Oh the Fun we had! Our first Sew fest !

We had a blast at our first sew fest Saturday February 26th 2011.
We may have been small in numbers. But that didn't matter. All who came ,got straight to work and we were a force to be reckoned with LOL

We had Mary Ann who donated some wonderful dress shirts , fabric and pillow cases. And was our Cutting and pinning  and threading elastic Super Women ! We couldn't keep up and keep her supplied with fabric quick enough . She was a wonderful support.

Mary Ann hard at work

 

Then there is Sarah who first Posted the link to Dress a girl on her facebook page saying that we should be a  part of this and I am eternally grateful she did.She was one of our  Super Sewers. and who would believe that she is 7 months pregnant!And has a adorable Little 2 year old girl too.

Sarah setting up her new sewing Machine. except she grabbed the Spanish manual By mistake and none of us speak Spanish. She worked it out eventually :-)

Then there is Amy Jo another super sewer.This super women has 2 sets of twins 2 Girls 5 and a boy and a girl 15 months old . So she is a Super Mom But is always such a great support.

Amy Jo with one of the dresses she made

Sarah and Amy Jo working away.Amy Jo showing her best side :-)

 

We then have our super power with the Iron Barb . She flew through the pile of pressing, ironing. Hmm maybe I should hire her  for my own Ironing . I Hate to iron personally. That's what tumble dryers are for LOL.All her 5 children are now grown and at college, Married etc. So she gets enjoy the joys of being a Grandparent to a 4 year old  Boy and a  18 month old girl

Me Hand sewing a bow, Sarah hard at work.

We also had Jocelyn . Our other super ironer . And she took fabric home to sew dresses. I didn't get a picture of her . She took some of these pics. But Next time I will as I know she will continue to be involved. She was also My Tech savvy friend and hopefully set up my blog to Facebook link to work finally.  Her smiling face can be found on her great blog called" We talk of Christ We rejoice in Christ.

Another Super Sewer was Jaquie who I also sadly didn't get a picture of . She cut out a bunch of Toddler size dresses.And took T shirts, fabric etc to make 10 more dresses at home.She made this adorable dress on the left

Then we have Kimberly she came and was one of our Super Cutters and cut out the arm holes for a bunch of toddler dresses., And even took fabric home to cut more.

And she bought with her, her two Children Bobby and Autumn. Who Our Puppy absolutly loved playing with :-)
And Autumn agreed to be our model. Sew Cute.

Love this fun bright print of cats.

We had a fun day of, sharing stories, cutting pinning, and sewing dresses.

Can you believe these totals for just one day.

15 totally finished

7  with elastic in ready for  straps.

27  pillowcases cut, ironed and ready to sew the straps on

23 toddler size dresses cut from fabric and ready to sew.

5 dress shirt dresses cut, ironed and ready for straps

That's with out the 20 that a couple of girls took home to sew.

And the 20 Heidi is making.

and the 30 I have made so if you do the math that's the grand total of 147!



How Awesome is that !
Looking forward to many more events in the future

Exhausted and Excited! Walmart $1 a yard and less.

I am physically Exhausted , from being the worst procrastinator ever and leaving the cleaning up of my house, getting lunch items ready for tomorrow  and prepping and setting up for our first Sew fest all in one day.
But every step I was also excited for all the dresses we will make tomorrow and all the girls lives we can touch.And I have some wonderful friends supporting me for this wonderful event. So I am  Excited to get together with some great friends and sew for this great charity and use some of the wonderful donations of fabric etc we have.
Our Goal is too have 100 dresses to send to Dominican republic. And I think we can make that goal. . I have some friends sewing individually . My one friend Heidi is sewing 20 dresses and  am eternally grateful for great women like Heidi that are willing to help sew.

So anyone that still wants to join us tomorrow ,please do, we would love to have you come and have fun with us.
So I ran to Walmart to get some elastic etc. and they had some very cute fabric at a $1 a yard. So of course I had to buy it. I have no self control, when it comes to fabric for DAG and for myself actually :-)
I didn't take pics but plan on making some cute dresses tomorrow.So I will show you when they are made.

And here's a picture of some fabric that I got at another Walmart the other day.

Yes that's right it 75 cents for the whole bolt! Now there's not that much on a bolt  maybe 3 -4 yards and it's thinner than cotton. But I think it will work for ruffles or straps

So of course I had to buy all 3 . But it was only $2.25  for 3 bolts!

I am still Amazed how I have come to be at the right place at the right time, the last few weeks.. As I have prayed about all areas in my life , Heavenly Father has blessed me with the health at this time to be able accomplish many things in my life, and juggle my many responsibilities and also be involved in this wonderful charity. It's been great to be able to Sew which is one of my loves and get to help others which I also like to do. I am so Blessed.And thank you for everyone's continued support of this project.

Crossroads Thrift store

Thank you Marilyn Lenker for your donations, and continued support for DAG. This is what they donated.

