A few months ago, my sister handed me a box of fleece material that she had on hand and asked if I would be willing to sew up some twin size blankets for the students of the Real Hope Center.
What's the Real Hope Center you ask? I'm glad you asked. Real Hope is a ministry that my sister and brother in law started in southern India. They hike out to remote villages and provide some basic hygiene products and talk to the villagers about the love of Jesus. They saw a need for schooling for the children of the villages, but had no way to get the kids down the mountains to the school. Monsoon rains would wipe out the roads and herds of elephants would pose a threat to anyone who ventured too closely. Remember the scene in Dumbo where Mrs. Jumbo became enraged over some kids mocking Dumbo? Apparently, elephants rampage when humans get too close (although they don't use their trunks to spank bottoms). Who would've guessed that the sweet elephants at the zoo could be so vicious.
Anyway, my sister and her husband purchased land and built a center where the villagers could send their children to live while they go to school. Until Real Hope gets enough donations to get real beds, the kids sleep on mats on the floors. These blankets are to warm them and make their beds a bit softer.
The material that my sister gave me had been sitting in my closet as I crafted Christmas gifts for my family, gave birth to Isaac, recovered from surgery, and through the first 4 months of Isaac's life. Needless to say, it's time to get it out of my closet and back to my sister before they leave for India this June.
I organized the fabric into color coordinating sections and started cutting and laying out the blanket. Then Tim stepped in and made the blanket pattern so much better than my attempt.
It was then time to sew all of the squares together. Before I could I do that, my sewing machine broke. I don't mean a jumbled mass of thread break. I mean a 3 week stint in the repair shop break. There wasn't enough time for me to finish the blanket before I went down to my parents house for a visit, so I brought it with me to work on down there. Unfortunately, I became extremely ill and couldn't finish it. My aunt, however, finished the top of the quilt for me before she became ill with what I had. Now, I am waiting for my mom to bring the quilt back up here so I can finish the back of the quilt. At some point, this blanket will get done! Fortunately, for the kids in India, there was a huge donation of blankets that will get sent over for their use.
Tim picked up my sewing machine this week and I am itching to get back to sewing.
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