July 7, 2025

Greetings - Linda took the day off celebrating for a week with family commemorating her 55 wedding anniversary. 

update for Listening House: sewed 6 duffel bags, and three clutch type bags and brought to Listening House. Amazing, Gary said they were out and needed some!
While there I sewed two dog food bags into totes - Gary said guests like them because they hold a lot of stuff; they are quite strudy. Also, found out that boxer shorts are very much needed. Found a pattern, on sale or course! and made one pair. I think I should be able to sew about 10 in about two hours. I only have quilting cotton - don't know if guests could tolerate that fabric - but will try. Shirting cotton is good - but I only have pink or blue gingham - doubt men would like wearing those!
I have some very light knit material - camoflauge print - I will try a couple boxers with that fabric and see what happens. Pattern says not to use knit fabric - I've always been a rebel!
These fabrics are from donations - all donations. Maynard said, "you're using up a lot of the fabric you received!" I hope so, and still have some left for teaching sewing at Project for Pride in Living.
I will let you all in on a little secret: i want to teach guests who want to learn to sew - and I've been given permission to teach one-on-one. However, has anyone ever heard of Home Boy Industries? https://homeboyindustries.org/our-story/father-greg/

 A Jesuit priest, Greg Boyle serves in a parish in Los Angeles that has gangs and young people who were into the usual things gangs were into. Fr Boyle built Home Boy ministries and provided work for these folks, and has expanded to help them with their lives, education, tat removal, etc., therapy, treatment He has made an impact on where he lives.
Why can't we do that in St Paul? Teach folks how to sew, provide work and an income

Another similar industry is the nun in Minneapolis who started Cookie Cart - she started out by baking cookies for neighborhood kids, then the kids wanted to learn how to bake. then the kids wanted to sell the cookies and now it is a huge ministry that caters to youth, teaching them business skills, baking, etc. https://cookiecart.org/about/
From Listening House we could do such work! Teaching how to sew, they can provide mending for income, they can expand into a business of custom embroidery, tie dye shirts, custom tshirt designs. So much can be done. so much help we can provide to provide work, income, self-esteem, hope.
Well, that is enough of my waxing quixotic.
Thank you very much, as usual for donations, in kind and monetary. I appreciate all of you! Please pray for me and I pray for you.
LauraRose

ps: next week I will post images of our sewing space - it is coming along nicely. Linda, as always is amazing!

May 28, 2025

Greetings! The picture i uploaded today is a sewing machine bought last year at a garage sale for $30! It is the model sewing machine I learned on. I love this machine! It only needs a new belt (already on order), a little oil, and she sews beautifully! Thank you God!

Recently tried a new backpack pattern (purchased) and it took me as long to sew it together as it would have taken to cut out and sew four (4) duffel bags. Guess what? I gave that to Listening House, but will not be making that pattern again - quantity is what's needed at LH, not fancy, but utilitarian. I also tried a couple of new patterns for cosmetic or shaving bags that were quite simple to make. I'm glad I've learned how to use zipper by the yard! Saves a lot of headache and lot of money.

Thank you to the ladies at our local Sewing Guild - i have new machines and a great amount of new fabric that will be used to sew items for LH and also to teach at Project for Pride in Living. psst, I'll share a little secret with you: I'm hoping there will be people at LH wanting to learn to sew - wouldn't that be marvelous?

Oh, and thank you for $$ donationos - I was able to purchase hardware for a different backpack that I sew for Listening House. It is a super simple backpack and yet has straps, a little bit of hardware, and buckles. So, it is going well.

This week I will be working on what I call "side belts." You may have seen them on the online selling mecca that is named after a river in Africa - they are made of elastic, strapping, and velcro - they attach between two side belt loops, and fold back on themselves to increase the waist size on pants - just like a regular belt but is only used on each side of the waist. What an invention! I'm so happy to make these - not expensive to make, easy to make, and guests at LH are almost always asking for belts. Win, win, win!

Been thinking about my spirituality lately - am I doing the right thing? I confess doctrine and dogma are not my bailiwick, but helping the poor is. I hope to take after Dorothy Day, Margarite Bays, Madelein Delbrel (the French Dorothy Day) and our very own Mary Jo Copeland. My heart is for the poor and I must tend to the needs of my heart.

Please pray for me that I can continue this work!

As always, be blessed, be well, be grace filled.

This is from April 2025. Not sure how all this blog stuff works.

14 bags going to Listening House today - all donated fabric, some recovered zippers: 5 duffel bags, and 9 ditty bags of different sizes! Love this! I get to sew and someone benefits!

Thank you again for all the fabric donations - some are used for teaching and others for making bags for ListeningHouse.