More dress shirts Lace edge curtains, and some cute little girls shirts all ready to add skirts too.

I can"t wait to make this cute shirt into a dress. To hopefully Make One little Girl HAPPY

Thrift store Donations/ Dress shirt to Dress Link

I went to a couple of my favorite Thrift stores again today. To update my info with info about this blog and updated email info.
I met Tammy today at a certain thrift store with the initials SP. :-).and what a pleasure it was. It was great to meet her and for her to feel such great enthusiasm for this great charity. It was great chatting with her and explaining what we do. And have her be so Excited to be a part of this.
 I am looking forward to Continually being in contact in the future with SP Thrift store.Your the best !
And Thanks again.

FUN FABRICS and 2 like new pillowcases.

Tammy suggested we add this fun print to one of the dresses and I am up for the challenge. It's a fun bright cheery print

Fun Button down shirts .Yes these can be made into the Cutest dresses.

Dress shirt to Dress Check out this Link for a great tutorial for Making these cute dresses from Button down shirts can't wait to make these.And this opens up so many possibilities for Dresses out of recycled clothing. Please ask Permission before you clear out your husbands or families closet to make these adorable dresses.

Jaleanas Fabric Donation.

I put an ad on Craiglist  asking for donations For DAG and Jaleana was actually the only person that contacted me. I will post again.
She contacted me and asked how she could help and what she could donate. We were going to meet in Carlise PA some time but that didn't work out. Although I would love to meet her one day.
She emailed me and said she had sent a package and I should get it today. Well it came and I was blown away with her generosity. she sent a large flat rate box just filled to the brim with wonderful fabric . I shed a tear and my heart swelled at all the girls that can receive Dresses because of Jaleana .
there is probably enough fabric to make at least 30 dresses!

Thank you Jaleana from the bottom of my heart.Many girls will have huge smiles and be dancing in the Dresses we can make with the beautiful fabrics you sent. May God Bless you.

Tech Savvy!

You think I would be more tech savvy than I am. Seeing as my Husband is a Computer programmer and systems analist.But sadly no I haven"t developed that skill. When he tries to explain it too me it sounds like Bwahhh Bwaaah bwahhh similar to the teacher in Charlie Brown cartoons.
But I think I finally worked out how I can type a blog entry here and then it automatically be posted on Facebook. So this is a test post.
I think once this is all set up it will be great . In the mean time I am certainly getting a headache :-)

On a different note be sure to check out My facebook post about making dresses from Button down shirts Such a great idea and so cute. I asked the girl from Dress a girl Lake charles for permission to post the link on this page.
So now I need you to donate all your button down shirts you are not wearing. Please ask permission before clearing out Husbands or boyfriend, brothers closet etc. LOL

Sanctuary Praise Thrift store donation.

So last week. I went on one of My Thrift store shopping donation missions:-).
This time I headed to another small Thrift store I remembered seeing as I drove to Lewisburg  PA from Shamokin Dam on rt 15.
It's called Sanctuary Praise ( church on the hill) Thrift center.And I met some wonderful Sweet ladies. I told them about the charity and the Pastors daughter who was there was very  willing to donate.She said when they get fabric they usually don't know what to do with it! ( well that just about stopped my heart LOL).I was able to pick up some gently used sheets, new pillowcases and fabric and a cute ruffled curtain. And even some Lace. Thank you so Much Sanctuary Praise thrift store for your Wonderful Donation . They will be used to make many girls around the world very Happy.
And all you Local people Check this wonderful thrift store out they have some nice things and great prices.

 

The Blue fabric on the middle right has penguins surfing I Know that is random But I think some little girls will get a kick out of it and it will make fun dresses.The Navy fabric on the left has a ruffle so will make a cute Ruffled dress.

 

The Packages in the center are  2 packs of Pillow cases.and there are 6 of them. Yes some of them are white. But with some contrast ruffles, and straps and a pocket I think they will make great dresses.

Thanks again Sanctuary of Praise Thrift center for your Wonderful Donation

Sewing Fest this Saturday 26th February.

For any of you living in and around the Northumberland PA area and would like to come sew, pin, cut.. I will Be having our first major sewing event . All dresses will be going to Dominican Republic in March and we want to load those suit cases.
Please feel free to email me if you would like to attend and I will give you my address.
It will be 10am - 7pm But you are not expected to stay the whole day , unless you want too :-)

Change the World - Dress a Girl Around the World

Change the World - Dress a Girl Around the World

Click on the Above Change the World  red Statement and you will be taken to a wonderful link.
I Love this Video Link from Our official Dress a Girl around the world website. My favorite part is about half way through, when you will see an Adorable  Little Girl Dancing in her heart print dress.
I can not watch this clip with out my Heart just swelling. And reminds me  of what a difference just one dress can make in boosting the self esteem of one little girl
Hopefully It moves you in the same way. And makes you pull your sewing machine out and get to work.
Or makes you want to be a part of this wonderful charity.

