On Saturday, 14 members of the church I attend (here) put together our own little sweat shop and spent 4 1/2 hours together to create 73 sanitary pads and about 35 extra terry cloth inserts (for those heavier days) for Crunchy Chicken’s Goods 4 Girls. All will be finished next Saturday when the baby Velcro will be attached (we ran out of time this past Saturday.) The finished product will be mailed out to Seattle the following week.
We had quite an assembly line going (actually more of a circle.) Some of us with more “limited” textile abilities traced the patters out on flannel, terry cloth and baby dry (the moisture barrier) or cut the fabric. One person ironed seams, another attached the terry cloth to the moisture barrier, I attached all the pieces once done, then sewers sewed and sewed and sewed. More ironing was done, and here we have them:
We had someone as young as 10 helping with this project, and a woman who is in her 80’s and home-bound asked if she could help with this project as well, and will cut the Velcro pieces for the sewers on Saturday. Three men were there, also – two with sewing machines and one with coffee cake. The Rector of the church even brought her sewing machine and worked with the group.
Many in this group asked if we could do this again it was so much fun! I will see if we can get a little PR about this project in town (no papers showed up on Saturday) and see if we can get folks in other churches or in the community to contribute money for more fabric so we can do this again. The cost per unit with all the discounts and sale table items I got was just under $2 per pad and extra terry cloth insert.
That’s so cool! I’m sending out 350 pads tomorrow to go to Kenya, so I’m happy to hear I’ll be getting some more in soon!
Thanks for all the wonderful work you are doing!
-Deanna
How wonderful! Not only are you doing a great thing for girls in Africa but you connected folks along generational lines in a way that is both fulfilling and community building. A great example for us all.
I remember when women revolted against “sewing circles” at the church I grew up in, at the height of the Women’s Lib movement. I’m glad it’s okay to do this again- and men can help, too!
This is so terrific! Good for you for organizing this all and seeing it through. It’s amazing what can be done when people all work together.
Joyce, were the women revolting against the sewing or the expectation that they had to sew? I don’t mind sewing or cooking or cleaning, but I do mind being expected to do it because I’m female. Anyway, going off on a tangent there…
You’re, right, probably the expectation. It’s nice that all the old “crafts” of sewing, gardening, cooking, etc., are being revived, but women have a real choice as to whether they are doing them. And you’re also right-it’s a tangent. Sorry!