Here we go! This is the finished baby blanket. :) I decided that I liked the way it looked without all the ruffle trim that the pattern calls for so I didn't trim it off the way the pattern called for. It's bigger then I thought it was. It turned out really pretty and the pattern is really simple. I laid it out on the couch to take the pictures and was really surprised at how big it really was.

I have to get back to work on the princess blanket. But first, I have to go get more yarn for it. I have to replace the pink that I used from the stash. I was hoping that I would have the Princess blanket done by now, but it got set aside. It shouldn't take me all that long to finish, provided I can remember the pattern for it. I have the directions, it'll just take a little bit to get into the rhythm again.

Also of note, the other baby blanket I made was received and liked. That makes me happy. I like making people happy. :) I have so many people wanting blankets that it's not even funny. I don't mind though. I don't know how soon I'll be getting to them. It all depends on how soon I finish up the one that's in my bag. I will start working on that one again this week sometime. It shouldn't take as long, since I'm working it a different way than originally planned. I made it too wide to be a lap afghan, but turning it made it the right length for one.

And thus ends the crochet updates. ;)

So, I started on another baby blanket for another pregnant friend.  I'm over halfway done with it, which makes me really happy.  It's beautiful pink and really simple to do.  I found the pattern online. It's a smaller scale of another pattern that I had, which makes me really happy.

I need to get about finishing the main pattern so I can do the trim and get it sent off.  I was bouncing right along, but decided to take some time off to read my book instead.  I haven't taken a new pic since I got more length on it, so this is when I first started it.

Hopefully I'll get it done and sent off in plenty of time.  I finally got the blue one sent off and it's been received, but I've not heard anything about whether she liked it or not.

This is one big reader participation post.  I'm very seriously asking you for advice and ideas. 

I have decided I am going to order tags or labels to sew onto my bibs and various other items I might make,  I put out a request to one of my many groups and amidst the many suggestions for checking out various craft supply stores or ordering from some company out of the country, one person came back with the suggestion to use Pixel Perfect Designs. 

Admittedly, I was highly impressed.  Not only do they allow small quantity orders (perfect for me for now), but they have excellent prices and the labels are made in the USA.  These are 100% cotton, available in iron on or sew in labels.

I plan to order labels from this company, but I need to decide what I want my labels to say.  To all of you reading this, please, hit me with your suggestions.  I'd like a name (not sure I want to go with sm00bs), possibly a small phrase (would have to be very small), and an idea for a tiny design.

Those of you who subscribe to a feed of this blog, please remember to submit your comments on the actual blog page and not through a feed.  Thanks so much!!

I spent a little time working on the bibs the other day.  I gathered all my little tools (the picture doesn't even show all the items I needed) and readied my workspace (my dining room table).  I used a cutting board (portable and self-healing), iron, ironing board, hammer, sewing machine, and patterns that aren't shown, along with the scissors, rotary cutters, water-soluble pencils, straight pins, snap setter and snaps, and thread all pictured in this photograph.  After the first bib, I realized the water-soluble pencils were unnecessary, but other than that, I used everything else I'd gotten out

I worked with just the orange backed bibs because I didn't want to have to change out bobbins in the middle of my project.  I still have orange material left so I'll probably make a few more bibs (lots of pregnant friends right now and these will make great gifts to have on hand) out of it before moving on to the next color.  I actually made five bibs, but the first one isn't pictured here because of various mistakes I made.  It is now a bib for Sophie's dolly, which she was beyond excited to receive.

To start off the project, I arranged the material wrong side out, pinned the pattern, and traced with the pencil (totally unnecessary step which I changed up later).  I removed the pattern, pinned the fabric again, and cut the bib out using the rotary cutters.  I pretty much followed the directions in the book/article mentioned in this post.  After turning the bib right side out, I pressed the bib and managed to not press the opening quite right, so when that was sewn it was off a bit.  No worries since neither Sophie nor her dolly care in the least.

When starting the second round of bibs, I was determined to find a somewhat more efficient way of making these.  I dropped the pencil and just cut with the rotary scissors around the pattern.  I cut out enough material for four bibs before starting sewing.  While at the machine, I sewed all four (had to refill the bobbin about halfway through), then turned all four, pressed all four, did the top stitch on all four, and then set snaps on all four.  I have to admit, this was much easier. 

