Haiti By Hand

Announcing "Clean-Out for Quilts"

{ UPDATE }  RESPONSE TO 'CLEAN-OUT FOR QUILTS' HAS BEEN TERRIFIC SO FAR...THANK YOU!

WE ARE STILL ACCEPTING DONATIONS FOR THIS ONGOING PROJECT.  PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR A LISTING OF ITEMS WE STILL NEED.

Please help us spread the word...Clean out your fabric closet and send the scraps our way!

Haiti by Hand is hosting an ongoing "Clean-Out for Quilts" fabric drive.  For several years, a group of women from our local community and churches have gathered each week to sew items for the women and children of Haiti.  We would love for you to be a part of our "quilting bee" by cleaning out your stash of quilt fabrics and supplies and donating them to our efforts here.

We are now accepting the following items...

{ QUILT FABRICS--all sizes & types, except flannel or fleece }

{ FABRIC SCRAPS & REMNANTS }

{ UNFINISHED QUILT PROJECTS }

{ QUILT BLOCKS }

{ QUILT SUPPLIES & TOOLS }

{ QUILT BATTING }

{ QUILT BINDINGS & TRIMS }

{ MACHINE THREADS }

{ RIBBONS & EMBELLISHMENTS }

{ AND OF COURSE FINISHED QUILTS TOO! }

Please contact us via the email link to the right (haitibyhand@att.net) if you have any questions about this effort.  Send donations to this address:

HAITI BY HAND

3333 BENTON ROAD

CEDAR HILL TN  37032

And as always, thank you for helping us help Haiti.

grace & peace,

Rebecca

 

one at a time

I have discovered this is the only way to help Haiti.  One person at a time.  If you look around at the vast need, it's way too overwhelming.  It's immobilizing. 

But...one person, one family at a time...there is so much we can do.

On our most recent trip, my daughter and I were blessed enough to be able to go into a school and help some of the teens learn how to make some jewelry items.  We distributed the last of the crafting supplies that you sent us.  What a treat to work with these kids!

I asked them why they wanted to make jewelry to sell?  Not one of them mentioned any sort of gadget or possession for themselves.  The standard answer was to help pay for their education (high school) or to help their family pay for food.

And what a fun surprise that most of our students turned out to be teen boys!  They took their crafting very seriously and made some quite nice pieces.  A couple of them are already clever entrepreneurs, selling their crafts where they can.

I'm so proud of them.  I am honored that I had the chance to work with them.  And now (thanks to you guys!) they are stocked with the materials to go forward and bring in some money on their own...so much better than a handout!

Please keep these young people in your hearts and prayers.  Life is very, very hard for them and they have witnessed more than any young person should have to see in their short lifetimes.

Also, please notice that we've put a "Now Collecting" list over in the sidebar.  This list will change from time to time, but it's a great way to help out with the current needs we have.  There are so many little things we can do to help Haiti in a big way.

Until next time....

 

madam ellison

In the center of this photo is an incredible woman.  Amazing wife, mom, friend, leader.  Good and fun and faithful.  Kind and giving and oh so smart.  Adored by all.

I received the news that Madam Ellison passed away from complications following childbirth yesterday.  My heart is broken in two...at least that's how it feels right now.  She leaves behind her kind and good husband, Pastor Ellison, and two of the sweetest little girls in the world.  And her dear infant son is clinging to his own little life right now.

I ask that you pray for this precious family, the ones left behind, the baby boy.  They will feel a terrible void for a very long time I am sure.  And pray for the women in the group.  They loved and admired this lady so much.  She did so much for them.  Madam Ellison, we will miss you and everything that you were.

 "Her children arise and call her blessed;
   her husband also, and he praises her:
Many women do noble things,
   but you surpass them all."

{ proverbs 31:28-29 }

forget us not

Let us each pause for a moment, say a prayer and determine not to forget what happened to the beautiful people of Haiti one year ago.  They need us still.

 

a home built with heart

I will have to take you back, all the way to here, when I shared with you the story of Elcy.

The story of a dear Haitian lady and her need for a home of her own (the mud shack behind was one in which she and her children were guests).  And as you always do, you came forward with so much support.  Enough, in fact, that my family traveled down to Haiti back in May to help begin work on Elcy's new home...

Work continued after we left Haiti, and I've (finally!) received the photos of Elcy's finished home!  We are so excited.  But word is that she's full of pure, beautiful joy.  So appreciative, so humbled to have been given this gift...

I remember, before heading back to the states last May, how Elcy hugged me so tightly that I was having a hard time getting my breath (those Haitian girls are mighty-strong let me tell you!).  And now to have received these photos.  My heart is warmed from top to bottom.

If you were one who donated money, an art piece for the auction, an item to be sold in Etsy...please know that what you did went a very, very long way.  I know you contributed straight from your heart.  And your heart has reached its fingers all the way down to Haiti.

Your heart built a home.

 

updates

Here are a few updates for what's going on with Haiti by Hand as of late...