Dresses In all Colors and sizes

 

This is one of my favorites I had Made a skirt a while back with a panel I bought at the thrift store and knew I had some fabric left I love it so now I am looking for panels with great prints to make these adorable dresses

Isn't this Print  so cute Now when I wear My Skirt I can think of another little girl wearing this dress

Here are  the dresses I made using the pillowcases donated by my friend Sue .So I have 2 of each of these I added the contrast Ribbon and pockets

The Fabric on the left was left over from When my daughter was Dorothy one year for Halloween
Along time ago

Love is in the Air

Daisy print contrast

Red White and Blue stripe I like the wider bias tape on these

Red with Blue Polka dot ribbon

As you can see Dresses can be made in all colors and sizes. These dresses are just some of the dresses going to Dominican Republic

Dresses going to Dominican Republic We Need those Dresses.

Our First PA  Dresses will be going to the Dominican Republic.
They will be hand Carried by a group of Students and professor from Bucknell University Lewisburg PA. They will be taking 2 suit case's full! Believe me that's a lot of dresses.
SO EXCITING!.
We will be having a Sewing fest at my house on the 26th of February and hope to meet our goal of 100 dresses.
If anybody  would like to send dresses for this trip. Please contact me ASAP and I will give you my Mailing info. We have a time crunch though. They leave on March 11. So I would need all donations by March 8 so I would have time to add labels and get the dresses to them.
Every dress makes a difference, so even if you can only mail one dress, You will be making one little girl very happy.

Just some of My Thrift store finds!

So I Love scouting around the thrift stores  to see what they  have I can use for dresses. But before I leave  the House I print out the colored flyer from the Official Dress a Girl Around the world Website and My own Info too with a List of Donations needed.

A Couple of weeks ago I visited  Crossroads thrift store in Montandon PA , and showed them the flyer and explained what we wanted to do on a local level to do our part. And she said " Here's a Box fill it with what ever you see in the store you could use"!
How Great and generous is that. Thank you Marilyn Lenker Director your amazing so this is what I found this time.
I say this Time because she said I should come in Once a Month and fill a box ( wow). Now who said there isn't great people out there. Just goes to Show It Never Hurts to Ask

Girls shirts,Sheets, valances,and fabric to add to t-shirt dresses

 So I head to the H.U.F discount ( thrift ) store in Milton and ask the same questions. The Manager said will we don't really get sheets etc and when we do we throw them out as they are in to bad of a shape to use.I asked her about Little girls shirts but she said she didn't really Get Many of those either  OK?
She took the flyer and said she would read it over. So I scouted the store and found some little shirts which I bought. and I can't wait to add cute little skirts to them all my stash of  9 shirts came to 15 dollars so not too bad.

So then I headed to another Thrift store in Milton American rescue workers. I showed the flyer there etc. But she need to ask her Director. So she has my info, so we will see. I was able to pick up 4 pillowcases and a King size sheet for $6 dollars though and the Sheet has a cute ruffled edge that will make cute dresses.

Here's the mistake today I forgot that there is a difference between a pillow Sham and a Pillow case. Shams tend to open in the back and are sometimes Padded in the front So don't really work for the dresses. Oh well I bought some brand New Shams for $3 Guess I should change the color scheme in My Bedroom LOL

Well I think I have enough supplies to Make Many dresses. And  for any of you Local friends, I will be Having regular get togethers at my house for any of you that would like to Help.  The first big  One will Be Feb 26thEmail me if you live in the Northumberland PA area and would like to come.

Who are we and How can you Help.

Hi My Name is Marie Eisenhower and I am So Excited to be  the  Volunteer PA Rep for Dress a Girl around the world.
I look forward to of being of help to all my PA friends as we strive to help this wonderful charity.There are many ways you can help.
Feel free to go to the official Dress a girl around the world page http://www.dressagirlaroundtheworld.com 
To find out all about this wonderful charity.
* Do you have a group of friends who like to sew? Why not  Have  some fun and sew cute dresses for this wonderful charity.Even if you have never sewn before this is a great Beginners project..Feel free to set up a Get together of your own and Have fun making a difference in the life of a Girl.
* Feel free to contact me at PAdressagir@gmail.com if you have a group you would like me to come help with. Think of Women s church groups, Girl scout troops, High school groups.

*Patterns are found here www.dressagirlaroundtheworld.com/patterns
*I  take donations of Fabric, Pillowcases,Sewing supplies. ( see Donation List On right of Blog) Clean out that sewing room and fabric stash email me if you need my mailing address or if you live in my local area I am willing to pick up.
* Monetary donations are taken towards supplies and postage.
* Do you know of a Church, group, Medical group, or students who are going over seas to serve, we would love  them  to hand carry dresses to  girls in need.We Just ask that you take pictures of all those sweet smiling Girls as they receive their dresses.So we can show others the difference that one dress makes in the life of a little girl.

Please feel free to email me pics of what you are doing in the PA area to help and I will Share on this blog.