The Vine - News Blog

Blessings in Stitches and UMW CSI Kids’ Night a Huge Success Despite a Stormy June Night

 
By Martha Darwin
 
[Editor's Note: Blessings in Stitches and UMW CSI hosted an event called Kids' Night on Tuesday, June 24. The event was an opportunity for children to learn how to knit special purple caps for infants as part of an awareness campaign about Shaken Baby Syndrome. The night was a great success, so we asked Martha Darwin (one of the organizers of the event) to give us some background on the worthwhile efforts put forth that night (as well as on on ongoing basis).]
 
For weeks Arborlawn’s Blessings in Stitches group planned a “Kids' Night” event, with three goals in mind: 1) Teaching a needle art to a child, so that they might have that in their repertoire for life; 2) Having the opportunity to connect in a meaningful way with a different generation in the congregation; and 3) Giving children the chance to be a part of an ongoing mission project within the church.
 
With so much anticipated, members ordered materials, researched instructional videos, advertised, and held meetings to provide all instructor participants with practice, practice, practice. The selected skill was making a loom-knitted baby hat – a purple hat for the local hospital, Harris Southwest - as part of a national awareness campaign intended for the prevention of Shaken Baby Syndrome.
 

Every November, as part of the national Shaken Baby Syndrome awareness campaign, Harris Southwest gives a handmade purple hat to every newborn baby, as well as a DVD about the hazardous effects of shaking a baby to the newborn’s parents. The hope is to educate parents about the need to walk away for a minute or two if they become exasperated with what has traditionally been referred to as “colic”. Impatient parents who do not know better have been known to try to stop the crying by shaking the baby, not knowing that the baby can be permanently brain damaged by such shaking.
 

After all of our planning and preparation, the much anticipated evening of Kids' Night arrived, and suddenly there were flash floods (as well as power outages) in parts of Fort Worth very near the church. The City of Fort Worth sent out tweets and other messages that told people to “Stay home” and to “Turn around, don’t drown.” Numerous instructors had to consider staying home as they found leaks, feared encountering water along their driving routes, or experienced power outages.
 
The first three ladies who arrived at the church turned on lights and started arranging tables and supplies, all the while speculating that they might end up having a nice little visit amongst themselves and then end up going home early.
 

Before they could even finish setting up, people started coming in – 15 minutes before the scheduled starting time! Within 20 minutes, there were 11 children sitting at tables, learning this new craft. Four of their mothers had been told they were welcome to observe, but each one ended up asking if she could also have a loom to learn how to do make the caps. Mother and child, side-by-side, learned the techniques together. Two other women in the church asked if they could attend to learn the craft also. That brought the students to a grand total of 17 for the evening, even while on some streets outside, water was up to car door handles!
 
One mother reported that when her stepdaughter and friend got home, instead of their usual game-playing, they couldn’t wait to finish what they had learned to do at Kids' Night!
 

The time passed quickly, the conversation was lively the entire time, people stayed for 90 minutes. Not one child quit or showed frustration with the task. Each child was given a piece of paper in his or her “kit” that indicated the URL for an instructional video, in case they needed to watch another person’s hands, and the name and phone number of their instructor (in case they got really stuck and wanted to arrange to meet with the instructor to help get unstuck).
 
New friendships were forged between people whose paths might never cross in the same church. The ages ranged from 5 to 90-something. The event far exceeded expectations and opened up a lot of room for discussion about future ways to facilitate the original goals – which were achieved abundantly!
 
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ArborlawnUMC.org

Blessings in Stitches Kids' Night Tuesday, June 24; Purple Caps for Babies; Project Raises Awareness of Shaken Baby Syndrome

 
Blessings in Stitches invites 3rd through 6th graders to an evening of stitchery on Tuesday, June 24 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. in Room 225. Materials and instruction will be provided.
 

Each child attending will receive a small loom and yarn and will be taught the simple skill of loom knitting a baby hat. Children may take their work home to complete and turn in any donations they have to the church office when completed.
 
