Monday, July 2, 2012

Skirting the Issue is HERE!!!!


We can NOT be more excited that today is the lauch of Skirting the Issue!  It has been such an overwhelming experience to see so many people rally around us (especially behind-the-scenes) in this amazing cause, that we can't help but be so excited that it is finally time to start (and celebrate)!


Here are a few more of the details about the event.


What is "Skirting the Issue?"

Skirting the Issue is an event that has been planned for the month of July to make and donate handmade skirts to girls in Foster Care.  We have teamed up with our local Foster Care Agency, Utah Foster Care Foundation,  in our local efforts, but we have been assured that there are plenty of local Foster Care Agencies across the nation (and world ) and that there is plenty of need for skirts!

As part of the event we have asked over 40 celebrity sewing bloggers to participate and share simple handmade skirt tutorials that we can all use to make and donate skirts to our local agencies (or mail to us if you would like to!)

We have set a goal for 100 skirts to be donated by the first week in August---and we REALLY need your help to make our goal!


Is there an address I can mail skirts to if I can't find a local organiztion?

YES!!! YES!! and YES!!!

There are two local agencies that we have been working directly with to donate skirts in our area.  If you would like to mail skirts, here are two addresses that you can use.  If you will label the boxes "Skirting the Issue" somewhere on them that would be most helpful!

Utah , Wester Region
274 West Center Street
Orem, UT 84057


Utah, Salt Lake Region
5296 South Commerce Drive, #400
Murray, UT 84107


Is there a need for certain sizes over others?

The agency assures us that there are girls of all ages in Foster care (both locally and nationally) and any and all skirts will be greatly loved and appreciated.

Our local agency has specifically said that they have a need for tween and teenage girls skirts.  So, while we are definately making some little girls' skirts, we will definately remember those older girls too!


Are there sizing charts available?

YES!  We have done our best to put together a sizing chart with general waist measurements and waist-to-knee measurements for girls up to size 14 as well as a teen/junior sizing chart too.  They will be up at Project Run and Play tomorrow!

One thing we do ask----PLEASE LABEL THE SIZE OF THE SKIRT YOU ARE MAKING!  You do NOT need to have fancy labels (I am planning on safety pinning a cardstock tag with a note and size) but it will be much easier to distribute the skirts if they are sized.  So, thank you in advance to labeling them.


How are you keeping track of skirts donated?

This is also a pretty important piece of information.  We have created a specific Flickr group just for "Skirting the Issue" and we will use this to keep track of skirts that are donated.  And because there are prizes for you for donating skirts (our sponsors are the best) we will use the photos in the flickr group to draw for prizes as well.

You will see this button on the right-hand sidebars of both blogs, so it should be pretty easy to find.


Simple Simon and Co


Rules for the Flickr Group:

1.  Please ONLY put in pictures of the skirts you are donating to this flickr group.  If you have a tutorial you would like to share (and we would LOVE to see them) please add those the the Simple Simon and Co Flickr group or the Project Run and Play Flickr Group.

2.  ONE photo per skirt in the Skirting the Issue Flickr Group.  That way we can keep track of exactly how many skirts are being donated (because we would LOVE to smash our goal out the window!)

3.  Please make sure that there is a way to contact you in there somewhere (email, blog link, etc) so if your skirt is drawn...we can get you your prize! 

And, pease don't be offended if we delete multiple pictures of the same skirt (or we will email you and ask if there are two alike!), we really just want to keep accurate numbers.  There are no rules about how to photograph the skirts....just so long as we can see the skirt...that will be perfect!


What are the prizes about?

Ok, we know that all of you are making and donating skirts out of the generosity of your own good natures (and because you are all just. plain. awesome) but we wanted there to be some fun prizes along the way.  So, every so often we will randomly pick a skirt in the Flickr group to win a prize.  And there are some good ones coming......hold that thought until tomorrow, and head to Project Run and Play  to see more about the goodness.

A HUGE (and I am talking HUGE) thanks to our sponsors for donating some amayyyyzing prizes (wait til you see the grand-daddy of them all tomorrow!) and for their support.

And yes, we are still accepting prizes.  If you have an  Etsy shop, or fabric shop, or notions, or patterns, or something else sewing-related (or otherwise cool) we would love to include it in a prize giveaway.  The only requirement is that it does need to be at least $25 dollars in value. 


If I have a local contact for an Agency, where do I send it?

PLEASE, please add it into the comments of this post.  Then we can keep the list for everyone to use and see! 


Thanks again everyone......it's now officially time to sew!!!!!!   We can't wait to see what all of your creative minds come up with!

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9 comments :

  1. I'm getting started right now! I have had the material in mind for ages, a really soft comfy brushed cotton :-)

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  2. I'm so excited about this event!!! I am so encouraged and blown away by the cause we are supporting. Thank you so much for all your hard work and planning in putting this together. I can't wait to bless the hey out of some little girls with gorgeous skirts from all your fabulous readers! Im in contact with a FC rep for WA and will send you any/all info when I get some more specifics, but for now I'll keep on sewing!

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  3. Okay. So I'm located in Portland Oregon. I contacted an organization here in Oregon. They got back into touch with me today and said that this sounds like a wonderful project and that they would be happy to be added to the list. Here is their contact information:

    Foster Closet Inc.
    Serving the Foster Care Community in Oregon
    Clothing & Gear for Kids in Foster Care
    Website: www.foster-Closet.org
    Donation Drop off locations are listed via a link on our Home Page.
    Information & Clothing Requests: 503-389-4012
    Office Phone: 503-357-9896

    They have a ton of places to donate through so its best to use the link to find a particular address.

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  4. Wow! I am just seeing this event, but am off to spread the word on my facebook page and such. This is a very meaningful outreach! How wonderful!

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  5. Oh....and we donate directly to our local Department of Children's Services (DCS)They provide the items to children upon entering foster care, since often circumstances bring them into care without very much at all. I will be including the skirts I make in with some other items being donated next month. Again, love what you are doing and thank you for getting the word out like this!

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  6. This is such a wonderful idea! You should continue to do this every year! You might even be able to get a national magazine involved like Sew News (Sew Beautiful) - they are currently doing something similar - but this would be so fun! I wish I had seen it earlier. This is great!!

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  7. Nicely done! We've just tweeted a link and hope you'll get lots of skirts for this worthy cause. Thanks for all your efforts. Cheers!

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  8. I just wanted to say thank you for doing this... my sister told me about this project and as a former foster kiddo I know just how wonderful it is to get random gifts!!! I will be making some and donating them to the group home I used to live in :D thanks again for the awesome idea!

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