During this second round of bibs, I cut two sets each of two different patterns.  I think I like the bib with the side snap a little better than the bib with the back snap.  The area I left open for turning was much easier to close for some reason, and there was only one major curve to deal with instead of the two curves at the back of the other bib.

My sewing skills are improving, but there are still plenty of mistakes.  Take a close enough look at the pictures and my uneven top stitching can be seen, along with the snap mistake I made on one of the bibs.  It's getting there, slowly but surely.

I picked up a sewing book while at Barnes and Noble not too long ago (Bend-the-Rules Sewing: The Essential Guide to a Whole New Way to Sew), and while many of the patterns are interesting, some of them are still above my ability (and to think, most seasoned seamstresses say it's for beginners). I found a cute pattern for bibs in the book, however. Sure, Sophie's a little old for bibs, but who wouldn't love a homemade bib or two for a shower gift?


Sophie and I went to JoAnn the other day in search of material for the bibs. She was such a trooper, helping me pick out fun prints, pointing out little details on the material, and shouting out colors whenever she could. I picked up quite a bit of material, but that's okay since I have quite a few friends who are currently pregnant. I'm going with a 100% cotton front and a cotton flannel back (nothing in between the layers). Sophie and I picked out three different sets of material: a set of greens, a set of oranges, and a set of prints that would work with white on the back.

The cotton prints were all on sale for 30% off, if I'm not mistaken (love to save money!). I picked up a few other items as well, including a self-healing folding cutting board (marked down to $9-ish from $49-ish), snaps, a snap setter, and a few simple to sew patterns for clothing for Sophie. The cutting board and the snaps will be used for the bib project, which will hopefully be underway soon.
 

As we returned home, Sophie and I stopped at the mailbox to get the stack we had let accumulate over about the course of a week or so (we're awful about picking up our mail) and there was a pile of magazines in the box along with all the bills and credit card junk. I had a chance to flip through the magazines shortly after dinner and the first one I picked up was Crafts n Things. Wouldn't you know it, the pattern for the bibs was actually in the magazine!
 

I spent time today putting the material through the washer in batches, each load with a bit of vinegar in the rinse to set the colors. All the pieces are folded again and in a nice pile, just waiting for me to get started. I probably won't have time to get started on this until next week, when I'll pull out the ironing board and iron, the sewing machine, and clear space on the dining room table. I'm really looking forward to working on these bibs, even if it means I have to slow down a little on the baby blanket.

Reader participation:  Do you have print and color suggestions for the bibs?  Do you have other ideas for sewing simple baby gifts?  Do you have a favorite gift to give (or receive) whenever there's a baby shower?  Feel free to share here. 

Easter Dress























I had another situation as I did with my aunt. A customer came to me with a request that I duplicate a dress for her daughter. No problem, until i see the dress. It was a sewn dress, wit a crochet top and lacy details on the sides. So once again - this is me . why oh why - how the heck am i to do that? she wanted it to flair out and stop at the knees and on top of that is was my first 2t dress?!
I took me 4 tries on the skirt part to get it right. But everything she asked for is there, down to the little detail on the sleeves and skirt, top separation. I even went under the dress and added stuff to make it flair, it was my first petticoat too. In the end she loves it and i can't wait to see her little girl in it. :D

And don't worry, i didn't forget about posting how to crochet. I will be doing that soon, i'm just getting things done around the house so i can video record it. i think visual lessons would be better then pictures. So please bare with me. We'll be hooking buddies soon!

It seems as though the bug that took our house by storm has just about given up the ghost and I'm starting to feel somewhat human again.  B, Sophie, and I had to make an emergency trip to Tennessee to say goodbye to my grandmother.  She left this world January 12, 2008, after 91 years of life.  We brought home the bug as a souvenir.

While on the road, I managed to sneak in a little knitting and am happy to announce I am done with the boats!  I still have plenty of that blanket left to knit, but there will be no more boats!  I've moved onto the cables and have to admit, it's actually fun again!  Of course, pictures will be forthcoming.

I'm working on a much larger entry than this, but I wanted to let people know I'm still here.  Because I love my readers so much, I'm going to do a bit of a link dump.

