Yes, IBOL is back! Hubby is still here in Hawaii for the time being, but a lady named Nahed, who is part of the Provincial Reconstruction Team in the same area IBOL Guy was assigned to a year ago, is taking the reins for IBOL II.

IBOL II, like the original IBOL project last year, is intended to be a short-duration project. And like last time, it’s intended to surge fabric and sewing (and knitting!) materials into Salah ad Din, in northern Iraq (where I was last year, too). The general premise is the same. Willing contributors can send a flat-rate box of sewing / quilting / knitting supplies, all bundled up. Once it’s there, someone will open the box, pull out the fully-contained bundle, and hand it off (with others) for distribution in the SaD area. The stated intent of this operation is to put sewing and quilting and knitting supplies into the hands of two types of recipients: locals who desperately need such things, and local sewing co-ops and other small businesses who have received grants or loans (typically to purchase sewing machines, rent space, etc)

Here’s the most important thing: Packages for IBOL 2.1 (because I hope there will be a 2.2 and a 2.3!) need to be in the mail not later than 01 October (that’s a Friday). Do you think you can do that? In the mail, not later than 01 October. That’s just over a month from now.

So, head on over to the official IBOL II web site and get all the pertinent details, then get to de-stashing! I’ll show my box as soon as I get it all packed up — right now it’s just a pile on the floor.

I’ve been wanting to make a messenger bag for  loooooooong time, based on one of my daughter’s drawings. Nearly a year ago, I found the perfect pattern via You SEW Girl, and it’s taken me this long to get around to making it.

I was intimidated by my vision for the drawings, but finally having my hubby home so I could dive deep into experiments and problem solving without worrying about homework or lunch got me through that. I was also intimidated by the pattern which actually required that I read it! Once into it though, I realized it’s thorough, but not difficult.

What was difficult however, was using thick Peltex interfacing rather than the batting called for in the pattern. It made the whole thing cumbersome. My seams and top stitching suffered from the extra bulk and the lack of maneuverability. But I pressed on because over-all, it was looking like my vision. Certainly it would pass the galloping horse rule. Which would be fine if I wanted to carry this around as an everyday purse.

But no-oo, I have this vision in my head of a gallery-worthy collection of textile pieces inspired by my kids’ art. And that needs Craftsmanship with a capital C. Frustrated, I was ready to ditch the whole thing last night. Instead, I slept on it, and realized this morning that yes, I’d never use the bag — because I was disappointed with it. I also realized that I could salvage more from it than I had originally thought — like the whole interior. And the base with the cool feet. So, today will probably see the deconstruction of the bag, but not it’s permanent demise.

A soldier coming home from a deployment doesn’t quite work the same way as grandma coming for a visit. They don’t get to buy a plane ticket months in advance and arrive at a prescribed date and time. Sure, the deployment as a whole is specified in advance on the unit’s deployment orders, so one can be pretty sure of the no-later-than date for their soldier’s return.

But I’m hesitant to set my heart on any specific date because after nearly 15 years with the army, I know that the only constant is change. My strategy has always been to view the end of a deployment in broad terms like “next month” or “a few weeks” instead of absolutes like “before the 30th.” I usually prepare the kids for the farthest date out so when daddy comes home earlier, they are surprised, and when he comes home later, it’s still when they expected so they aren’t disappointed. I know some families that do countdowns, but how can you count down when the date is really just a window?

We knew the window was open when Mr. Incredible moved out of his Containerized Housing Unit and into a bay. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the flight out. Leaving Iraq is by Air Force plane. Their flight plans are not like a commercial airline’s. If they don’t want to fly in a sandstorm, they don’t (and I gotta respect that). But that also doesn’t mean that when the sandstorm ends the plane is waiting there to pick up where they left off. They might be off doing other things. So although one might be on the list to go home on Monday, it’s just as likely they’ll actually fly on Wednesday. Or the next Monday. Most of the trip home is on a plane chartered for the purpose. Once on the charter plane, it’s much easier to gauge when the soldiers will be home.

