Sponsored Sew for Cancer Research UK *UPDATED*

*UPDATED (June 24, 2013)

Thank you everybody who sponsored me or bid on the two lovely dolls. In total, I raised £300.77 + £53.81 in gift aid. That is a total of £354.58 for Cancer Research UK. This has been a wonderful experience and a very rewarding one. I couldn't have ever imagined raising this amount of money, so thank you all again. 

Unexpectedly, the two dolls were won by a friend of mine, one for each of her daughters, and in memory of her Father. A well deserved new home for these two pretty girls. 

What's Next?

I am currently working on adding some variety to the shop, so watch out for baby bibs, baby/toddler/children's dresses, toddler/boys shirts, and shoes. And perhaps a new bag or two. 

*UPDATED (June 13, 2013) - You can now bid for these two gorgeous girls right HERE

Small Article in the Norwich Evening News - June 17, 2013

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I have been terribly excited about the sponsored sew and having reached above my goal in sponsorship I was more motivated than ever. A big thank you to everybody who has sponsored me and supported me through this project.

Me with the dolls made in the Sponsored Sew

Donations to date (June 10, 2013)

The Donators

I know I have posted about our donators before but without them this sponsored sew would have been a lot more difficult to get together. So firstly a great bit thank you to the donators:

The Wool Felt Company - Baby pink wool blend felt
An online shop specialising in craft fabrics.
 
Suzie May Ltd - Fabric for the skin, ribbon for the hair and shoes, and satin and organza for the skirts
One of  UK's favourite Haberdashery supplier
 
Groves-Banks - Two bags of toy stuffing
UK’s leading independent distributor of haberdashery, sewing accessories and needlecrafts to the retail trade. 

Binky Roo Designs (me) - Pink Ribbon / Cancer Fabric, lace trim and flower buttons for the body of the doll and hair accessories.
Specialises in beautiful handcrafted dolls, bags, accessories and much more

The dolls were made from slightly adapted  Dolls and Daydreams Patterns. Sarah from Dolls and Daydreams designs the most beautiful dolls and plushes and is very supportive of those who use them.

The Sponsored Sew

The Sponsored Sew took place on Saturday, June 08, 2013. Rather than bore you with the step by step details I thought photos would be much more interesting.

Everything ready for the Sponsored Sew

Sewing the hair onto Dolly Irene

Making the Bow for Dolly June Rose's hair

Sewing the legs for Dolly Irene

My son peeping over the table to see what his Mummy is doing

Faces for Dolly Irene and Dolly June Rose are ready

More Sewing at the Machine

More machine sewing

Stuffing the legs

The two dolls are ready to be put together

Stuffing Dolly Irene

More stuffing of Dolly Irene

Vincent cheering his Mummy on

The finished Dolls!

The Charity Auction

The two dolls, named Irene and June Rose, will be up for auction on Ebay from Thursday, June 13. To keep informed of when the dolls are available please like my Facebook Page.

Follow my blog in order to keep up to date with all my crafting goings on. 

CHARITY - Sponsored Sew - Fighting Cancer

After what I would have said was a successful Charity Auction of the Monkey Plushes for The Monkey Sanctuary / Wild Futures, I was excited at the prospect of my next Charity venture. Every year I wanted to take part in Race for Life but something always got in the way - unavailable for those dates, pregnant, baby too young - so I came up with another challenge to raise money for a Cancer Charity. Since the Monkeys did well - £59.00 - I thought I'd use my sewing talents to raise money to fight cancer.

WHY CANCER RESEARCH UK - MY STORY: 

My mother-in-law, Irene. This was my late father-in-laws favourite picture of her.

In 2000, before I met my husband, Stephen, my mother-in-law also passed away from Cancer, one of the long drawn out fights that still resulted in her being taken away from her son and husband. Again, she has always been described as a wonderful woman who was perhaps a little too giving and forgiving. She never got to see her son marry in to a very happy partnership or see his son, her grandson. Because I live away from my family I feel as though I've missed out on having a close family here in Norfolk.

