Tag Archives: crafts

4 February, 2013

Seven Days of Things I Love: Needlecrafts!

So…Is it seven days because I am only making seven posts or fourteen days because it will take fourteen days to do it? This is a hard one for my non-linear brain to grasp. I’m going with seven days.

I could easily come up with seven different kinds of needlecrafts, or fiber arts, if that’s how you roll, that I love.

But I’m going to exercise restraint.

These handkerchiefs were Christmas gifts a couple of years back.

I made these potholders a couple of years ago for a Secret Santa gift.

These Raggedy Anns were gifts for my daughters this Christmas. They turned out way better than I thought they would, and make me think I may have turned a corner with my sewing. Plus the girls snuggle them every night, so they were worth every minute of effort.

I think I would go mad if I didn’t have some sewing/embroidery/knitting type project going on at all times. What about you? What do you do to unwind?

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Tagged as crafts, DIY, Do it yourself, dr who, fiber arts, handkercheifs, needlework, pot holders, raggedy ann, Things I love

24 December, 2012

Merry Christmas, One and All.

Christmas polaroid 259x300 Merry Christmas, One and All.

Every year my kids (pictured above in their costumes from The Nutcracker) remind me that they want to pick presents for each other.

It’s Christmas Eve, about 9 am, and they just remembered they wanted to do that.

*yaaawn* That’s not boredom, it’s real-live sleepiness. I was up waaaaay to late last night watching The Hogfather. (If you are a fan of Tolkien, but not keen to Pratchett yet, you must run to Netflix and find The Color of Magic, asap! Oh…or I guess you could get the books, too.)

I’m not up to shopping mayhem, not now, and probably not later either, so this year, the girls are creating hand made gifts for each other. We are throwing around words like “repurpose,” “fabric markers,” and “Mommy can help me sew it!”

Call me crazy, but that sounds like way more fun than The Dollar Tree!

I wish you all the same amount of fun and love and joy on your Christmas that I am going to have, working with my kids today. And just in case you think I might be a bit sarcastic, I’m not! Christmas with grade school kids? Best ever. (A little sob just tempted me, thinking of my sisters and brothers in Newtown today. I can’t even imagine facing today and tomorrow without my babies.)

Cherish your family today, tomorrow, and always.

I leave you with this; it may be brand new, but it is now my favorite Christmas song of all time.

(Seriously, how could Fred and Carrie (Portlandia) be so awful to Sarah? If Sarah McGloughlin was my yard lady, I’d be super nice to her!)

14 Days of Love: Day 6, Loving Acts of Kindness

What do yarn, HGTV and Title I Schools have in common?

Well…my kids go to a Title I grade school which means that most of the kids there have some serious economic need. Every winter, to help meet some of those needs, the school has a giving tree. Hats, scarves, and gloves are the old fashioned decorations for the tree. The school gives the decorations out to kids as they walk in in the morning.

This year I did tree duty a couple of times. We were very short on scarves…about ten scarves to distribute through a school of about 650 kids. As the kids asked for a scarf I made them show me their coats. If they had a hood or a collar that could zip up to keep their neck warm, they couldn’t have a scarf (not from me anyway.) One little girl with a nice warm coat wanted a scarf so badly that I was afraid she’d leave her coat at home the next day to get one. I didn’t want her to do that. And yet, that morning at least she was warm and a good 200 other kids (or more, who knows?) were cold.

It frustrated me and made me sad.

So this year I’m organizing knitters and crocheters (and frankly, shoppers too.) Next year we can anticipate at student body of about 700 so I’m trying to get 700 scarves.

I want to be able to give a box of scarves to every teacher. The teacher can then distribute them to the students in her class, no matter what their coat looks like or what their financial status at home is.

So far my Facebook friends have rallied to the cause, one friend making five scarves a month in 2012 her New Year’s Resolution. My Grandma and mom have whipped out a dozen or more already as well.

That covers the school and the yarn. What about the HGTV? Well…that’s what I watch while I crochet and knit. I’m up to six scarves already, and know more about moss gardens, loft condos in Atlanta, and Sara’s House than I probably ought to. ; )

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Tagged as charity, crafts, knitting, Love, scarves, school