Super Rewarding

Today I made a trip down to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta with a bag full of super capes to donate. I had 14 in all. I'm still a little giddy over it all.
I talked about the idea here in my post Super Funny. After that I sent a cape to my nephew for a test run. It was a big hit.

My ever brilliant sister suggested that I sell a few to fund a bigger donation. Her idea worked better and faster than I would have thought. I got 5 orders just from mentioning it to my "running" group. Thanks to those ladies, I was able to make 14 capes of various sizes and colors, and thanks to an awesome fleece sale, I still have money to buy more supplies. I just ran out of sewing time before Christmas.

I ended up making things a little harder on myself, but with great reward, by adding satin blanket binding to the bottoms of the cape. It brought in more color and has a soothing texture. It required a bit more sewing for each cape, but was well worth it. Other than that it was as simple as cutting them out and sewing on a little velcro.

I consulted with some friends who have had long term and/or repeated stays at Children's. The easy on, easy off with no tying was a very important feature, as was it being washable. The thing the donation lady got most excited about was that I had them packaged individually and clearly labeled. Those two simple things made her work a lot easier (Thanks for that tip Laura!). She was also really excited that I had some that were obviously girly. There is a group that brings capes and tutus to the kids, and more often now girls have been wanting the capes. (happy dance!!!)

I didn't identify myself on the cape tags because one can not reveal their secret identity, but I did include a note on the back. In case you can't read it, I quoted Joshua 1:9 and at the bottom added, "This cape was given in hopes that it will help you find strength and courage during your fight." And, I'm getting choked up again. After I left the hospital I was all grins and floaty until I got in my car. It was then that it hit me that I was free to leave because my kids weren't there. My children are healthy. I went there because I wanted to, not because I had to. It crushed me for a minute, and I had to sit there and cry a bit before I could drive home.

I'm not sure where I want to go from here. I'm not much of an organizer, and tend to work alone. I know a lot of people who can and would help, but asking for it is where I always fail. Maybe once I run out of supplies and supply money I'll put something together. For now, I am just so thrilled at how this turned out, and can not wait to take another batch down there.