The evening is designed to coordinate with a mission project in conjunction with Texas Health Southwest Fort Worth (Bryant Irvin and Oakmont; formerly Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest) and Click for Babies, which spreads awareness of Shaken Baby Syndrome through this program. Every November, the hospital gives a handmade purple knit cap to every newborn to remind parents of the importance of protecting their babies from being shaken by a care provider.  
 
It's still not too late to attend, but please let us know if you're bringing your child by contacting the church office (817-731-0701) or by emailing Kim Cordell. If you have any questions about Blessings in Stitches Kids' Night, please contact Martha Darwin.
 
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ArborlawnUMC.org

Blessings in Stitches Kids' Night June 24; Raises Awareness of Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention

 
Blessings in Stitches invites 3rd through 6th graders to an evening of stitchery on Tuesday, June 24 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. in Room 225. Materials and instruction will be provided.
 

Each child attending will receive a small loom and yarn and will be taught the simple skill of loom knitting a baby hat. Children may take their work home to complete and turn in any donations they have to the church office when completed.
 
The evening is designed to coordinate with a mission project in conjunction with Texas Health Southwest Fort Worth (Bryant Irvin and Oakmont; formerly Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest) and Click for Babies, which spreads awareness of Shaken Baby Syndrome through this program. Every November, the hospital gives a handmade purple knit cap to every newborn to remind parents of the importance of protecting their babies from being shaken by a care provider.  
 
If you're planning to bring your child to this event, please contact the church office (817-731-0701) or email Kim Cordell and let us know by Thursday, June 19. If you have any questions about Blessings in Stitches Kids' Night, please contact Martha Darwin.
 
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ArborlawnUMC.org

Blessings in Stitches Kids' Night June 24, 6:30-8:00 p.m.; Purple Caps for Babies

 
Blessings in Stitches invites 3rd through 6th graders to an evening of stitchery on Tuesday, June 24 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. in Room 225. Materials and instruction will be provided.
 

Each child attending will receive a small loom and yarn and will be taught the simple skill of loom knitting a baby hat. Children may take their work home to complete and turn in any donations they have to the church office when completed.
 
The evening is designed to coordinate with a mission project in conjunction with Texas Health Southwest Fort Worth (Bryant Irvin and Oakmont; formerly Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest) and Click for Babies, which spreads awareness of Shaken Baby Syndrome through this program. Every November, the hospital gives a handmade purple knit cap to every newborn to remind parents of the importance of protecting their babies from being shaken by a care provider.  
 
If you're planning to bring your child to this event, please contact the church office (817-731-0701) or email Kim Cordell and let us know by Thursday, June 19. If you have any questions about Blessings in Stitches Kids' Night, please contact Martha Darwin.
 
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ArborlawnUMC.org

Blessings in Stitches Kids' Night June 24, 6:30-8:00 p.m.; Caps for Infants

 
Blessings in Stitches invites 3rd through 6th graders to an evening of stitchery on Tuesday, June 24 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. in Room 225. Materials and instruction will be provided.
 

Each child attending will receive a small loom and yarn and will be taught the simple skill of loom knitting a baby hat. Children may take their work home to complete and turn in any donations they have to the church office when completed.
 
The evening is designed to coordinate with a mission project in conjunction with Texas Health Southwest Fort Worth (Bryant Irvin and Oakmont; formerly Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest) and Click for Babies, which spreads awareness of Shaken Baby Syndrome through this program. Every November, the hospital gives a handmade purple knit cap to every newborn to remind parents of the importance of protecting their babies from being shaken by a care provider.  
 
If you're planning to bring your child to this event, please contact the church office (817-731-0701) or email Kim Cordell and let us know by Thursday, June 19. If you have any questions about Blessings in Stitches Kids' Night, please contact Martha Darwin.
 
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ArborlawnUMC.org

Blessings in Stitches Kids' Night June 24

 
Blessings in Stitches invites 3rd through 6th graders to an evening of stitchery on Tuesday, June 24 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. in Room 225. Materials and instruction will be provided.
 