SPONSORED SEW:

Several months had passed since thinking about my Cancer Research Charity Auction and then I heard that the first dates for Race for Life had just passed and I knew it was time. The reason the Monkeys brought in £59.00 was because Wild Futures aided the promotion of the auction. However, I realised that many people raise money for Cancer Research UK and it would probably be impossible for them to aid promotion for everybody so I decided to split the fundraising into two parts: A Sponsored Sew and the Charity Auction of the two dolls made from the Sponsored Sew.

On the 8th & 9th of June I will be making two dolls made from a Dolls and Daydream Pattern. These will be made from donated materials from companies listed below.

The Wool Felt Company - Baby pink wool blend felt
An online shop specialising in craft fabrics.
 
Suzie May Ltd - Fabric for the skin, ribbon for the hair and shoes, and satin and organza for the skirts
One of  UK's favourite Haberdashery supplier
 
Groves-Banks - Two bags of toy stuffing
UK’s leading independent distributor of haberdashery, sewing accessories and needlecrafts to the retail trade. 

Binky Roo Designs (me) - Pink Ribbon / Cancer Fabric for the body of the doll.
Specialises in beautiful handcrafted dolls, bags, accessories and much more

CHARITY AUCTION:

After the Sponsored Sew I will have two beautiful dolls, approx 18", one called Irene. They will share the similar theme of pink and represent strength, courage, and the fight against cancer. The two dolls will be up for auction on Ebay starting June 10, 2013 if all goes to plan. Again, they will be sold with 100% going to Cancer Research UK.

WHAT & HOW TO DONATE:

I am using Just Giving for my Sponsored Sew. The minimum donation accepted is £2.00 GBP. That is all I'm asking for. Those who can afford more have been giving more but my ask is £2.00. So please, donate just £2.00 for this worthy cause.

Thank You! 

Charity News - Wild Futures & Cancer Research *UPDATED

UPDATE: CHARITY AUCTION NOW LIVE

CLICK HERE TO GO TO AUCTION 

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It's been so busy here at Mockingbird's End, that I've barely had time enough to sleep - the fact I look terrible, as my neighbour kindly pointed out today, says that I should probably back off a bit, but I love what I do and I'm just an obsessive kind of person.

Marlene and Pepper holding hands ready for the Charity Auction

So there are some Charity Events coming up that I want to share with you. So the immediate one is the run up to Easter Charity Monkey Auction. I'll be auctioning two monkey plushes for Wild Futures / The Monkey Sanctuary.

This is their mission statement:

At Wild Futures we are all too aware that flora and fauna around the world are becoming more endangered at every moment. For some species, it is too late – they are gone forever. The future of all that remains lies in our hands and the time to act is now.
Every species of plant and animal plays a vital role within our intricate and dynamic ecosystem; the eradication of any one species inevitably impacts on the survival of others. The protection of non-human primates is at the forefront of our work, following almost fifty years of working to protect primates from the abuses they face both in captivity and in the wild. By focusing on primates and their protection, we aim to ensure a wild and safe future for all.

Wild Futures is dedicated to:

• Promoting the welfare and conservation of primates
• Conserving and restoring natural habitats in the UK and abroad through funding support, education and sustainable practices
• Working to end the trade in primates for any purpose and abuse of primates in captivity
• Offering a home for life to primates in need of rescue and rehabilitation 

I have been to The Monkey Sanctuary and it is very clear that every single member of their staff believe in what they are doing. I have long loved monkeys and primates. In the Winter of last year there was a terrible storm that caused damage to The Monkey Sanctuary, and on top of that, baby Pepper passed away. This auction is to help towards their Emergency Winter Appeal. 

The Charity Auction will commence on Ebay on 14 March and will run for 10 days. You will have a chance to bid for two separate monkey plushes. 

16" Pepper

Behind Pepper

PEPPER - The day the storm hit The Monkey Sanctuary, little Pepper fell sick. I was the first adoptee of Pepper and I have to say I was heartbroken. This first plush is dedicated to the Memory of Pepper, complete with monkeys on clouds motifs. He is 16" tall and made from a mottled brown fabric. He is just gorgeous. 