We got our official phone call two days ago — Mr. Incredible is wheels up and on his way! Now we knew that he was due Sunday morning (though we had our suspicions that he had finally gotten on a plane when the silly emails forwarding LOLcats stopped and the Facebook posts went silent). Once back on US soil, Mr. Incredible was able to check in with us at the designated fuel stops. Many kudos go to the greeters in Bangor, Maine who not only had coffee and snacks, but cell phones for soldiers to call home with. Then we got another official phone call last night confirming they were still on time.

First thing this morning, we drove to the airfield for the welcoming ceremony. Banners and flags and cheesy “Rocky” music as the soldiers entered the hangar. Then the less cheesy Division march and the Army song, followed by The Star Spangled Banner and a blessing. A very few words by the ranking guy there and everyone was released to go home with their families!

The twelfth quilt in the 12×12 challenge. See the full story and the other 11 quilts here.

Here’s what the kids helped me pack tonight for IBOL’s super secret project #3. It was not easy distracting them from their usual activities of homework, playtime with friends, books and screen time for a project so far removed from themselves. We went to Walmart tonight to get undies so we looked around to see if there was anything else that might be good to include and Katja enjoyed picking out hair thingiess and chose sparkly beads and string for making jewelry, while we distracted Zavi from Bakugan just long enough for him to endorse some Fimo-type clay. They dumped all the stuff from the house and our shopping trip in their respective “Boy” and “Girl” boxes and that was about it from them.

Until bedtime when Katja was, for the first time since the week daddy deployed, in tears. Doing a project for him brought to the surface just how much she misses her dad.

I feel like my blogging has been all messed up lately. I had two things to post when my blog was down for a day and a half and when it came back up they were there, but I think it took longer than usual for RSS feeds and stuff to find them. Then I joined FaceBook. Now I’m over there as much as here and I forget what I’ve said in which place. I have to admit that a quick little blurb over there is so easy, though I feel like posts over here have a little more presence. On top of that I am totally caught up in Mr. Incredible’s IBOL project. Not that I’m actually doing anything, I’m just constantly bouncing between my email, the IBOL blog and the IBOL FaceBook page to see how amazingly the project has grown.

When he first told me of the project I never imagined that so many people would come out to support it. My post alone has over 60 comments and I never get even close to that kind of traffic on this blog. His number of hits and comments is understandably astronomical! It’s so much fun to see other people blogging about it too. Blogs that get lots of traffic and those that get little bits — it’s all added up to an amazing amount of support. Then Sew Mama Sew jumped in with bundles for people without a fabric stash to draw from and that ended up being perfect for people outside the US too (since postage can add up), plus I think a lot of sewers who just plain like SMS ordered additional bundles because they could. They sold out in an amazing 48 hours. Now Quilts, Inc. is on the bandwagon, Mr. Incredible’s got a press guy, he’s done a radio interview and there’s more in the works. Don’t forget the fun little side projects that spring up spontaneously like Nadine’s T-Shirts based on my SIL’s heart-for-an-O labeling of her box, and Happy Zombie’s adorable blog button which is way more lovie than my persian rug one. How can I possibly blog in the shadow of all this awesomeness?

So thank you thank you thank you for all your bundle love and support! Sooner or later I’ll get back to the art bras, Hawaiian music on the lawn, quilty things, Guild happenings, and  possible projects. But right now, it all seems beside the point.

Mr. Incredible’s Iraqi Bundles of Love project is growing in leaps and bounds! I want to thank everyone who has so generously mailed bundles to him (he’s already received at least 80!), blogged about the project, and shared information with your friends and quilting guilds. My hubby was a little concerned that there might be some people out there who want to help but don’t have a stash of fabric, thread or yarn from which to create a bundle. Never fear, the generous people at Sew Mama Sew* have 150 fantastic bundles all ready for you! All you need to do is hot-foot it to their online shop, plunk down the minimal cost of $15, and they will mail a fantastic bundle with enough fabric and notions to make a substantial project directly to Mr. IBOL Guy.

*Let’s hear it for Kristin power!

My very own Tech Support & World’s Greatest Husband, AKA, Mr. Incredible, has just launched a short-duration project to “surge” fabric and sewing materials into the area around which he’s posted in Iraq.  It is timed to coincide with both Ramadan, and the departure of his units from Iraq. 

The project started, as many do, out of a confluence of inspiration and circumstances. It may have started with reading 3 Cups of Tea, an inspirational story not only of one man’s impact, but of his conviction that terrorism can only be fought effectively with education and opportunity, not by force. Follow that with the understanding that when a US military unit leaves an area, although they take with them everything on their master list of what they brought, truth is they leave a whole lot behind as well — bed sheets, small refrigerators, DVDs, old clothes, unused building materials, etc. As one man’s trash is another’s treasure, the idea to donate re-usable materials to local groups emerged. Then came the idea to supplement those resources with more — tailor made for individuals and sewing co-ops trying to make a living in the community.

The basic premise is to make a bundle of fabric and sewing supplies from your own stash, mail it to my hubby’s APO (American) address, and he will facilitate the distribution of the bundles. By bundling teh goodies, it saves time on his end as he won’t have to redistribute the supplies or use excess packaging for them, and it makes it far simpler for his local counterparts to distribute them to those in need.

The project is called Iraqi Bundles of Love, here’s a link to his FAQ page, and we’ve got until September 7, 2009 to bust our stashes and send what we probably won’t get around to using to my man, who will get it to those who will use it right away. If anyone is interested in donating, but doesn’t want/have a box-full, or can’t afford the postage, contact me and I’ll be a rally point here in Hawai’i. Please feel free to pass on the links, share this project with your sewing pals, local bee, quilt guild, etc. As I write this post, my husband doesn’t have a list of “most needed” items yet. Fabric, thread, needles, pins, yarn will undoubtedly be on the list. I hope it goes without saying that messages of God’s blessings or anything else evangelical/proselytizing should not be included. Let’s be sensitive to the world’s diversity. Thank you so much for your support of this project.

I got a card in the mail from my hubby today. He emails pretty regularly, but occasionally he sends a card just for fun. I had to stop everything and blog this one though.

Obviously the person who made it spent a lot of time, energy and love on it. It shows. Even if it’s not necessarily my style, I know that it was made with care. My man got it from Cards For Heroes. It was a quick “I love you” from him, but it also said so much more to me about support on the home front. It said that someone was thinking about him and all the other deployed service members too. Thank you Cards for Heroes! My soldier appreciates your work and so do I.

When I tell people my husband is deployed, one of the first questions is if he will be able to come home for a visit. On previos six month deployments to Bosnia and Kosovo, and the many four month TDYs (temporary duty assignments) the answer was always no. But for his current 12 month deployment to Iraq, he can come home. Soldiers deployed for 12 or more months get two weeks of R&R (rest and recuperation). We were planning on Art’s being in August.

He’s into surprises though. Many may remember how I was the last to know that we were moving to Hawai’i last year. With several our friends’ husbands coming home for R&R in the past few weeks, I actually had a dream that Art came striding unannounced across our back yard and into the house. Funny because to stride across our yard takes about two steps depth-wise, and with walls on three sides there’s no place to stride from.

He rang the front doorbell at 10:00pm Friday night though. Scared the you-know-what out of me, but in the end, should have been expected. It was a good surprise. The kids were incredulous the next morning.

In case anyone is wondering what it takes to get a soldier from Iraq  or Afghanistan to the US for R&R, Mr. Incredible has a few blog posts on the adventure. With a two day delay on the front end, it took 65 hours and 13 time zones. I think he’s posted a cool map on his Facebook account  (I don’t know since I don’t Facebook, which is part of how he surprised me). He took planes, buses and automobiles, both military and commercial and stopped in several countries along the way. It’s quite the dance they choreograph adding and dropping off soldiers as they criss cross their way over the globe. Along the way, my soldier and his fellow travelers met generous people who made their way a little easier, not because anyone said they had to, but because they were happy to.

If you meet, in your travels, a service member returning from deployment, or for R&R, consider the many hours and myriad modes of transportation they’ve been navigating, and the beacon of home at the other end, and maybe buy them a drink or a sandwich, let them cut in line, scootch over so they can lay down on the chairs, give them a smile and wish them pleasant travels.

Meanwhile, we’ll be making the most of our two weeks together, being, as my daughter pointed out this morning, four people again.