Heads at Ease pillowcase project - our motto is: ALL OR NONE

I was also interviewed and it aired 3 times on the news last night.  I couldn't find it online last night, but will look again today.

HI Sue!  Ok, so I'm addicted to this now!  I spent most of yesterday cutting fabric, I made two yesterday to send to my son in Groton (one for him, one for his roommate!)  and just finished one.  It only takes like 5 minutes to sew, as you probably know!  I used the hot dog roll instructions-so easy!!!

Ha, join the club!  Glad to have you on board!  happy sewing!

All right--my son arrived for A school on Sunday in Pensacola--time for me to get on board in any way I can--tell me what we do!!!!

Hi Theresa,

so far the fires are places other than then the Tucson area.  So sad about the 19 firefighers that were killed yesterday!

Welcome to you Shirleyann!  please pm me your email address and we can get you started.  in the meantime, check out the threads above-which is my name for the discussions.

here is the link to the interview that I did at the Great Pillowcase Challenge that was held last Saturday.

here's the link.  of course, it was the part where I was choked up.  but that's okay.

http://bit.ly/13n1Pec

OK Sue where is the link for the interview?

it's here in the 2nd post.

someone just commented to me about me being choked up, so here is the "rest of the story" as Paul Harvey used to say:

thanks for your kind words.  I can't help it.  He asked me "why I do it".  WELL, I always want to say "how much time have you got?"

Sue ~ that was a great interview, too short but....  You are too cute!  You are an inspiration!

Finding suitable fabric that I already have in my house and going out to buy more. 

thanks Helen!  I am quite passionate about this project and that usually comes thru when I talk about it.

I love when I get asked if I have made them all.  I always chuckle and say NO!  There are lots of wonderful women around this country who make them.  Whew!

I don't wear an S on chest, even though my name starts with 1.

Good morning proudmama and Shannon!  I just joined a few days ago and am glad I did!  Once Sue sees your posts she will send you instructions on how to make the pcs-it's easy!  I can't wait to get back to the fabric store and buy more fabric!

Mornin' to all!  I have been so busy playing musical peeps for the Nimitz that I haven't checked out the newbies here!  Sorry!

A big welcome to:  Andrew's mom, Shannon-Britney's mom, Orange orchids, Navy06 and proudmamma!  We are so glad to have you join us!

Please pm me your personal email address and I'll send you lots of info.

Mrsb-thanks for the kind words and I am so happy that you can't wait to get some more fabric!

We are mailing over 900 this week to the Nimitz-our 4th wave.  We have another coming in 2 weeks.

Tomorrow is my favorite holiday of all!  Anyone have any special plans?

I think I going to do some tie-dyeing of fabric for pcs.  

Welcome to all the new sewers!!  I'm new myself and I found an awesome tutorial on youtube that explains it so well.  It's called Pillowcase Tutorial by Robin Gallagher.  She's really good.  Good luck!!  I have a bunch of fabric to wash, cut and then SEW!!!  So excited!!!

Sue, I was talking to one of my long time friends.  Her son is also in the Navy. Our sons are like brothers.  Anyway, she mentioned that he had recieved a pc on his last long deployment.  He loved the gesture.  I thought I'd just pass that along.

Hello OklahomaMama!  Glad to see you here too!!

Good morning Sue!  Do we just send them to you when we have a bunch done?  How many do you like at a time?  Thanks!

Welcome to OklahomaMama!  Please pm me your personal email address and I can send info.

I also like that for updates and addresses.

Mrsb, please just email me and tell me when you get some made.  I prefer that the sewers mail them direct to the troops.  I would like a photo of them.  Once I know how many you have, I can plug you into a group.  I also have an introduction letter that I wrote over a year ago that I sent to the people who responded to the Country Woman June/July 2012 issue.  Maybe I'll make a thread on here using that.  Or I can gmail it to you.  Gives some basic info.

I email out the address for each group that we do.  I do not post them online and give it out only on a need to know basis.  The safety of our men and women is important to me.

Helen, can you find out what ship/unit he was on or with?  Good to know that he loved the gesture!

I am packing up 133 pcs today for mailing to the Nimitz!

here's a link to the interview that I did on 6-29-13:http://bit.ly/13n1Pec

Thank you Sue!  When I get 20 or so done I'll be in touch.  

I only wish I had more time to sew OklahomaMama!  This darned day job gets in the way of my fun!  I'm planning on going fabric shopping tomorrow morning-hopefully it won't be too crowded.  

Sue, I told the ladies on BootCampMoms about this project yesterday.  :)

I would like to participate

Welcome to Crom and we'll help you get started.   please pm me your personal email address.  I'll send you some info.

yes, that working can sure be bothersome!  So happy I am out of school for the summer so I can do more.

new numbers.  Marilu and I mailed 168 pcs today for part of wave 3 that was miscounted.  So I've added them in.  This makes 3,132 sent to the ship so far.

Good Evening every one, I would like to say Welcome aboard to all the newbies that have come to join our group. I would like to let all the newbies, if you can't get ahold of Sue feel free to email me at mepeller@bellsouth.net. Sue and I work close together and we will help you with your questions.

