Mon, Dec 01 2008
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Published August 19, 2008 02:16 pm - Group project results in nearly 1,000 hugs and kisses for troops By Liz McMahan Times Editor Soldiers soon will be carrying small fabric teddy bears made by Fort Gibson women to hand out to children in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bears are the latest project of the Old Fort Women’s Club, which meets twice monthly. The group recently finished 480 “hugs” and 473 “kisses” for a group of soldiers headed for Iraq. That project involved making neck wraps and helmet liners that contain absorbent granules that will help the soldiers stay cooler in the desert climate. Both the bears and the hugs and kisses are being given to the soldiers though Muskogee’s New Community Church, said Barbara Clinkenbeard, Old Fort Club president. The church furnished the granular material, the club bought one bolt of beige fabric and Clinkenbeard provided another bolt. Members worked on the sewing project at their homes, and one day they brought their sewing machines for a sew-in meeting. Clinkenbeard said the items are made using colors that will blend with the dessert landscape instead of standing out. Brighter colors will be used in the teddy bears, which are made of quilt batting sandwiched between two flat pieces of fabric. They are small and soft and can easily be folded to tuck into a soldier’s pocket for him to carry with him on his missions, Clinkenbeard said. The bears are easy to make using one piece of pre-quilted fabric and another piece of plain fabric. She said they fit seven across on fabric and can be traced onto the material, sewn, then cut with pinking shears. Once the bears are to that stage, they can be returned to her for the addition of little eyes and a mouth and a glue-on red felt heart, she said. The Old Fort group is the descendant of a Home Demonstration Club organized decades ago in Fort Gibson, Clinkenbeard said. Her mother was a member of the original group. Today, the club isn’t affiliated with any larger group. The club’s next project will be a garage sale from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 26-27 at the home of member Helen Tarpley, who lives off Bayou Road south of Fort Gibson. There will be signs marking the site, Clinkenbeard said. Proceeds from the garage sale will be used toward the holiday baskets the group will distribute to needy families this year. 
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