Thursday, May 5, 2011

HF Support: Helen's Hat Box

 Welcome to a new feature on Homefront called HomeFront Support.  We know that there are many of you out there who support the military community.  We would love for you to share your stories with us.


My family always believed in charity and the biblical principle of "If you are blessed, bless others". In 2006, I wanted to do something for soldiers so I looked on the Department of Defense web site. I saw "Adopt a Chaplain" and thought it was a great idea. I am old enough to remember the Viet Nam war and to remember how badly the soldiers were treated when they came home then. I emailed "Adopt a Chaplain" and started sending goodies to a Chaplain from a guard unit in Arkansas.


Four or five months later, I saw a picture of a chaplain doing Easter services the year before and thought that for those chaplains who were used to wearing stoles in their civilian life, stoles would be a good thing to have. In researching liturgical stoles I found out that all of them that I could find were floor length and cost over $100. This is when I asked the coordinator of Adopt a Chaplain, Ben Ferguson, if the chaplains would like hip length stoles. The stoles started out rather crude with iron on decals of crosses. When one chaplain said he wanted something in a dull color because he didn't want to be a target in bright green, I started making the stoles in camo fabric. Two years ago my husband bought me an embroidery sewing machine and I started to be able to embroider crosses and unit patches. I have made stoles for every Christian denomination and for every branch of service.


When I started making hats I thought "Why not make small hats for the women in a military man's life?" My hats are small and I purposely don't charge much because I know that money is tight for many military families. These hats can come with a 3 in round frame that you can put a picture in or I can put a pin from the military branch or an embroidered patch from their branch or unit also on the hat most of the time. If it is a small unit I may not be able to. I am limited by the company I buy the patch downloads from but I have some of the big units like 1st Cav or 1st Infantry etc.

These hats are frilly and fun yet they honor your man. I see these hats being worn at a graduation or any kind of ceremony on base. If you want your man to find you in a crowd, this would also be a great way to do it.

For a very near sighted RN, this is my way of serving my country. (I tried to join up but because of my vision they wouldn't take me. I made the recruiter cry)


SHOP
Helen is offering a 25% discount in her shop.  Use the code:  
SEA25
THANK YOU Helen Marshall for supporting the Homefront Community.  If you or someone you know supports the Homefront Community, please contact us via the Contact tab at the top of the blog.

Well of Creations - Blog Leader



Well of Creations - Blog Coordinator

1 comment:

Homefront Artistry Team said...

Wow...what a great story ;)
Robin (CreationsAnew)