Callooh! Callay!
It truly is a frabjous day, I have finally finished the octagon blanket!
I first told you about this crazy guy over a year ago. When I started him, there were so many other things I was working on, that he kind of ended up on the back burner. Life took hold and he spent most of the last year yearning for my attention. If you remember,the hexagon blanket was for Vada, and the octagon is Kyla’s. She was very happy to finally have her “banket” done.
I am happy to say that the lovely Jade of Craft Hope has announced Project 12! Bracelets for Russian orphans. Imagine the thousands of bracelets we can make together. It seems like such a small thing. Heck, my three year old’s will help me make a few this week. However, it is so much bigger then many of us can see. Many of these orphans feel as though they are worthless ~ as though no one cares about them. Something as simple as a handmade bracelet can change that. They will know that somewhere out there in the world is a person who cares enough about them to make this special gift. To experience the kindness of a stranger, some who will get nothing in return, can bring these children the hope they need. So I ask all of you to find at least the time to make one bracelet, though more is great. Do something to make the world a kinder place.
I stumbled upon this website after reading about Project 12. I will be making as many bracelets as I can between now and the deadline in June. I will do my best to post pictures of every bracelet I make, with links to the patterns used for (or that inspired) each one.
That’s me. Just working on finishing various half done crafts around the place. I just ran around and took a few snaps to show you all in blogland what I’ve been up to lately.
Last week I broke my rule about no new projects aside from holiday gifts or Craft Hope until I finish all the partially finished projects. There was a good reason, though: I kept loosing pencils. So I took a paper towel roll, a page from a board book the girls had torn up (I always keep old board books that are not in good enough shape to pass on, they come in handy for crafts,) some scrapbook paper, and glue, and I created this little guy.
Rather nifty, isn’t he? And it really only took me the course of one program I was watching with the hubby.
Here we go, a project I had found in my closet.
With just 1 yard of fleece, a sewing machine, some yarn, and a crochet hook, and this blanket edging tutorial you can make this quick and easy baby blanket!
OK, better late then never! For Project #10 of Craft Hope, I made scarves and small spa bags for the ladies and children at the local safe house.
The safe house is where these brave woman can go, with their children if they have any, to escape from abusive relationships and transition into a new life. I imagine Christmas must be a very lonely time for them, so I did what I could to warm it up a bit.
So the next Craft Hope project (#10) has been announced. We are each basically using the Craft Hope book or the past projects as inspiration to do something to make the Holidays brighter for those who need it. I have been thinking for a while that I want to find the nearest shelter for woman and children who are escaping abusive relationships and do something nice for them. So this gives me an excuse! I made a call to my towns child help number and they are going to give me a call back with a place that could use some Holiday love. I have been inspired by a few projects in the book. I don’t really have the money to buy any supplies right now, but I have tons of scrap linen, batting scraps from quilts, and lots o’ stuffing. So I am going to makes some scarves inspired by the patchwork scarf project on page 41. I will also make some cute little soft blocks and balls from Amy Butler’s project on page 73. Lastly I still have a bunch of that cute frog print flannel that I’ve had forever, so I may make some bibs with that.
I have a cute idea for decorating the scarves.
Want a hint?
I have finished up the pillowcases for Craft Hope Project 9. All the pillowcases are being donated to pediatric cancer patients. This way each child will have something special to make them feel a little more comfortable and loved.
This pillowcase is made from the strips I had left after making the solid cases.
The other side.
I just finished the latest Craft Hope project. Teaching aid bean bags. I chose to make the number set ~ with the help of my Cricut, I actually have the original that only cuts 6×12, but I didn’t see any links to that one. I don’t think they make them anymore.
So here is a tutorial. No worries if you don’t have a Cricut, I’ll tell you what to do for that, also. As with all my tutorials, feel free to share the link. I just ask that if you share, you do share the link to this post, not take the credit yourself. Thank you.
To start, tear some 6″ strips from your outer fabric. You can see my strips aren’t very long. That’s because I was using scrap fabric. If your strips are 45″ or longer, that’s just fine! You’ll need the equivalent of two 6″ squares per bean bag. Then give your strips a press and pull off any hanging threads.
The Craft Hope red scarves should have found their way to the Orphan Foundation of America by now. It was a lot of fun making them.
This one was made by starting with a flat circle in red. I then squared it out with the white, and finished with red again. It was a bunch of squares put together with the join-as-you-go method. The boarder is just two rows of single crochet. Here is a close up.
And a fun stretchy shot of the whole scarf.
Quite a few WiPs here. Some that are just about to start, and others that have already begun. As you may have noticed, I finally posted the reveal of the Flower to Hexagon Granny Blanket last night! So that one is done.
I’ll start off with two WiPs that are about to be ~ so maybe they’re not “in progress” yet, but they will be soon. With the holidays and then the cord issues with my computer, I got very far behind in the blogs I enjoy reading. I missed the announcement of the next Craft Hope project. Luckily it is not due until Valentine’s day, and it should be a rather fast project. It is a beautiful red scarf for foster care teens. This project is much more specific then the others, but it looks like fun to me, and it’s for a good cause, so I’m fine with that! I am watching Jenn’s girls this morning, and Jenn works at ACMoore, so I gave her some cash and
