craft hope

I try to not double post on this space and my blog but sometimes things overlap and I just have to share them in both spaces. Do you need a last minute gift? Or need to get into the holiday spirit by doing a little more giving?

Check out the new downloadable book from Lark Books – Fa la la la Felt. The book includes 45 decorations, ornaments, and stockings made out of felt.

The book isn’t in stores until next year, but you can buy it now at Zinio and download it as an eBook. How cool is that?!? The book is chock full of super cute patterns to deck your halls. I know you’ll want an actual copy to hold in your hands, but this is a great way to give a special gift this holiday season.

And as a special gift, Lark Books is offering a free tutorial for this cute little mushroom ornament from Cathy Gaubert.  Click on the image above to download the .pdf file.

Drop by a nursing home, children’s shelter, or your neighbors house and make their day with this sweet holiday toadstool for their Christmas tree. I’m sure there are hundreds of places that would appreciate a sweet toadstool ornament. I bet most places don’t get many ornament donations and it sure would add a special touch.

Lark Books is also publishing the Craft Hope book, due in stores next August. Plus, the Craft Hope book may become an eBook as well so you might want to take this baby as a test drive before you check out the Craft Hope book.

Happy holidays!

{Peyton Thomas Ricker passed away this morning, December 15th, 2009. Please continue to pray for his family. All of our thoughts and prayers are with them.}

I think Craft Hope rocks. I am standing on top of a mountain and I am shouting it. Can you hear, hear, hear, hear me, me, me, me? The crafters of Craft Hope rock, rock, rock, rock. That’s an echo by the way. Just in case you haven’t had your morning cup of coffee and aren’t awake yet.

I received a comment last week from a sweet lady who is the aunt of a little boy with cancer. Peyton was diagnosed with Pontine Glioma, a very aggressive tumor in the middle of his brain stem. She told me that he loves manatees and would love it if someone could make him a sock manatee. She said she’d pay for it. WHATEVER. That is out of the question. So as fast as my fingers could type I sounded the horn. I twittered, I Facebooked, I emailed. Can anyone make a sock manatee for this little boy. It’s urgent. And not more than five minutes later emails started coming in.

A day later, I had my first picture of a sock manatee. He was whipped up in a day by Cheyenne. Thank you so much Cheyenne!

A few days later, a picture of a manatee quilt. Carin, of Margaret’s Hope Chest, made this lovely manatee quilt. Thank goodness for fast fabric shipping. She is a mama that dropped everything on a Saturday (before Christmas mind you) to make this quilt for this sweet little boy. What a wonderful example of the Christmas spirit. Giving of oneself, of ones time for others. And what a lovely organization that we are grateful to be partnered with, led by a woman with a heart as big as Texas.

They are all now on their way to his home in Houston. Merry Christmas sweet Peyton. We all love you and are praying for you.

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We are requesting prayers for sweet Peyton and his family as they go through this difficult time. You can follow them on their family blog. And he’s also written a sweet book about manatees. You can buy it here.

If you would like to know at a moments notice the needs of people who have called upon Craft Hope please follow us on Twitter and join our Facebook group.

This past weekend my family and I traveled into the Texas Hill Country to a sleepy little town to see a Live Nativity. It was cold, very cold for Texas standards. Dipping into the 30’s.

So we sat outside the local church, under the stars, all bundled up watching Burl Ives rendition of the Christmas story. Children dressed as angels. The elders of the church as the wise men. And even a sweet baby for baby Jesus.

As I sat there listening to the story I just couldn’t get past how cold I was. How cold I was, in my store bought clothes and coat. Wishing I would have remembered to bring a winter hat. And thinking that my gloves were too thin.

Which led me to thinking about people around the world, who are cold, who have nothing. The people that we try to help, by sewing a quilt, knitting a hat or gloves or a scarf. Who can’t rummage through their closet in their house to choose which scarf looks best with what they are wearing.

This holiday season I urge you to reach out to someone less fortunate. It may be a neighbor, a friend, or a stranger on the corner. It could be at a homeless shelter, a children’s shelter, or a nursing home. Take some time out of your day to do something nice for a stranger. Knit, sew, or just listen to them. Be a friend to someone in need.

