Roped in . . . but it's a good, good thing.

Earlier this week, Rachel of Stitched in Color took the time to contact me about her charity quilting bee, do. Good Stitches. She's been trying to grow the group she started with committed "stitchers" and "quilters" and somehow, from reading my blog, she must have discovered some of my soft spots (children, faith, crafting . . . ) and approached me with such complementary words that I really hesitated when I felt that I needed to say no at this time. However, after hitting send on my flickr mail, I quickly realized what I was saying no to and resent a quick little "well, maybe I can do it" email. Rachel's heartfelt mail back to me really encouraged me in a way that I can't really express—and, so, here I am . . . a part of this charity bee.

do. Good Stitches {a Charity Bee} is a group of incredibly talented and lovely quilters who are collectively creating quilts for children in need. Rachel has created 3 groups (Faith, Hope, and Love) within this Bee and each one has a goal of creating one quilt per month which will benefit children in need of love and warmth as identified by either Wrap Them in Love (the "Love" group), Piecing Hope ("Hope" group), or one of our local churches ("Faith" group).

I told Rachel that my heart really lies with giving back to the children in our own communities and that I'd like to be a part of the "Faith" group. After a little back-and-forth, I find myself as the host of do. Good Stitches' Faith group as well as a quilter in this group. As the host, I'm looking for one or two more people to join us in our desire to give back. We are really in need of one more "quilter"—someone responsible for planning a quilt 2-3 times per year and giving the group direction on what types of blocks to create and send back to the quilter. The quilter then is responsible for putting all of the group's blocks together and backing, quilting, and binding the quilt. The quilter is also responsible for sending or taking that quilt to its final destination—either their local church, an organization it assists, or a child in need as identified by the church. If you are interested in joining us, take a look at the do. Good Stitches flickr group and read a little more about us. Then, either request to join the group by filling out a membership form (on the flickr page) or contact either Rachel or myself. Right now, we really are only looking for someone who can commit at the "quilter" level . . . but if you are interested in the "stitcher" level (creating blocks for the group's quilts), you can also fill out the form and Rachel can put you on a waiting list.

Well, that's my schpeal for now. Once the "Faith" group has one or two more quilters added, I will get us going and we can begin our first quilt. Rachel is hosting the "Love" group right now and they are already at the stage of putting their first quilt together. I can't wait to see it!

So, thank you Rachel for dreaming this up and getting it organized. I am so honored to be a part of this group and can't wait to see the good that can be done with just a little of our time.