I was reading a post by Margaret Kerr on the ChaCha blog network when I stumbled upon a very cool link she shared in her Ocean Waves entry.  The link she shared was for FreePatterns.com.  The site requires people register before using the free patterns, but there is no cost.  They also have a good number of eNewsletters for people who like to have those little reminders (but they also make it easy to opt out of those newsletters for those who hate junk mail).  If you sew, quilt, cross-stitch, knit, crochet, or do any sort of crafts at all, stop by and check them out.  Remember, signing up is free.  There is no cost at all!

Along those lines, the link dump here is for free patterns of all types.  Enjoy!

• Knitty- This is an excellent source for quality knitting patterns, all of which are free.  Knitty is a quarterly online magazine that offers articles as well as patterns.
• Knitting Pattern Central - This site actually hosts links to free patterns all over the internet.  Some of the patterns will be in PDF format.  Some have pictures and some don't.
• The Daily Knitter - TDK is similar to KPC in that it hosts links to free patterns all over the place, but TDK seems to host more broken links.  When hunting for free patterns, every little bit helps.
• Crochet Pattern Central - Same as with KPC, this site hosts links to free patterns all over the internet.
• Free Vintage Crochet - The patterns here are also available in PDF format for download.  These patterns are all taken from older books and from what I can tell, most, if not all, of them have pictures.
• Free Quilt Patterns (1) - This site is like the Pattern Central sites listed above, linking to patterns all over the web.  Of course, as with many sites like this, some links will be dead.
• Free Quilt Patterns (2) - This site also links to other sites containing free patterns.
• Savvy Seams - Amazingly enough, this site actually contains original patterns.  There are only a few patterns listed here, but enough to keep a beginner quite busy for some time.
• Sew More for U -  There is a little more here than just links to free patterns.  There are also articles, tips, links to free software, and much more.  I plan to spend a little time here after the boat blanket is completed.
• Free Cross Stitch Pattern - Plenty of graphs here, but most of the patterns are made from clip art.

Reader Participation:  If you have any links for free patterns for any type of craft projects, please feel free to share it here.  If you have experience dealing with any of the sites listed above, please share them here.
 

I've turned into a monster. Seriously. Every time I sit down with nothing to do, I start crocheting. Yesterday and Today, I was playing with some really pretty cotton thread-like stuff that came from Peaches & Creme. I didn't like it to make blankets, it didn't work up as nicely as what I usually use. It was heavy and I didn't care for the feel of it. So, I went and found a dishcloth pattern that I really liked. It's called Over The Rainbow. I didn't think I'd be able to do it, just from looking at it, but I decided to give it a shot anyway. It worked up quickly and I really like the results of it.

Mom didn't care for the openness of the dishcloth, so she recommended that I find a different pattern if I was going to make more. I can see the point, since you want a surface to work with and the holes are defeating the purpose, so back to the site I went and found a really pretty heart dishcloth. It worked up easy, but I ended up miscounting the stitches, so it's uneven. I think I know how it happened, since I was watching a movie and chatting while I was working on it.

My aunt bought a set from me a long time ago and said she didn't want it till feb so i had time to lay around and work on other stuff. Then i realized, it's almost feb. I called and asked her what she wanted and what colors and she said "purple and green apron dress for a 1 year old" and this was me "Ok, I'll do that." but inside i was saying i don't know how to make a jumper dress or anything like that and there are no patterns to give me ideas! on top of that green and purple looked horrible together.
So i ended up the first night doing math out my butt and came up with this a day later. I started with the skirt part and made that adjustable, then i worked my way up on one side and made an apron. on the other side i took one of Ryu's overalls and got ideas from that and after adding white to the purple green mix this is what i came up with. I made the straps adjustable by making them with shells and i just so happened to have lavender buttons laying around. so - what do you think?

Next blog will be about how to Start Crocheting! So get yourself a hook and some yarn (or crochet cotton thread) we'll be learning about the Chain and single stitches!

A Little about Crochet

Hi everyone, it's me Lee! well this is going to be my first blog post for anyone who's reading, so before we start i want to say  WELCOME to Hook'ed. I named my blog Hook'ed for the simple reason that the more you learn about Crochet, the more you'll want to do it and want to make things. Well, today I am going to give a little history on crochet so everyone knows what it is. 


History

The word Crochet is derived from the middle freanch word croc or croche, meaning hook. Crocheting, similar to knitting consists of pulling loops of yarn through other loops. Crochet differs from knitting in that only one loop is active at one time (the sole exception being Tunisian crochet), and that a crochet hook is used instead of knitting needles.