Each child attending will receive a small loom and yarn and will be taught the simple skill of loom knitting a baby hat. Children may take their work home to complete and turn in any donations they have to the church office when completed.
 
The evening is designed to coordinate with a mission project in conjunction with Texas Health Southwest Fort Worth (Bryant Irvin and Oakmont; formerly Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest) and Click for Babies, which spreads awareness of Shaken Baby Syndrome through this program. Every November, the hospital gives a handmade purple knit cap to every newborn to remind parents of the importance of protecting their babies from being shaken by a care provider.  
 
If you have any questions about Blessings in Stitches Kids' Night, please contact Martha Darwin.
 
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ArborlawnUMC.org

Blessings in Stitches and UMW CSI deliver purple baby hats to local hospital

 
Earlier this autumn, two ministries at Arborlawn worked on a very special knitting project. Members of Blessings in Stitches and United Methodist Women CSI produced a variety of purple knit caps for infants. The effort was part of a project to build awareness about Shaken Baby Syndrome.
 

On October 31, representatives from the two groups delivered more than 200 of the caps to Harris Southwest Hospital. In this outreach, each new baby goes home wearing a handmade purple hat as a reminder to parents of the importance of never shaking a baby. Parents are also given an instructional CD with information regarding what to do when a baby cries for no apparent reason.
 

The hospital needed 300 caps, and we're proud to say that two Arborlawn ministries provided two thirds of that number. That is missional service; that is being the hands and feet of Jesus.
 
For more background on this issue in our culture, contact the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome (Phone: 801-447-9360).
 
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ArborlawnUMC.org

Blessings in Stitches: meeting October 22; working on items for Hope for the Holidays; all welcome

 
Blessings in Stitches is currently working on small items to be used for the Hope for the Holidays service on November 21. If you do cross-stitch, we would love to have you join in with us at our next meeting on Tuesday, October 22 at 6:30 p.m. in Room 225. We are cross-stitching simple small crosses on the items. We would love to have new friends to come join with us for this project!
 

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ArborlawnUMC.org

Blessings in Stitches: making purple hats to help with Shaken Baby Syndrome awareness

 
From Martha Darwin: Arborlawn's Blessings in Stitches Ministry has been hard at work for a few months now, making purple baby hats. They have thus far made around 100 hats for Harris Southwest Hospital, as part of a November focus on Shaken Baby Syndrome. Each new baby goes home wearing a handmade purple hat as a reminder to parents of the importance of never shaking a baby. Parents are also given an instructional CD with information regarding what to do when a baby cries for no apparent reason. 
 

During the month of November the hospital will need several hundred of these hats. Blessings in Stitches ministry invites anyone who would like to contribute to feel free to do so!
 
For more background, contact National Center for Shaken Baby Syndrome's (801-447-9360) getting started page. The web site provides knit and crocheted patterns. Please note even though the organization indicates that any shade of purple is fine, Harris Southwest has specifically requested that "TCU purple" yarn be used.
 
If you decide to participate, you may either bring your creations to the next Blessings in Stitches meeting on Tuesday, September 10 at 6:30 p.m. in Room 225 or drop them by the church office. If you have any questions, please contact Martha Darwin.
 
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ArborlawnUMC.org

Blessings in Stitches, Lydia Circle prepare throws for chemotherapy patients

 
By Martha Darwin
 
Members of both the Blessings in Stitches Ministry and the Lydia Circle (United Methodist Women) got together on Tuesday, Feb. 19* to make throws to give to chemotherapy patients. 
 
The throws are made of fleece and help keep the patients warm during their treatments. The ladies making these wonderful gifts also hope to convey a little spiritual warmth to the recipients by letting them know that someone was caring about them. Each throw included a label in the corner indicating that it had come from Arborlawn. The ladies had a good time visiting while doing the project, and before the evening ended, hands were laid on the throws and a prayer was offered, asking for blessings to the recipients.
 

