Hand & Cloth

I know everyone is dying to know more about developments on the Foreign Service front, and there are things to report, of course. Like the fact that our Language Test is in about a week in a half {keep us in your prayers!}, we finally booked our tickets {departing September 18th!}, my job prospect seems to be materializing quite nicely, and my best friend from high school will just happen to be in Moldova for the entire month of September...what more can a girl ask for?

But instead of boring you all with the details, I want to write about an organization that I love.

When I lived back in IL I spent a lot of my free time volunteering for Hand & Cloth, a non-profit organization that provides employment and support for women who are either survivors of human trafficking or are very much at risk of being trafficked. The main way in which they do this is through the sale of recycled sari throws, stitched together by hand using the traditional kantha stitch.

One of my "volunteer tasks", among other, more crucial ones, was to occasionally model the blankets for our photo shoots, and the following shots were taken in the fall of 2010. They happen to be some of my favorites, not only because they are absolutely stunning {compliments of Brian MacDonald}, but this particular collection had such pleasantly curated colors, creative stitching, and I love the silky/cotton combos. (Little known factoid about this photo shoot: I had just had all my wisdom teeth pulled out the day before!)

Other favorite shoots include one by Meagan Lindsay Shuptar and one by Tony & Amy Hoffer

For more ideas check out their lookbook and of course, you can follow them on facebook!