Cute Marlene 18"

Marlene with her bow and flower

MARLENE - I am a lover of old movies and often refer to them when naming the dolls and plushes. This is no exception. Marlene is named after Marlene Dietrich, known Diva. This plush is 18" tall, her body depicts diva monkeys, and she is made from a brown linen look cotton fabric. She comes complete with a flower and bow on the top of her head. 

So write 14 March in your diary and don't forget to bid for Charity. 

Race for Life - Cancer Research UK - May/June 2013

I will be making two dolls to raise money in aid of Race for Life - Cancer Research UK. The dolls will both be 18", baby pink hair, and their body will be made out of fabric displaying the pink ribbon. One will be called Connie and the other Irene. This is in memory of my grandmother and mother in law who both passed away from Cancer. You will be able to bid for one of these dolls in May / June this year. The Wool Felt Company have already donated some of their wonderful baby pink wool blend felt and I'm currently working on getting hold of some beautiful pink ribbon fabric. 
Keep checking in for more details, or you can like my Facebook and twitter pages.  

UPDATE* We have had another donation for the Cancer Research Dolls. Suzie May Ltd have donated the fabric for the skin of the dolls, ribbon for the hair and shoes, and satin and organza for the skirts.  There will be more about our donators in the build up to the auction.

UPDATE (March 7)* We have had another donation for the Cancer Research Dolls. Groves-Banks have donated two bags of toy stuffing. This is really wonderful news. So much generosity. These dolls are going to be gorgeous. One will have pink plaited pigtails and the other will two little pigtails like the Little Red Riding Hood doll I make.

Charity Auction - Why and What?

Most of us are a compassionate lot but we are not necessarily able to donate hundreds of pounds or volunteer time for charity. The double dip recession has hit most of us, and with a 19 month old son, I couldn't give as much as I'd like. But I can give something and I am a firm believer that if everybody gave something then the charities wouldn't suffer to harshly in these horrible economical times.

CHARITIES

If I had been born with a silver spoon in my mouth I wouldn't be a socialite spending Daddy's money on parties and the likes, I'd be helping charities. In my time as an Independence adult I have helped a few charities including Abaana and The Monkey Sanctuary. In 2006 I went to Looe and visited The Monkey Sanctuary where I had adopted a capuchin monkey called Mickey. It was the most wonderful place. The staff were so polite, fun, and informative, and the monkeys were entertaining and fascinating to watch. And on this particular day it rained and that could not have spoiled the day.

Mickey the Capuchin - © Copyright Wild Futures

The Monkey Sanctuary / Wild Futures left an incredible impression on me. Dreams of working with primates still sit inside. Maybe one day. Since that day I adopted Pepper, a baby capuchin. Unfortunately, baby Pepper passed away at the end of last year during the cold snap (2012), I was besides myself. I wanted to do something in his memory. Then the storms came and destruction hit the Sanctuary leaving it with a lot of damage. Thankfully no harm came to the monkeys. Now it became imperative to help raise funds.

Pepper the Baby Capuchin -  © Copyright Wild Futures

I decided to use my skills. I love sewing and crafts, so my initial plan was to make two monkey plushes and auction them to raise some money. But that is not enough and so I have decided ever Monkey plush I sell I will donate 15% to The Monkey Sanctuary / Wild Futures. 

Amy the Capuchin - © Copyright Wild Futures

After Pepper passed away I adopted his sister, Amy. I hope to go and visit this year, to see the lovely staff and the wonderful primates...

CHARITY AUCTION

Available will be one 16" monkey plush in memory of Pepper. Brown mottled cotton fabric and the body is a blue fabric with a monkey on a cloud motif. Apt for little Pepper.

Charity Auction Preview of Pepper (16")

The second plush will be 18" called Marlene (after Marlene Dietrich). A brown linen effect cotton with a pink cotton fabric that has diva monkey motifs.

Marlene Dietrich

 As I mention above, any order for a monkey plush (18"), 15% will go to The Monkey Sanctuary / Wild Futures.

*keep checking my facebook page and twitter for more information as to where and when the auction will be.

UPDATE (Feb 25, 2013):

Marlene and Pepper ready for the Charity Auction