Thank you for joining our group and God Bless You All.

Welcome Candy!  We are happy to have you join us!  I just sent you a message.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!   This is my favorite holiday and I hope you all will remember why we celebrate this holiday!  Our freedoms are being eroded daily,

but we can make a difference!

Welcome to SRmomErin!  I sent you a bunch of emails today.  Candy, did you send me your email address thru a private message on here?  I don't remember getting it.

Hope you all had a great 4th of July!  I packed 111 pillowcases for the Nimitz and 133 yesterday, so 244 in 2 days!  man, I'm tired.   

My hubby and I made red, white and blue potato salad while we listened to John Wayne's CD titled "America Why I love her".  It's so good.  Check it out.

And rested.

Sue, sounds like you need a vacation!!!

well, I do need a break from packing pillowcases!  haha.  just staying home and reading is good for me.

don't get to be home much during the school year.

Are you a teacher?  I work in a special needs pre-school; I'm not a teacher or aide though; I do the medi-cal billing for this area.  One more week of summer school and everyone will be gone again for 3 weeks!  The quiet is so nice!!

How exactly do you pack them and what kind of boxes do you use?  I'm curious!

my packing is different every time, it depends on how they were made.  yesterday  packed 3 game sized boxes and I did something different in each one haha.

Help????

Actually, I have something written up on how I do that.  I'll email it to you.  I still do what I call "practice packs".  If I don't get in how many I want to send, I do it again.

I work a split job/shift at an elementary school.  In the morning I am a teacher's aide to kinder and 5th grade.  in the afternoon, I am an assistant manager in the after school program called CARE.  I work with 3,4,5 graders.  Love the split job and shifts.  I work 1 mile from home-spoiled!-so I go home for my mid day break of 2.5 hours 4 days a week and 1.25 on Wed.

That's cool!  I'm only two miles from home so I go home for lunch every day and lately I've been....sewing during my lunch break!!!

I've been known to do that too.  love the long break in between shifts and for the most part, I do not mind going back to work.  cause I got a rest.

the afternoon part of my job is where I can be really crafty with the kids.

do you know what these trees are made out of?

we are not just Navy here.  I posted some fun photos that I got this morning from the Army/AF group that Debbie Mul and I mailed to recently.  Check out the 2013 thread and he did give me permission to post these.

Check out the colors of the pc on the group photo.

actually, I posted from several, man I am behind!

They look like corks to me!

that's what they are.  I got a huge donation of wine corks-and I don't drink, so it's kind of funny-saw that on a craft website but they weren't painted.  So I did the glueing-hot glue was best and the painting-faster that way and the kids decorated.

We made them for the CARE staff and then they made them as Christmas gifts.

can you tell which is mine?  

here is a photo of our Christmas door but it's not finished here-we put up a "mirror" out of shiny silver paper over the mantle:

I'm thinking the one with the anchor, right in the middle?  It's a very good idea to use corks that way.  I bet you have an awesome craft room!

we have lots of fun and I have a huge counter so we can make week long crafts.  

you know glue and paint have to dry haha.  I didn't take a photo of my fall door,

but here is the spring door.. And the kids make the stuff, with alittle help from me.  I work with 3,4,5 graders in the afternoon, kinders in the morning.  back to "work" for me.  baking today.

Very nice Sue!!!

the tree is made from the bottom of paper bags that I had cut up for a the grade project.  some of the thinner branches are the bag handles.  the brown crumpled paper is some that I "rescued" when I took apart a tree that had been a prop for the 5th grade simulation.  I am a huge recycle person and make things out of it.

the kids make the rest.  can you see the snake eyeing up the bunny on the bottom?  I asked a 3rd grade girl to draw the bunny-it had kind of a surprised expression and then a 5th grade girl drew the snake and put it there.  I thought that was pretty funny.

5th graders made the fireplace in the other photo.  can you see the tree in the other photo?

I am often asked how I/we choose groups.  I say "do you know someone deployed?

give me their information-it's that easy."  In the midst of mailing to the Nimitz,

Debbie Mulxxx asked me that.  Her answer was yes.  So I wrote to Andy and he said there were only 4 in his unit but they were working with an AF unit.  So she and I mailed 50 pcs for them.  Here's what she said:

Sue, just looked at both emails...and yes I did see several of my pc's.....how awesome. I loved the one where the guy was holding it up in front of him like he was holding up a shirt..How can you ever thank the guys and women for what they do for us.And just think, if it wasn't for my son-in-law ,his many years in both the Navy and Army, we wouldn't have traveled to Tx to bring Kate back home while he was gone and I would have never read the article about HAE and I would have never been a part of this wonderful crew .....Thank you so much for what you do and have done :)

I am all about networking and word of mouth.  So if you know or have someone deployed, tell me.  Don't worry that I/HAE is too busy.  If it can't be done right now, we will put them on the list.

here is what I received in the mail this past week-July 2nd, for HAE.  The glass was broken so the frame got alittle banged up.  Ray said that it was in a battle in Afghanistan so that worked: