February 1 means more than the fact that 1/12th of 2015 has rolled by. It also means the start of Generation Q‘s Show Us Your Undies!, a month-long sewing spectacular to benefit Days For Girls International, which provides girls and women in developing countries with reusable, sustainable feminine hygiene kits, and health education.

There is so much more to learn about this vital non-profit organization. In this post, we’ve included both sides of a postcard we’ve been using to spread the word. And we wrote about this a couple of times in our past issues. (See links at the bottom of this post.) Most recently, we announced the Undies initiative in our January-February 2015 issue, which is still available on newsstands. For your convenience, though, you can read that here. (But still go buy that issue, will you? You support so many LQS owners and magazine staffers when you do! 🙂  )

Anyway, back to DFG. We’re encouraging you to sew feminine hygiene kits at home, with your pals, at your LQS…but just sew! GenQ staff will be participating in live Show Us Your Undies sew-ins in these locations. If you want to join in, tap the shops or posted emails for more information:

Albuquerque, NM

The Quilt Works, Feb. 6, 5:30p.m.- 8:30 p.m., as part of this shop’s regular First Friday sew-in. Shop owner Dana and Quilt Works staffers are coordinating the event. We hear there will be prizes and treats, as well as satisfying sewing fun.

Ann Silva’s BERNINA, Details to come!

Hip Stitch, Feb. 2, 9, 16, and 23. Shop owner Suzanne Kelly will be hosting sew-ins every Monday in the Hip Stitch sewing lounge from 10 a.m.- 3 p-.m. to make and finish DFG kits. Come for one or for all, or just drop in for a few minutes. Project leaders Bralia Mease and Catherine Silling are also gathering donations of kit materials, washcloths, soaps, underwear and cash to help fill the kits.

Chicago area Feb 20 8:00 to 12:30 BERNINA Creative Center 3702 Prairie Lake Court, Aurora, IL Please RSVP to this event on our facebook event page.

Now, because we all love prizes, there ARE giveaways:

* Sara Lawson‘s new Fantasia embroidery patterns paired with her new Fantasia-inspired Aurifloss collection by Aurifil.

* A FQ tower of Sara’s new Fantasia fabric line by Art Gallery Fabrics.  

Getting in on the random drawing for one of these two great prizes is easy peasy–just email GenQ staffer Teri Lucas (teri@generationqmagazine.com) and ask to be entered in the drawing. And if you blog about your Undies sewing, send the link to Teri and you’ll get an EXTRA entry. Prizes to be awarded on or about March 1.

Now, it would be fun to know how many kits we all complete for DFG. Just comment on this post and tell us your number. It won’t be scientific, but it will be inspiring!

For our feature story about Days for Girls Final 

For our Notions article announcing the Show Us Your Undies initiative, follow the link

For info on sewing Days for Girls kits.

When sharing on social media use #showusyourundies, let us see what you’re doing