Today saw Joan and I making up the sewing kits that will be given to each woman in the sewing project. What fun! Bags made by Janet Finch and friends in Port Alberni have being filled with notions donated by Huckleberry's and others we have purchased from donated funds, pincushions from the Westshore Quilters' Guild, thread donated by Carola's Thread Company and notebooks and pencils from Staples. Note the absence of rotary cutters - we'll be making a return to the ruler and scissors method with these women.
In this tote, food supplies to supplement local fare, and seasonings to make it all a little more palatable (chipotle sauce for Joan and teriyaki sauce for Pippa), have been packed in with flannelette donated by Fabricland (this will be used as a substitue for batting in quilts until we can work out a more sustainable filler - at the moment it seems that inexpensive blankets might work best). Also practice fabrics from a multitude of women, and 20 quilts made by Paula Eng from Victoria. Dora, a 92 year old friend from Courtenay, also gave us two full size quilts. Our baggage allowance is 3-50 lb. bags each, so 6 in total. Four are already full!
When we reach Kampala, one of our first visits will be with the Nalugo Traders. We will purchase lots of veritable wax fabrics from these folks, using other donated funds. More fabric will be bought from the traders in Mbarara. Most of the fabrics imported by Kitambaa Designs over the last 2 years have come from Nalugo Traders, in fact you may recognize some of the fabrics in the pile growing on the counter.
Meet Perez. He is a wonderful man - an ACTS worker based in Rubingo. I just had word this morning that he has now chosen all the participants for the sewing project - 4 women from Kikigati in the south, 5 from Rubingo, and 2 from Lake Bunyonyi. Plus Alice, makes 12. The treadle sewing machines have been assembled, reservations made for the women at a nearby hostel, and meals arranged. There will be tea breaks mid-morning - all we have to do now is buy the biscuits. 
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