Know one really knows where crochet came from. But we do know when it became popular in the 1800's we started seeing more of it. In fact the first crochet pattern was published in a Dutch magazine 1824. Sometimes graphs were used and sometimes words or symbols were used to let the crafter know what to do with the hook. Hooks ranged from ugly bent needles in a cork handle, used by poor Irish workers, to expensively crafted silver, brass, steel, ivory and bone hooks set into a variety of handles. Even today we do this. Some hooks you buy at the local store, others, you can have a person make them for you by using bamboo or something more comfortable or even stylish.

In any case,  crochet  came to America and was popular in the 60's and 70's. But in the 80's dropped and disappeared when knitting took over the machine market.  While knitting is beautiful, there are differences:
 

1. Knitting uses two needles, not one hook
2. Knitting can be done with a machine, while most stitches in crochet must be done by a skilled crafter.
3. Knitting is done with many lives stitches and uses the support of both bottom and top rows to keep from unraveling, while crochet does not unravel if a stitch is dropped unless the yarn is pulled out.
4. Knitting uses simple and basic stitches (beautiful ones) while Crochet has so many, a Crochet Bible was written to help that of the modern day Crocheter.
5. Knitting can be shaped and sometimes simulated with crochet, but crochet can't be simulated by knitting as crochet has unique shapes such as the All American Granny; also known as the Granny Square.
 
And though both may have their ups and downs Crochet and Knitting can be combined to create a beautiful garment or project. 

I also decided to play with some of the beautiful blue wool/mohair yarn that I have as well. I found this really pretty crochet pattern that I thought would look fantastic with the yarn color that I have, so I downloaded it.  Just for something a little bit different to work on since I don't have the right stuff for the princess blanket yet.

I found this pattern on freepatterns.com and thought it would be cool to try to work it up. It called for 2ply yarn and a K hook, but what I have is 4ply and I'm working with an H hook. It comes out to the same gauge, so it's all good. I like the way it's working up. It looks really neat and is working up quickly. I just hope that overall it doesn't take a ton of yarn to finish. I'll likely mix in a few white rows to break up the blue monotony, which will make it a lot easier on the wool. I've got a lot of rows left to go and I'm almost through one skein already.

Something else I've done with the pattern is to take it and cut it down to the width of a scarf and have been working that up with a skein of Red Heart soft sport yarn that my husband got me. It didn't work for the project it was for.  It was the wrong weight and wouldn't work with the hook that I use for it.  So I've got that in progress as well.

My next project is going to be my first afghan for donation. I've started the centers of the squares the other night, but I put it aside in hopes of finishing the baby blanket first. Tonight, however, I've spent the night trying to find a pattern that we KNOW we have somewhere around here. It's for the afghan that my mother made for me a couple years ago. We can't find the book and the pattern is not online as far as I can tell.

Heck, the one that I'm working on (pictured left) isn't even available online. That picture was from an ebay auction of the pattern (linked on the image). Someone clipped the pattern from an old (1985) Annie's Pattern Club book.  I'm not sure that was the brightest idea for this person to do, but it's their loss, imho.  Annie's books are just a treasure trove of great patterns.  My mother made many a crochet baby blanket and afghan from those books.  I have the actual complete book. It's been well loved. (aka beaten up and abused) My mother has made several of them and they look really cool when they're all done and sewn together. She's done so many color variations that it's not even funny. I will be getting to work on the centers tomorrow or so, tho. I have 45 more to make. Then I can figure out what other colors I'm going to use.

This, my friends, is the completed  baby blanket. I finished it just after midnight last night. This is the first afghan that I've made and first large project that I've finished. I'm psyched about that. I usually get frustrated and bored, then toss stuff aside. So I'm really proud of myself for getting this done. I just need to get it packed up and mailed off to the mother-to-be. That means I need to get her address from her when I see her online again.  Hopefully that will be soon so that it doesn't sit around too long. *whistles*

This was done with no pattern other than a basic granny square crochet pattern.  I learned years ago how to make a granny square and this is the same principle.  Just much much larger.  It's one continuous square with two rows of white thrown in to break up the blues some.  I used Red Heart  Shaded Dusk for the main color and Red Heart White for the white parts.  Simple directions, just keep going 'round and round the square until it's 30" or more, depending on what size you want.

