Bald Angels and their Christmas Present drive.
When I was a little girl, I would sometimes wake up and discover a brand-new dress on the end of my bed. My beautiful mum was lovely and would make me dresses that were pretty, cute and made with love.
It was special to wear a new dress to school and I didn’t take it for granted even though it was just what Mum did.
I love to sew and create but I was never good at sewing clothes for myself. Several months ago, I got an urge to drag out my sewing machine with the intent of improving my sewing skills and I thought of my mum and her dresses. What to sew though? I decided on making dresses and clothing for kids for the charity that we support called Bald Angels. My idea was to purchase a simple kids pattern and buy some fabric, go back to basics and read all the words in the pattern instructions as I had been rather random with my sewing methods years ago.
I’m not a standard, off the rack size girl when it comes to clothes or patterns (although I am not sure of anyone who really is!). I am a bit of this size and bit of that size, waist, bust, and hips – I really needed several different patterns, and different sized patterns combined into one to make anything look good on me when I tried sewing my own clothes years ago. It got to the point that my delightful husband said stop! Enough is enough! So, I stopped sewing as everything ended up in the reject pile as bits were too tight, too loose or just the style was totally not a good look for me of the fabric didn’t drape properly, etc so it was off to the shops for clothes from then on and my sewing was only limited to bags, and hemming curtains until now. It is wonderful to be sew again. I find it relaxing and therapeutic.
Making children’s clothes is just brilliant because you make it to the pattern and the children are generally all round about the right shape – i.e., it doesn’t matter too much if it’s a little bit looser in some areas and kids’ patterns are very forgiving, and with some creative flair and cool and cute material, the children love them. My clothes look like the pattern when I am finished which is a great feeling!
I buy ribbons, rickrack, funky and fancy zippers and buttons and sew on patches and bits of trim, all the frilly bits my mum used to put on my dresses to jazz it up and make it unique. I buy enough material at a time to make several dresses and boys’ shirts and pants clothes in different colours at a time. I also pick up and use fabric scraps from sewing shops and op-shops as I can then cut out sleeves or collars and the like from the remnants and generally get another garment or two out of the scraps and mix and match tops and bottoms too make them fun and colourful.
When I hear that a child has had hand-me-downs all their life, and never worn a new item of clothing, it breaks my heart.
We support Bald Angels because everything they do and all the items and money that is donated to them is reaches all the little nooks and crannies in the communities of northland.
They provide food, support, bedding, clothing, kids presents and anything that’s needed for families who need a bit of support. They find out who needs help from the close relationship they have with our local police, ambulance officers and fire department, Women’s Refuge and many other providers. These services have Bald Angels cuddly teddy bears in all their vehicles for the officers to give to children who need a bit of love and something to cuddle if the callout they are attending is stressful to the children caught up in the middle of a situation. We love what they do.
Bald Angels have also set up a community garden in Kerikeri for families to learn how to garden and provide fresh food to those in need. They also run a Christmas present drive each year. This in only part of the wonderful work they do. Rogue Pony donate a percentage from every tour we do. We take people on tours to show them why we live here and how our communities help themselves. We love being part of Northland and being able to help some small way.
Bald Angels Christmas present drive is now on and there are lots of drop off points in the Bay of Islands if anyone would like to donate a new gift for the children of northland. Kia Kaha Bald Angels. Nga Mihi.
http://www.baldangels.org.nz/events_projects/toy-drive-christmas-food-parcels/