Sewing the seeds of love

Pam Schiff
Posted 7/1/15

Some hobbies come and go, and others are carried on through generations. Sewing is one that has hung around for a very long time.

“Sew Seeds of Love” is an outworking of the personal love for …

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Sewing the seeds of love

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Some hobbies come and go, and others are carried on through generations. Sewing is one that has hung around for a very long time.

“Sew Seeds of Love” is an outworking of the personal love for sewing and creating with fabric that was inside Mary Jo Hines, founder, director and coordinator of the organization.

“My love for sewing began with the scraps and leftovers of my mother’s sewing projects. I began sewing at a young age and made many of my own clothes for dances, summer and gifting,” Hines said.

As her family started and grew, there were children’s clothing items and presents to make, often out of necessity. During a period of time, sewing was essentially on hold.

“I began to get back into sewing, seriously, about four years ago. Deciding to refresh and increase my garment sewing skills, I enrolled in the Master Seamstress program through URI. After completing the one year program and additional certification, I decided that there were many people, like myself, that wanted to give back to our community by using their talents and resources,” she said.

In September 2013, “Sew Seeds of Love,” a group of volunteer seamstresses who donate time and talent to serve their community with handmade gifts, began sewing for charitable causes.

Many of the people Hines met through the Master Seamstress Program and the Rhode Island Sewing Network joined together and began to sew once a month from September to May. Around this same time, she inherited a generous gift of sewing materials from a close friend who has passed away.

“One of our projects was sewn completely from this quilting fabric and donated in my friend’s remembrance to Hasbro Children’s Hospital,” Hines said.

“The members are amazingly generous and talented. I consider it a great privilege to be involved with each member. Some people have participated in ‘Sew Seeds of Love’ from other states by donating funds to purchase notions and project materials. Other people, who cannot get out to a sewing event, sew from home. This is a great, flexible way to participate,” she said.

At first, the group met at Hines’ home to sew, but as the number of volunteers increased she began to seek out a larger sewing venue. In November 2014, William Hall Library Director Adrienne Gallo offered to support their work by supplying a room and publicity through the library. Anyone in the community can join for a night of sewing. Through the library, there have been several volunteers who have joined “Sew Seeds of Love.” P & B Textiles in Pawtucket has generously donated fabric for some of the projects because an employee saw the library poster.

The organizations that have received handmade items are all close to Hines’ heart in some personal way. They include Little Dresses for Africa, Britches for Boys, Bags for RI Foster Kids, Hasbro Children’s Hospital, Women and Children’s Shelters in Providence, Safe Passages at McCauley Village, Darlington Memory Care Center, Tavares Pediatric Center, Women and Infants Hospital and the Scandinavian Home.

“All of the organizations that we have sewn for are very thankful for the handmade gifts. Each gift is given with love and received with joy. Our most popular and special project is sewing three handmade doll outfits, which are paired with an 18-inch doll. These dolls and outfits are wrapped up and given at Christmas time to girls who are living in shelters,” Hines said.

“We sew a different project each month. There is planned schedule of projects, which I set up over the summer months. I am currently planning the projects for September 2015-May 2016. As of last year, we decided to focus our donations to local groups,” she said.

For the month of June, the group members collaborated on a special project, a memory quilt, with RI Parents of Multiples.

“A local family lost one of their twin sons a year ago to illness. The mom donated close to 50 pieces of his clothing to the group,” said Dina DePalo, a representative of RI Parents of Multiples.

With 12 sewers on hand at the Hall Library on Tuesday, June 22, they were able to create a 58-by-72-inch quilt in about three hours’ time.

Hines herself was making a “quillow” out of the little boy’s favorite Mickey Mouse pajamas.

Volunteers are always welcome, and donations are greatly appreciated. For more information about getting involved, contact Hines at maryjo.hines@gmail.com or 401-785-9001, or visit the “Sew Seeds of Love” Facebook page.

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