Feeding the Hungry One Bowl at a Time

Just a quick post to share a fun idea.  Our local food bank holds an annual event called the Empty Bowls Fundraiser.  Many talented artists in the area donate work and some friends and I wanted to join in the fun. As few of us work in ceramics, glass or wood, we decided to focus on what we know and make some fabric bowls.






We simply sewed scraps onto heavy interfacing in a mosaic fashion.  There are all sorts of tutorials available and they were really fun to make.

You can even add other embellishments like beading and metallic threads.

In all, I think we made about 15 bowls.  Each has its own personality and beauty.

I highly recommend trying this great idea if you have a similar fundraiser in your area.

Introducing Myself and Project:Quilt

Hi Everyone!  First, I thought I would take a moment to introduce myself.  My name is Cyndy but you might have seen me around the blogger and magazine world as Cynthia Brunz Designs.  I recently came across Quilts are for Giving when I was reading Sarah's blog and knew I wanted to contribute.

Early last year I started toying with the idea of leading a sewing group.  I wanted to create an opportunity for members to learn new piecing techniques, try out various aspects of quilting (like applique, paper-piecing, etc.) and challenge themselves with occasionally working outside their box.  I wanted a venue where creativity could occur without creating a situation where a bunch of UFOs were started to clutter everyone's sewing rooms.  The idea of giving was important to me so Project:Quilt was founded.

There are 12 women who meet once a month at Our Sewing Room.  Each month, a member of the group agrees to sponsor the project.  This sponsor then gets to choose the activity, they choose the organization that receives the finished project, they are responsible for getting the project to a finished form and they get to choose how much control they have in the materials that get used for their project.  After a few initial projects that focused on some basic sewing, cutting and pressing skills, we were ready to spread our wings...

So far the quilts have been amazing!  Here are just a few...



This wall hanging was made for Reaching Out Mentoring Program.  The sponsor supplied the black fabric to unify the quilt and everyone else provided the solid colors for their block.  I love the personality each word projects.  It is hanging in their Mentor Center at Lincoln Middle School for both the students and the mentors to enjoy.



This fun lap quilt was made for a fundraiser supporting the Lane County Sheriff's Office K9 Unit.  The sponsor supplied the unifying navy blue fabric and everyone else brought dog themed fabrics for their blocks.  We used Kate Conklin's fussy frames tutorial (found here) as a guide to make the blocks.

 

In this activity, we learned how to make 3D geese and pinwheels.  As the sponsor was donating this to a fundraising auction for Eugene Vocal Arts Ensemble, she donated her vast collection of music themed fabrics.  Rather than a large quilt, a striking bed runner was made.



You can follow all of our projects on our Flickr site - Each monthly activity is organized and captured through its completion.  And I will also be sharing each monthly project on this site as well.  All of the projects we do can easily be done by a group or an individual.

 

 

If you are interested in starting a group of your own, feel free to contact me.  I am more then happy to assist you with getting started.