set to make something that I would feel good about donating. I want to donate my best, not my so-so work.

This month I asked Kristy if I could donate in an alternative way, I am donating a dress kit for Dress a Girl Around the World and I will send it to someone who would commit to make a dress and donate it to the cause.

This is my donation. Now it gets even better, Kristy matched my donation with a dress kit as well, after her post went live on Monday two more wonderful bloggers jumped on board with dress kits. Suzanne from Sew Delightful is donating a dress kit and so is my friend from Noguchi Designs. Not only are these wonderfully talented women donating dresses but they are also making it possible for someone else to donate too!

If you have it in your heart to sew a dress and put a smile on a little girls face please go enter the giveaways and sew a dress!

Have a wonderful weekend!

PS. Don’t forget to go enter the generous giveaway from Contemporary Cloth. You have until Sunday!

Giving Back – Hopeful Threads

4 Comments / Charity, Hopeful Threads / By Melissa Dunworth

Hello everyone! I am so happy today to bring you Kristy from Hopeful Threads. If you haven’t heard of Hopeful Threads let me introduce you really quickly. Kristy is a mom and a sewist. She likes to give back and every month she finds a new charity to work with. Read on to learn a little about how you can give back each month!

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Hello Sew BitterSweet Designs friends! I’m Kristy and I blog over at Hopeful Threads. When Melissa invited me to tell you a little about my blog, I jumped at the chance! Thank you again Melissa!

Like many of you, I am a very busy mama, with 5 in my nest ages 20months – 12 years. Sewing is something I love to do! It’s my creative outlet, my mama fun time, that’s why it only seemed natural when looking for a way to give back, to do so while sewing! Hopeful Threads was “officially” started just over a year ago as a way to allow me to use my sewing abilities to help others. Along with a group of very generous and talented creative bloggers, we have been able to meet a variety of needs through monthly sewing projects. Some of the projects have included, pillowcases for our local DCS, activity totes for Children’s Hospital and a variety of items like sundresses, cloth pads and diaper covers that have been sent internationally to Ghana, China and Cambodia!

In addition to offering an opportunity to sew for a specific need each month, I also like to share about businesses that give back or that support needs outside of themselves. For example, Create H.O.P.E. Designs is a project near and dear to my heart.

Create H.O.P.E. was developed for the sole purpose of financially providing for the needs of orphans and their communities. Patterns are only $5 and 100% of the money raised supports those in need! While I am not a professional pattern designer, I was able to contribute one of my more advanced tutorials to the project and have been so proud to be a part of the collaborative efforts of so many caring designers!

I will also introduce you to a variety of organizations that can use your support. While you may not be able to sew along each month, I do invite you to consider showing your support in anyway you feel led. The organization we are sewing for this month is Annabelle’s Wish an organization serving nearly 2000 children in foster and/or orphan care in China. They are humbly doing some amazing work!

In addition to our charity outreach, I also like to share various sewing tips, tutorials and pattern reviews, as well as, personal projects I am working on. I hope you will pop over and take a look around, and I’d love to have you join us if it looks like a place you find interesting! We do have a lot of fun!

And remember….every stitch matters!

Are you feeling inspired? Is 2012 the year you will focus on giving back? It is one of my goals for the year.