Turquoise!

Days Remaining until hearts are due for The Giving Heart:  32
Hearts Completed:  51

Now I'm more than halfway to the smaller goal I set for myself, to complete 100 hearts for the charity Christmas tree for The Giving Heart in Richmond, Virginia.  The next batch of hearts will each feature the name of one of their volunteers--I'm excited to get started on those!

Yellow!

Days Remaining until hearts are due for The Giving Heart:  33
Hearts Completed:  43

Seven more hearts and my total is inching closer to my minimum goal of 100 hearts.

Green!

Days Remaining until hearts are due for The Giving Heart:  34
Hearts Completed:  36

Here are five more hearts to add to my total.  The bright green fabric has glitter in/on it, so it's really festive!

Pink!

Days Remaining until my hearts are due for The Giving Heart: 38
Hearts Completed:  31/200


I added 6 more hearts to my total today.  I have gotten away from traditional Christmas colors--yay!

Do you feel inspired to make some hearts to donate to The Giving Heart's charity Christmas tree?  If so, all the information you need can be found HERE in the original post.

43 Days and Counting

Days Remaining until my hearts are due for The Giving Heart:  43
Heart Completed:  25/ 200

Today I add nine more hearts to my total.

Click HERE if you would like to find out how you can contribute hearts to The Giving Heart's charity Christmas tree.

Sixteen Down...

Days Remaining until my hearts are due for The Giving Heart:  47
Hearts Completed:  16/ 200

Here are the first 16 hearts I've completed for The Giving Heart's charity Christmas tree.  Even though I plan to use a wide range of colors, I was irresistibly drawn to Christmas fabrics for this first batch.  I'm sure I will loosen up and get wilder with my fabric choices as I get closer to 200.

I would love your help; there is still plenty of time for you to make a heart (or two or three) and send them to:

Vicki Neilson, Director
The Giving Heart
11527 Primrose Lane
Rockville, VA 23146

You may want to visit The Giving Heart's web page to find inspiration for your hearts.  You can read a bit more about this project HERE.

Christmas Tree Hearts

I've started working on my hearts for The Giving Heart's Christmas tree (check my previous post for details).   When I think about how many I will need to make, I have two numbers in mind:  100 is the minimum number that would probably cover the 7 1/2-foot tree, and is a number I can realistically see myself reaching within the next 50 days; and 200 is the number I would like to aim for, because I think it would make for an extravagantly full Christmas tree.

I know that some of you will be sending hearts--thank you so much!  With your help I think we can reach 200!  The tree will be set up during the first week of December, so I plan to be done with my hearts at the end of November.  Since I live close enough to Richmond, Virginia, to deliver them in person, I don't have to allow extra time for mailing.  If you would like to help, just make a heart or two (or as many as you want!), and put them in the mail by mid-November.  Send them to:

Vicki Neilson, Director
The Giving Heart
11527 Primrose Lane
Rockville, VA 23146

So, 50 days from today my sewing time will be up!  I got a good start on the hearts this week, with a batch of 16 similar ones in various stages of completion at this moment.  I managed to fiinish one so I could show you:

If you are working on some hearts for The Giving Heart, I would love to hear how it's going--leave a comment below.  I would also love to see pictures when you are done; you can email them to me at leslieandersen4@gmail.com .

Sewing Hearts for The Giving Heart

The Giving Heart is a wonderful organization in nearby Richmond, Virginia, which serves the community by distributing essential items to those in need, and by hosting a big Thanksgiving Feast every year.

Additionally, in December, The Giving Heart will be one of 50 non-profits that will decorate a Christmas tree during the Miller and Rhoads Charity Christmas Tree event.  Since the word "heart" is part of the name, they hope to decorate their tree with hearts.

But who will make the the hearts?

You and I will, of course!!

We need to make enough hearts to cover a 7 1/2-foot-tall Christmas tree.  I estimate a minimum of 100 hearts will be necessary to do the job, and I would truly welcome your help.  If you would like to make a heart or two, just jump right in--you can use your own pattern, or one of the three below (just keep it under 5" wide and tall).  You can find a tutorial for sewing a heart by clicking HERE.  Be sure to add a hanging loop or cord to the top.  You can look through this blog for heart ideas, and feel free to borrow any idea you like!  I will post pictures of the hearts I make in the coming weeks, and if you send me pictures of the hearts you make, I will post them here too!  Send them to leslieandersen4@gmail.com .

We want to make a colorful tree, so in addition to red, green and white, you can use fabric of any color to make your heart.  For the decoration on the front, we want to use words that relate to The Giving Heart.  Here is a list of suggested words and phrases:

The Giving Heart
Giving Bags
Thanksgiving Feast
Got You Covered
Community
Fellowship
Gratitude
Patience
Kindness
Love
Peace
Friendship
Hope
Caring
Helping
Sharing
Joy

You may use any technique to put the word on the heart--paint, embroidery, permanent marker, etc. You may also embellish the heart with other things, like beads, buttons, ribbon, fabric or felt. Perfection is not required!