Debbie Krumpos has an absolutely fabulous website offering many scrapbooking supplies as well as links and various tips. Scrapbooking for Beginners really is an excellent place to start when taking the scrapbooking plunge. I have to be one of the least experienced scrappers around (I'm late to jump on that train), but her site has made it easy for me to find what I need and has given me some great ideas (now just to put those ideas to good use!).

At this site, I found step by step help with techniques and scrapbook layouts (I need all the help I can get!). Debbie also offers FREE downloads for digital scrapbooking as well as layout ideas for many occasions. There is a fantastic collection of supplies available from: Picaboo, Scrapbook Superstore, Scrapbook Max, Paper.com and Scrapjazz. It is the ultimate place to fill all your school-bulletin board, scrapbooking, baby, wedding, vacation, and holiday paper needs.

Debbie is a stay-at-home mother of three young children. She was a registered nurse for 20 years and decided the hectic run around for three active children was just not what she wanted. Because they're so active, she has had many opportunities for taking photos and has been doing a lot of scrapping to keep those photos out of shoe boxes tucked in the back of a closet. Thankfully, she has had plenty of experience with good (and bad) scrapping products and is willing to share that information with anyone interested to help them find the good and avoid the bad. Scrapping can be a pricey hobby, and Debbie's experience makes it all a little less painful.

She was kind enough to send two products for me to test and I have to admit, I absolutely loved them. Both of these products can be used for purposes other than scrapping, too (leave it to me and my active, non-scrapping imagination to come up with other uses, of course).



The first item I opened when I received the box was the Arccivo Scrapbook Page Saver. I have to admit, even though I'm not a scrapper, I am seriously in love with this product. I was so in love with it that I had to show my mother while she was here. If any one single product could make me more interested in scrapping, this would be it. Someone was really thinking when they came up with this idea. A zippered folder with magnetic sheets to cover each side so scrapbook pages stay in place while in progress, even if they're transported, is one of the most intelligent and useful products I have seen for scrappers yet. Sure, all the stickers and papers can lure a person in, but it's products like the Arccivo that will really keep me scrapping. What's really cool is it comes in four different colors!

My mother mentioned the fact that it would be useful for her as a quilter as well. She could see using something like that for all of her quilt blocks. I could also see how this might work for people who make cards (so close to scrapping anyhow). Having a dedicated space (or rather lack of dedicated space) is one of the reasons I have avoided scraping, card making, and quilting. The Arccivo would be an excellent work around for that issue, leaving money as my only issue (other than B getting upset with me for buying more "junk").



The other product I tried was a Xyron 150 (Create-A-Sticker). Talk about fun! Had I really had time and been able to plan a project, I seriously could have gone hog wild with this little item. As it stands, with Christmas right around the corner at the time I received the package, I pulled out the Christmas tree paper punch and all the green wallpaper samples (yes, wallpaper samples... I saved them from college, believe it or not) and went to town. After I had a few trees punched, I put them through the Xyron (so easy), peeled the clear plastic layer off the strip, and then stuck three of them on the little plastic case for my paper punch. What's cool about these little stickers is there are two types of adhesive rolls, a permanent and a temporary or movable adhesive. I love the idea of being able to make my own stickers. What a way to personalize! I'm very tempted to get one of these, although I might get one of the bigger ones since they're not terribly expensive. I suppose I'll wait until I go back to work, though.

Both items can be purchased by going through Debbie's website. For those of you scrappers, seriously, check out her website and these two products in particular. I really had fun with them!

Reader Participation:  Do you enjoy scrapping?  What are some of your favorite scrapping sites?  What's the most used item in your scrapping supplies?  Where do you purchase most of your supplies?  Please share photos of your favorite created pages.

 

The director, producer, writer, production manager/coordinator, post production supervisor, first assistant director, second assistant director, production assistant, production accountant, location manager, publicist and as if you didn’t think that was enough, casting director of this classic is brought to you by Ms. Brianne.

 

Our lovely leading lady, who will also be providing the voices of horses Apple and Carrot, is none other then Ms. Emma.

 

We ask that you be especially forthcoming with flash photography, clapping and cheering throughout the presentation.

 

Intermission refreshments brought to you by, “The Family Refrigerator”.

We hope you enjoy this wonderful production brought to you by Picture-Frame Theatre.