Look for products made by the Haitian women at Silver Bella in Omaha this year.  My dear friend, Charlotte Lyons, will have a few Haiti by Hand items at her table at the bella market on Friday night, November 12, from 6-10 pm.  The smallest purchase (like a $5 bracelet!) goes so far to help the women in Haiti.  Let's not forget them!

The women are still working on their items at this time.  Our ultimate goal is for the ladies to have their own mini-businesses by making and selling their own items in Haiti.  We've been thrilled to help them by bringing items back to the states and selling for them.  And we will continue to do so for a while until they are standing on their own a little more securely.

We will be traveling back down to Haiti probably in the early spring to assess how the women are coming along.  We'll take the last of the supplies that you have donated and distribute those.  And we will be making decisions on how to best distribute the funds that have been donated for the women.  Those who are most in need will be the first to receive help.  Housing, generators, education for themselves and/or their children, medical needs...these are just a few of the areas where we will focus our attention.  We want to be very thorough and careful about how we distribute the funds you've donated.  And doesn't it feel good to know that every penny will go directly to a Haitian woman in need? 

You have been so very generous in sending crafting materials for the women...wow!  Right now, we are not accepting any more materials.  We have been overwhelmed (in a very good way!) by the response to this need.  And the women are so very grateful and thrilled when they see me coming with more boxes.  It's all thanks to each of you.  What a blessing you are.

Okay, so we will continue to keep you posted as things transpire.  Please don't forget these women!  They are so precious and important in this world.  Keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

many blessings,

Rebecca

 

haiti's creative connection

We've been having such fun here getting the Haitian women's items ready for their vendor table at The Creative Connection (next week!).  Everything is sorted and tagged and ready to go.  Here are a few sneak peeks...

This will be their first 'show' and the ladies have worked very diligently making their items to sell.  Many of you have played a part in this journey thus far...you may even recognize some of the supplies you donated!  I'm anxious to report back to them how well they were supported by the women in the States, because I know they will be.  If you are planning to attend this event, please come by and see us.  We'd love to share a little of our story with you.

a girl and her yarn

I've never seen a lady so attached to a thing as Miraclid and her crocheting.  She is nothing but a non-stop crochet machine.  So adorable.  This photo is one taken on a day when the women took me on an outing to a particularly pretty area of Haitian nature.  And of course Miraclid brought her crocheting along.  She just gets absorbed in it.

When she saw the boxes of yarn you sent, she was ecstatic.  And that's saying a lot for this very quiet, reserved sweet girl.  I still have the mental picture of her walking down the dirt road that day, carrying her bag of new yarn slung over her shoulder like Santa Claus.  

You can help Miraclid in a big way by buying one of her crocheted purses.  If you'd like one, just email us at haitibyhand@att.net and let us know which # purse you'd like.  Then we'll send you a paypal invoice.  They are $25 each (that includes shipping).

And let me take this opportunity to thank each of you who sent yarn and other crafting supplies during our drives.  Yeah I know I've thanked you a lot.  But really...every time I think about your generosity I still get a little choked up.  You're a beautiful web of support that keeps me going.

Grace and peace for your day.

haiti bound

Not me this time, but my daughter.  This is her third trip and as you can imagine Haiti holds a very special place in her heart. 

She will be a girl of many trades for the 3+ weeks she is there.  Working with the Haiti by Hand women, teaching them some new crafts and skills.  Helping out in a medical clinic.  Hopefully visiting and working with some children in an orphanage.  In Haiti there is something to do everywhere you turn.

Also, please tune in to AC360 on Monday and Tuesday nights (July 12 and 13) on CNN.  Anderson's going to be reporting live from Haiti with some 6-months-after segments.  I'm really anxious to see what's happening, but mostly I'm excited that he is going back.  Hopefully, Anderson will be able to draw our attention back to these people who still need us.

a special lady indeed

Just like with my children, it's impossible to pick favorites with the women in Haiti.  But some of them are just special to me for one reason or another.

Matid (mah-teed) is one of those.

Matid is a lady who sort of hangs in the background most of the time.  At least when I'm around.  She's quiet and comfortable in almost any setting.  These ladies can get pretty fiesty sometimes, but not Matid.  When the others are clamoring for my attention and wanting to try something new (like every 10 minutes), she just plugs away making her little 'hippie' bracelets.

Back in December, my daughter (who's a bit of a hippie herself) taught Matid how to make these bracelets and she just took to it right away.  So when I returned to Haiti in May and took the beads and cord that you ladies sent, Matid just settled in and got busy.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I would like to hold most of the Haitian's handcrafts for the event in September.  But since Matid's bracelets are so fun and summery I thought I would offer some of them to you here, for those of you who won't be able to make it in September.

If you'd like to purchase one of Matid's bracelets please email me at haitibyhand@att.net.  They are $12 each (that includes shipping) and I hope you'll be okay with me picking one for you.  As always here at HBH, every penny of proceeds goes directly to the artist, in this case dear sweet Matid. 

UPDATE: ONLY 7 BRACELETS REMAINING  ALL SOLD--THANK YOU!!

Thanks to each of you who check in now and then.  Basically, thank you for being one of the few who haven't forgotten about Haiti :)

grace & peace,

Rebecca