I'm waiting to hear the final date by which the hearts may be submitted; but to be on the safe side, I would suggest that you plan to send your hearts by early November.  Finished hearts may be mailed to:

Vicki Neilson, Director
The Giving Heart
11527 Primrose Lane
Rockville, VA  23146

You don't have to sign up to make hearts for the tree, but if you plan to make one or more hearts, please leave a comment below so I can have a rough idea of how much help I will have with this.

If you have any questions, you can e-mail me at leslieandersen4@gmail.com; or leave a comment below and I will respond there.  Thanks in advance for your help!

God is Good

Day #274
Heart # 479

This is one of the hearts I sent to Suzy to help fill a jar of hearts for her sister who will be having cancer-related surgery next month.  Even when we are sick, God is good.

Rainbow

Day #273
Heart #478

There was a small strip of fabric left from the Rainbow Bag, so I used part of it to make this bright heart.

Brooches

Day #270
Hearts #475-477

I made these three brooches from a damaged old quilt.

Each one is about 2 1/2" inches tall and wide.

Cutter Quilt Hearts

Day #265
Hearts #472-474

I recently bought a vintage "cutter quilt" on eBay.  I have a lot of ideas for things to make from it, but I started with, of course, HEARTS!  You can read more about the cutter quilt on my other blog, Leslie's Art and Sew.

Pitcher of Hearts

Day #261
Hearts #450-471

Since most of my hearts will be in big groups, now that I'm always working on my Hope Hearts starter kits, I've decided that the pictures need to be more interesting so they don't all look alike!  Here's my first attempt at a more interesting group shot:  twenty-two hearts in a pitcher.

One Dozen

Day #256
Hearts #437-449

Here are twelve more hearts to add to my count...I have three more Hope Hearts starter kits to put in the mail today (that makes 71!)

A Small Batch

Day #253
Hearts #428-436

I just finished a relatively small batch of hearts today; the flood of requests for the Hope Hearts starter kits has turned into a small trickle.  I will send out two kits tomorrow, for a total of 68 kits made and sent.  My new goal for this blog is to reach 100 kits made and sent!

Thirty-three More

Day #251
Hearts #395-427

I made all these hearts earlier in the week, but I held off posting them until I could finish a "special" heart to be my 365th--and goal-reaching--heart.  These have all gone out in the mail in Hope Hearts starter kits.  I put 8 more kits in the mail yesterday, and for once I was totally caught up--every kit that had been requested was in the mail!  That was a great feeling!  I've sent 66 kits, and I will continue to make and mail them to anyone who requests one.

Helen, a regular reader, asked me where I found the quote on the large hearts ("Happiness is a form of courage").  Actually, I saw it online on a kit for an embroidered pillow!  Today I googled it, and this quote is attributed to a writer named Holbrook Jackson.

Still Sewing

Day #250
Hearts #366-394

I am continuing to sew hearts for my Hope Hearts project; this is the pile I just finished today, which I hope to mail before the post office closes.  There are 29 hearts here (I started out making 30, but one suffered a "malfunction"!)

Each of the Hope Hearts starter kits that I assemble today will include three hearts like these below:

Number 365

Day #249
Heart #365!!!

Wow, I did it, several months earlier than planned!  I've reached my goal of 365 sewn hearts!

This is a flat heart cut from a damaged antique quilt, which I embellished and made into a card. You can read more details about it on my other blog, Leslie's Art and Sew.

Countdown...

Day #247
Hearts #362-364

Here they are, numbers 362, 363, and 364...

I was so focused on making and mailing hearts last week for my Hope Hearts starter kits that it's really just a coincidence that I didn't breeze right past my goal number of 365 hearts...if I had made just a few more, I think I wouldn't have noticed until later that my goal had been met!  After my last post, it occurred to me that I should make a special heart for the 365th one, so I'm working on that now.  It will be ready in a day or two, then I will continue counting hearts until the end of the year.

Almost to my Goal!

Day #244
Hearts #334-361

Look at the number above--I'm just 4 hearts from my goal!!

Over the past two days I made the 27 hearts in the picture below (they are piled up, but there really are 27!  There are 10 big tie-dye hearts, 6 of the medium blue hearts, and 11 small hearts.)  My regular reader, Kay, commented previously that she liked the green striped hearts, I decided that would be a good fabric to use again for most of the small ones.  (Kay has fabulous taste, you should see her Pinterest!)

I sent out ten more Hope Hearts starter kits today, and each one had a set of hearts like the three below. Send me your mailing address if you know someone who's ill and could use some hope in the form of handmade hearts, and I will send you a kit.