 

For your own Picture-Frame Theatre you will need the following from your local arts and supply craft store:

 

Picture frame or window frame (size of your choosing)

• 1 yard of fabric
• Iron
• Sewing machine or needle and thread
• 3 eye screws
• Braided wire
• Ribbon
• Decorative garland

 

Choose a picture frame or window frame at the size according to your needs. While you can pick up either frame at a craft store or home improvement store, flea markets and second hand shops may offer better deals. Should you choose a window frame make sure it is free of lead-paint and rusty nails or hardware.

 

Curtain

Measure out fabric according to the width and height of the inside of your frame, allowing extra length for draping and seams allowances should you sew a hem or add ruffles.  Cut in half, hem and then iron-press 1 to 2 inches of folded material along the top (wrong sides together) and sew. This will be where you will thread the braided wire.

 

Depending on how you wish to hang your curtain, measure out and mark with a pencil three areas for your eye screws. You’ll want one at each top corner on the back of your frame and one right in the center.

 

Hang your curtain, overlapping the wire over the eye screw at the center or threading through as you desire.

 

Tie back your curtains with ribbon and decorate the remainder of the frame with decorative garland or battery-operated miniature LED lights.

 

Extra tips and suggestions! Picture-frame theatres can be lean-tos if using small, light-weight frames. For heavier pieces glue/screw two sets of large, plain bookends to the front and back of the frame; this method is great for standing your theatre on tables. Also, though it may be cost effective to use wire and eye screws, a small, inexpensive curtain rod can be attached to the back of larger frames. Follow directions included with the rod.

 

And don’t forget your ticket!

I was turned on to Head Huggers by a friend of mine. She mentioned the site to me and I instantly felt like it was something I wanted to take part in.  The premise of the organization is simple.  If you can crochet, knit or sew, you can take part.  Head huggers provides hats to chemotherapy patients so that they can keep their heads warm.

Head huggers has a list of different crochet hat patterns, along with knit hat patterns and even sewn hat patterns as well.  Once you complete your hat(s), you submit your caps and they can be distributed to various cancer centers around the country.

You do not have to pick a pattern from the provided list, you can choose to use whatever pattern you like.  You don't even have to submit your caps for distribution, you can distribute them on your own.  The point of the project is not to contribute to a specific place or person, but to contribute.

If you have any hat patterns that you think would work for this project, please do contribute them.  I'm always looking for patterns.

So the gig is up, obviously I have a penchant for elephants! Who can resist that enormous trumpeting stack of wrinkles, those enormous boat-size ears and did I mention those folds of wrinkles? To top things off, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner; love will be thick in the air and far too much tempting chocolate will be hanging under our noses. Throw caution to the wind, scoop up a handful of chalky candy hearts, persnickety your way through a box of mystery chocolates and of course, wear your heart on your trunk!

This craft is great for kids, just follow the steps below and click the picture to get a large step-by-step guide. You will need from your local arts and crafts supply store the following:

• Fimo Effects clay in sparkling gray and sparkling red
• Large jump ring or 22 gauge wire
• Knitting needle
• Miniature heart cookie cutters
• Exacto knife
• Powdered chalk (pink and gold)
• Elmer’s super glue
• Magnets
• Fabric strips

Things you need but are not necessary:

• Clay oven
• Glaze
• Pasta machine
• Clay sculpting tools

 

Take the bar of sparkling gray Fimo and work well before diving into four balls, two of which will be the same size (ears), one the head and the other a trunk. Make the trunk and bend into a soft hook shape, attach to head, working the two objects together with your fingers. Next take the two like-size balls of gray Fimo flatten in your palm and attach to either side of the elephants head, using your fingers to attach and gently expanding the size of the ears to the desired size.

Use a knitting needle to make eyes and clay tools or an Exacto knife to give your elephant character by adding wrinkles about the face, trunk and ears. Attach a jump ring or bent 22 gauge wire on the bottom of the head and then very gently flatten the back of the elephants heads and ears against a smooth, no-stick surface such as a small baking dish. Decorate the elephant with powdered chalks as desired.

Now flatten a small ball of the sparkling red Fimo clay in a pasta machine and cut out three or more various size hearts. A quick tip for making holes, leave the cutters on the clay as you use a knitting needle to make a hole, this will keep the heart from losing its shape; remove excess clay before lifting away cutters. Make a separate heart with the smallest heart-shape cutter by rounding out a small ball of red, flattening it in hand and splicing to desired thickness with an Exacto knife. Give the heart a slight curve to fit snuggly on the elephant’s trunk tip by using a knitting needle.

