pillowcases for soldiers

pillowcase tutorial

Every month we meet in the shop to sew Pillowcases for Soldiers.

And I know many of you love to sew, but don't have the time

to come in and sew with us.

Today, I finally took some time and looked up a video tutorial.

This is a great video from Missouri Star Quilt Co.

If you make a pillowcase for a soldier,

we would love for you to drop it off,

you are also welcome to mail it:

Sew Katie Jean

603 5th Street

Lincoln, CA 95648

Thank you!

pillowcase raffle

The pillowcase raffle is over.  I have been calling all of the lucky, lucky winners and it has been so fun to see them come into the shop and pick up their Designer Pillowcase.

Judi won the pillowcase from Pam Kitty Morning, Lakehouse Fabrics

Marge won the pillowcase from Me & My Sister Designs, Moda Fabrics

and Fabienne won the pillowcase from Bari J.

of Art Gallery Fabrics

Thank you everyone again for buying tickets! And to all of the wonderful ladies who participated in making a pillowcase to raffle. We were able to raise $100. That money will be used in shipping pillowcases to active duty military.  We love being able to sew for them as our way of saying thank you for all they do.

p.s. There are more pillowcases that have been won through the raffle.  And when those winners come in, I will be sure to take a picture of them too :)

cluck pillowcase

When I wrote Allison from Cluck Cluck Sew, she responded right away with a pillowcase for our raffle.  She also sent along a few of her newest patterns!

Button Up

Touch Down

Suburbs

And here is the pillowcase from Allison.  It is flowers on a light blue background, with green trim, and a peach cuff.

Remember to come into the shop and get a ticket for $1. All money raised will go toward our Pillowcases for Soldiers sewing program held here in the shop on the last Wednesday of every month, at 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm.

And be sure to visit Allison at Cluck Cluck Sew to tell her thank you!  You will love her little red hen.

pillowcase raffle

If you are on my email newsletter list, you prob read about the Pillowcase Raffle being held in the shop.  We are raising money for shipping the pillowcases we make for soldiers.

Tickets are $1 each or 6 tickets for $5.  And you even get to pick out which pillowcase you would like to win.  There are 8 on the wall right now, but more are coming in!

me with the flowers my hub sent me for our 24 wedding anniversary

In the next few days, I will be sharing with you more about who has made the pillowcase.  Everyone is sending them in, fabric designers, pattern makers, and authors.  And some are sending along an extra gift, like a pattern, book, or matching sheet to go with their pillowcase!

me and my sister

Here at SKJ we are raising awareness of our Pillowcases for Soldiers program.  In March, I started asking fabric designers to make a pillowcase from their fabric line and send it to the shop for us to raffle.  The response has been so great and very encouraging!

I heard from Barbara and Mary of Me and My Sister, Moda Fabrics fame.  Barb sent us 2 pillowcases, and blogged about our escapades!  Aren't their fabrics the cutest? They must know my favorite color.... But this is a pillowcase for you!  To win.

You can read all about it here, on their blog.  And see the pillowcases that she made in real life in the shop. But.... not until May 1st.  Then the raffle will begin.  Tickets will be on sale for the month of May at $1 each, or six tickets for $5.

comfort of home

Each month we have a Sew Night, open to all sewing abilities, to come to SKJ and sew pillowcases for soldiers. The pillowcases that we make in the shop are then sent over to our friend Birdie.  Who I met through Facebook, Adopt-A-Pillowcase For a Soldier.  Birdie gathers them all up with her own handmade pillowcases, personal messages, and candy, and mails them out.  Usually at her own expense.

And then this happens ~
I meet another person that I only know from Facebook.  Ms. Terrie who works for Delta Dental.  She came into my shop last week with a wonderful gift.  A check for $500. to send out our Pillowcases for Soldiers!!
Thank you to Terrie, Delta Dental, and everyone else who has made pillowcases! Thanks to all of your efforts, we are continuing to send out a piece of comfort and love from home.

pillowcases

Did you know that we had 388 Pillowcases for Soldiers come through the shop last month.  It was such a fantastic feeling to see so many people work together to make these wonderful gifts to our military.

This is a picture of my son's Boy Scout Troop #745.  A bunch of girls and moms came out to help us sew that night too! I had such a good time and was so proud of my oldest actually sitting down at the sewing machine for the first time.

So if a 14 year old boy can make a pillowcase then so can you!  We meet the last Wednesday of every month for a FREE Sew Night at SKJ.  If you can't make it next week, mark your calender and make it for next month.

Wednesday, May 29

6:00 - 8:00 pm / FREE

Teacher: Katie Trott

mushroomed

Sewing Sisters

If you have been following on Facebook, our plans for making 100 pillowcases for soldiers has mushroomed!  We are now making 200 pillowcases!

Beale AFB family drop off their pillowcases

A Lincoln High School graduate serving in Afghanistan asked if we could send him a pillowcase.  Now we are sending 200 to his unit.  Lincoln has gotten involved and everyone has been making stacks of pillowcases and dropping them off at the Sew Katie Jean.

Boxing up pillowcases for shipment

We now have almost 300 made!!  That will give us 200 to send to this Naval unit in Afghanistan and more to send to send to another group in May.

Birdie, Marcus, and Michele getting 7 boxes ready

Thank you everyone for getting involved. Our little city has shown me again, why I love living and working in Lincoln.  Thank you!

pilowcases

This is my girl and her pillowcase.  We had this Winnie the Pooh fabric at home.  Not sure from what or where, most likely we got it at a thrift shop. We washed it, ironed it, and now it is on its way to give a soldier some sweet dreams.

100 pillowcases

Sew Katie Jean has been making pillowcases for soldiers since March 2012. To celebrate, we are setting a goal of sewing 100 pillowcases by April 30.

To date, we have 30 donated pillowcases!  Making a handmade pillowcase, helps to remind our soldiers that we are thinking of them, and we at home support them.  

If you would like to send a handmade pillowcase to a soldier, just send one to the shop:

Sew Katie Jean, 603 5^th Street, Lincoln, CA 95648

You can also watch this great video on how to make one from Missouri Quilt:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrYWCma9wgM