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While at the church for the Live Nativity, they were selling these Missionary Bean Soup jars. And as my hubby was waiting in line to buy it a sweet old lady came up behind him. She said ‘I made that soup and it takes a lot longer than the recipe calls for. I thought you should know.’ When we got home I pulled the jar out of the bag and read the enclosed letter.

Missionary Bean Soup :: As you make this soup, take time to pray for missionaries around the world with these thoughts in mind.

Mayocoba Beans- Pray for the missionaries in cultures that are different from their homeland.

Pinto Beans- Pray for abundance of God’s love and protection to surround them.

Baby Lima Beans- Pray for the children of missionaries (those that live on the field and those who live away from their parents).

Split Peas- Pray for the work of missionaries may grow.

Black Beans- Pray for the unnamed missionaries in countries that don’t allow the Good News to be taught. Pray that they be bold in their witness.

Red Beans- Pray for the families of missionaries who have died on the missions’ fields.

Navy Beans- Pray for chaplains in hospitals, the military, and fire/police departments. Be sure to include a prayer for the unique opportunities they have to share the gospel with others.

Black-Eyed Peas- Pray that missionaries may have eyes to see the needs around them.

Lentils- Pray for God to fill each missionary’s life with blessings.

Garbanzo Beans- Pray for money to help all missionary work around the world.

Anasazi- Pray for the elderly around the world.

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What a wonderful gift to give this holiday season! Grab a case of jars at the store and layer it with the different types of beans. And enclose this recipe, along with the prayer list:

The Best Bean Soup in Texas

Ingredients

• Jar of beans
• Your choice of meat. Suggestions: Ham bone with some meat on it, ham hock, and or bacon chopped
• 1 large onion
• 1 15 oz. canned diced tomatoes
• 1 T. lemon juice
• 1 t. garlic salt or 1 clove of minced garlic
• 3 quarts of water

Directions

Place the beans in a large pot. Cover with 3 quarts of water. Cover with the lid. Let soak overnight or at least 8 hours. After soaking, drain and replace with 3 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, uncovered. Add onion and garlic. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Add tomatoes and lemon juice. Simmer another 30 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove any bones before serving. Serves 10-12. Optional ingredients: cajun seasoning, chili powder or any spices of your choice.

And remember to heed the warning of the sweet old lady at the church, it takes longer than the recipe says. Wise advice.

Happy Holidays!

Goodness gracious I’ve been out of this space for some time now. That doesn’t mean that things are not happening behind the scenes, just that I haven’t had a baby free moment to type. The baby is now sleeping quietly, for the next few moments, so I’ll attempt to update you on the happenings over here at Craft Hope.

We just finished up Project 5, benefiting Margaret’s Hope Chest and the children in the Grand Rapids public school system. What an amazing turnout. The quilts are beautiful! Each stitch for a child in need.

We received 436 quilts. FOUR HUNDRED AND THIRTY SIX QUILTS! Let that number soak in for a minute. And many of you were first time quilters. Amazing. Simply amazing.

The quilts came from 37 states, 4 Canadian provinces, and 6 foreign countries (England, Uruguay, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, and Scotland). Wow! They have 150 quilt tops to finish. Needless to say I think you are going to keep Margaret’s Hope Chest busy for some time. Thank you for that gift.

A huge thank you to everyone who participated in this project. To those prayer warriors out there, quilters, craft groups and bloggers. Thank you. Sincerely, thank you.

As I’m typing up this blog post, emails roll in from charities. Charities that need Craft Hope’s assistance. These emails tug at my heart strings. Sometimes I feel helpless. I want to be able to help them all. I pray to be able to help them all. Please contact me if you are a charity in need. If I don’t reply, don’t despair. I do keep all charity inquiries in my nice email filing system and hope to work with each and every one of you. I just can’t reply to all emails with a baby in the house. I wish I could.

In other Craft Hope news, the Craft Hope book looks BEAUTIFUL. It’s chock full of incredible designs by some of your favorite designers. All neat and tidy in one book with charity information for each project. Put it on your Christmas list for next year. It’ll be out in the summer of 2010. It goes to print at the first of the year!! Exciting times my friends.

The next project will launch right after Christmas. And I promise to have pictures of the quilts being delivered very soon as well. Stay tuned!