In the past year, about 120 of these have been made and donated by volunteers from Arborlawn. There is always a need for more.
 
*Please note: The Blessings in Stitches Ministry's regular meeting nights are the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays starting Feb. 26. The group's Quilting Class offshoot will be on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays starting Mar. 5. Read more about the Quilting Class. If you would like more information about the Blessings in Stitches Ministry, please contact Martha Darwin.
 
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ArborlawnUMC.org

Quilting class coming in March

 
If you have a sewing machine and have wanted to learn to quilt, this is your chance! Quilters Nancy Deen and Pat Pike, who are members of Blessings in Stitches, will be leading the class in a small quilting project. They hope to ignite your creativity and interest in their beloved craft.
 

If you are interested in being part of this, please call the church office at 817-731-0701 and ask to be included in the class enrollment. This might be a great opportunity to invite a friend who may or may not be a member of Arborlawn. Please feel free to include them!  
 
The Quilting class will meet the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays, at 6:30 p.m., starting Mar. 5 in Room 225. There is no fee for participation. A list of supplies will be distributed at the first meeting for class members to purchase for their own use. There is no need to bring a sewing machine to class. We hope to see you there!
 
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ArborlawnUMC.org

Blessings in Stitches: needle arts bring ministry to various people

 
Arborlawn's relatively new Blessings in Stitches ministry involves the application of needle arts in a wide variety of missional applications. Members use the skills of crochet, knitting, and quilting in the production of various items to convey a symbol or to celebrate an occasion. In the first 15 months since its formation, the group has managed to create: 40 baby blankets; 50 prayer shawls and lap throws; 45 pillowcases; 100 prayer pockets; more than 100 ties; 25 gifts for former ministers of the church; 40 needlepoint crosses; 55 crocheted crosses; 30 hats; 40 scarves; and 100 comfort throws for cancer patients.
 

And you don't have to know anything  about needlework to join in this ministry. Some members have learned their first skills in this area after joining Blessings in Stitches! Instruction is willingly offered to those who want to learn.
 
Blessings in Stitches meets at 6:30 p.m. every other Tuesday; look for meeting notices in The Vine. New members (and new forms of needle arts) are welcomed and encouraged. For more details about Blessings in Stitches, contact Martha Darwin.
 
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ArborlawnUMC.org

Blanket-making outreach to the ailing this Sunday

 
You can accomplish an entire mission project in just one hour - a Mission in a Moment - this coming Sunday at 9:45 a.m. in Room 160, Main Building.
 
The Blessings in Stitches ministry will assist you in making small, fringed blankets to be used by people taking medical treatments. Bring sharp scissors if you have them. No sewing is involved. For information, contact Martha Darwin or Jenny Rogers.
 
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ArborlawnUMC.org

Mission in a Moment on January 8

 
Make an entire mission project in one hour on one Sunday morning. Come to Room 160, Main Building (the Bride’s Room) between 9:45 and 10:45 a.m. on Jan. 8.
 

The Blessings in Stitches group will assist you in making small, fringed blankets to be used by people taking medical treatments. Bring sharp scissors if you have them. No sewing is involved. For information, contact Martha Darwin or Jenny Rogers.
 
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ArborlawnUMC.org

Blessings in Stitches meets June 14

Do you “stitch”? Do you enjoy the needle arts? Do you wish you knew how to work with threads, yarn, or fabric to create works of art from the heart? If you answered yes to any of these questions, please join the newly formed Blessings in Stitches Ministry group on Tuesday, June 14, 7 p.m. in Room 103. (Please note this gathering’s location change.) 
 
The group recently completed pillowcases for each graduating senior, and we have completed baptismal blankets, prayer shawls and prayer squares. If you would like to learn how to crochet or knit, Room 103 will be open beginning at 5:30 p.m. the night of the meeting and an instructor will be available. All creative ideas to the glory of God are welcome.
 
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ArborlawnUMC.org