SouleMama

we've been counting

We've been busy counting hats. A lot of hats. I've put the final tally and some final words about the project on the Mama to Mama blog, so head on over there to check out those details.

This project grew in many ways that I never expected. By sheer number, certainly (pictured above is three days worth of mail). And it grew far beyond SouleMama readers, as you all so kindly spread the word about the project so that it reached people far and wide - of all ages and from so many different backgrounds. But I've written about some of that over on Mama to Mama.

Another way it grew, and exceeded my expectations was the way it touched my own little family of six. The way we all worked together to unpack the hundreds of boxes.

How my children "learned" so very much - from conversations about the situation in Haiti, to the math required to keep track of such big numbers, to the map-gazing that we did as some far-away packages arrived. Natural learning opportunities - the best kind of all. It even created a little stamp collector in the family.

Especially given the timing, I never could have managed this without the help of Steve, Calvin, Adelaide and Ezra. And a dear friend (thank you, Jean!) who came over one looong, late night as she helped me find my way back to my dining room, when the boxes threatened to take over my house. And my deep thanks to an old friend, Skeek, who dreamed up the Caps to Cap Haitien project, and got the wheels turning for all of us.

And most of all, thanks to you. Go on...head on over there and see what you've done!

a Mama to Mama update

I don't intend to cross-post here every time I make a little update over at Mama to Mama, but there have been a few additions in the past week that I want to direct you to.

• The Caps are coming in! And they're wonderful! I added a Cap Counter in the sidebar of Mama to Mama to track and share the total with you as the project progresses. I had great hopes of sending notes of gratitude to all who submit, but I quickly realized that's going to be impossible. I hope this little counter - and a few other ways of updating that I have planned - will bring you some satisfaction in watching the craftiness-for-good grow!

• I had been receiving one (really good, I might add) question more than any other since the project started - given the climate in Haiti, are infant caps really necessary? - so I asked Konbit Sante for some help in answering. The short answer is 'yes!", but the long answer is highly informative and helpful and right over here on the Mama to Mama website.

• Lastly, I added one more crafty project that can be contributed to this phase of the project! So many of you have asked what else you can make, and lightweight receiving blankets would be so helpful for the healthcare workers to give out at birth. There are some basic instructions - and a description of the kind of blanket needed for the project - on the Mama to Mama site now.  Should that be something you'd like to make instead of - or in addition to - the Caps, give it a peek.

If you want to stay current on all the updates as they happen on Mama to Mama, be sure to subscribe to the feed there, or visit www.mamatomama.org from time to time.

Thank you all so much for sharing your hearts and your hands with this project!

Mama to Mama: a little more

Tees...

...to Caps!

Oh, I'm so touched at the response to the Mama to Mama project launch! Wonderful! It's always a mix of nerve-wracking and exciting putting a new project out into the world, especially one so dear to my heart, so thank you for meeting it so warmly. My email inbox is a bit flooded with Mama to Mama inquiries right now, so I wanted to answer a few of the most repeated questions for all to see. (And if you're still waiting for an answer on something, just give me a minute to catch up. My timing, as usual, is impeccable [she laughs]....as, well, there's this other little project coming to a conclusion very soon too. I need to get those baby clothes washed!)

Head on over to the Mama to Mama website for those Questions and Answers.

And if you'd like to help spread the word, please do! Feel free to write about it as you wish, link to the Mamatomama.org website, and use this button as it is helpful to you in doing so. (Right-click to download and host yourself, please.)

And lastly, on the topic of Haiti in general, please take a moment to read this post on Sew Liberated with some wonderful, informative resources and personal thoughts on the situation there. Thank you, Meg!

Thank you all for your support and handmade action! I can't wait to see where this will lead us, and to share just what we can do with our hands and hearts!

Mama to Mama

I'm so grateful to be sharing with you today this little project I've been working on for a few months now. Today is the official launch of Mama to Mama: Connecting Families Through the Gift of Handmade. You can find the website at www.mamatomama.org.

I enjoy so very much coming here each day and sharing a bit about my life in these pages. I love writing about the small joys of parenting and life in the everyday, the beauty of the natural world around us, the community of crafters and mothers that surround us. Yes, of course, there is plenty of challenge and struggle too. But for the most part, my life - and quite possibly yours - is full of abundance, when held next to the sharply constrasting realities of many other mothers in the world. Mothers living lives where opportunity is next to nonexistent, where violence agains women is prevalant, and where the future for their children is bleak.

This is on my mind often. It's something I struggle with as I try to make sense of the world for myself and my children. It's something I try to be mindful of as I go about my days, as I think about the ways and places I spend my money, time, and energy - my life, and my craft. I'm guessing - as we share so much in common, really - that you share this thought with me. Since the release of The Creative Family, I've been overwhelmed by a continuing thread of email questions all around the subject of craftivism (which I wrote a bit about in the book), the concept of using craft for social action, as crafters and as families. So many of you are writing to me asking for more specific information on this - what you can do, where you can go, how to get involved.

Well...I've been thinking about that too, and the result is Mama to Mama. I've created Mama to Mama as a space in which we can gather and share information about how our families can connect through handmade action. Ways to use our crafting energy to create a little bit of good in the world, beyond our front door, beyond our families and out into the worldwide community of mothers. Mothers who all want to keep our children safe, most of all. I'm not suggesting that making a simple hat can change the world in an instant, nor that it's all we should be doing, but it's baby steps, friends. Baby steps and little moments that we do have the opportunity to make a little bit better for someone else.

Like anything that has just begun, I'm not entirely sure where this will take us, but I'm excited to let it go, see it unfold and spread with your help. As I was beginning to think about this many months ago, I was contacted by a dear old friend -a role model to me in my own mothering - who works with the Maine-Cap Haitien health partnership, Konbit Sante. She invited me to take part in the Safe Motherhood Project to aid birthing women and babies in northern Haiti. As I listened to her - with my own belly growing, and the beauty and abundance of the season and our days surrounding me, and this idea growing - the answer was a resounding 'yes'.

You can read more about the specifics of the Caps to Cap-Haitien Project on the new Mama to Mama website, (and I'll share a bit here as it moves forward). And then, I hope you'll join me in the simple act of creating a newborn cap this season. We truly have here a well of blessings and abundance to share with one another, and I'm so pleased to invite you along in this journey.

many blessings & thanks to you,
Amanda