Bake your elephant and all hearts according to instructions.

Once completely cool super glue magnets to the back of the elephant’s head. Use as many as you feel necessary to ensure a good mounting hold, in this case I’ve applied three small size magnets. Super glue small heart to trunk-tip and use fabric strips to attach the flat heart to the jump ring/gauge wire at the bottom of the elephant.

A quickie clay tip: This Fimo clay is extremely soft so once you’ve the head of the elephant completed it is best to find a non-stick surface that will allow you to work on the head without actually holding the clay in the palm of your hand or having to pick it up by hand numerous times. The longer it is in hand the more likely it is to hold fingerprints or change shape. I’ve found small cake baking pans that fit in my clay oven are perfect surfaces in which to lay my work, push it gently against the pan enough to stick and then I can freely move the piece about as I continue working on it.

I have done a little work lately on the Boats for Cameron blanket for my niece. It's still nowhere near finished, but it's getting there. I'm almost completely done with the boat panels and then I move on to the cable panels. Once the cables are done, I'll work on the border, and that is pretty much just plain knitting and/or purling per each row, so it will be fairly mindless.

I took progress pictures today, finally. I'm hoping to work on it more this week but I won't do another round of pictures until the cables are done.




If I actually take time to work on the blanket as I should, I will be able to get the boat panels done this week for certain. Of course, that's if nothing else interferes. I'm pretty sure B wants to be able to park in the garage again someday so that means we need to get cracking on the eBay stuff out in the garage which will cut into knitting time, I'm sure. Perhaps I'll knit a bit during Sophie's nap tomorrow and then work on eBay templates tomorrow night. I seriously cannot wait for this blanket to be done. There are so many projects I want to start, but I've vowed to not start another project until this blanket is completed. It's not that I don't want to do it. I'm sure I won't have time to knit anything else I want to knit, either.

Here's holding out hope there will be new progress pictures soon!

Well, I don’t know about you, but I seriously needed a break from all the holiday crazy crafting. Even the most die-hard goes through a dry spell (I hope so or else they are really making me look bad!) and then slowly, ever-so-slowly starts twiddling away at one project or another to start off the New Year.

But what project to start if one doesn’t want to go full tilt into some massively time consuming craft, but not wanting to waste a single minute of precious time and expensive resources on a smaller project?

Enter the Artist Trading Card, the woman’s baseball card and like a piece of dark chocolate, you simply can’t have one, but even a tiny bite soothes the savage (artsy) beast.

For this crafting project you will need the following from your local arts and crafts supply store:

• Various colored and texture card stock paper
• Scissors
• Magazines/old books/print outs/newspaper
• Stickers
• Stamps
• Hole punches
• Yarn
• Glue
• Glitter
• Markers
• Crayons
• Any type of collage embellishments you may so desire

An ATC measures 2.5 x 3.5 inches and this is the ONLY thing about an ATC that is standard. Everything else, from the “ground” paper to the subject of your design and all the embellishments is strictly up to you, the artist. Which means, as a New Year project you can get as complicated or simple with an ATC piece as you see fit. Spend hours and days on one card, or a couple of minutes pounding out dozens.

ATC’s are the truly one of a kind piece of artwork, trade them amongst other ATC enthusiasts or have an ATC party with friends. They are great for kids, especially with Valentine’s right around the corner and your little ones can even have their own art display inviting friends over to look at their work or create an art gallery for their dolls.

These little pocket works of art are great for home decor. Frame one or dozens in display frames, glue them to clothes pins and clip to curtains or glue magnets on the back to hang on the refrigerator.

The possibilities are endless!

One of the projects that I've decided that I want to work on this year is to do something to give back.  I had thought about several different things that I could do to give back and I kept coming back to the idea of making afghans for the local nursing facilities in the area.

Many times you hear of people that put family members in a nursing home then rarely ever see them.  There are people who have no family, or have little to no personal items of their own.  I thought that it would be a nice gesture to make a lap afghan for someone and donate it.  There are ways to find a quick and easy crochet afghan pattern, something that you can work up quickly and make several of easily.

As soon as I thought of this, I shared the idea with my mother who is also a crafter.  She thought it was a fantastic idea and it's not overly costly, especially if you use left over yarns from other projects.  You can make some of the prettiest afghans with scrap colors, and never have the same thing twice unless you want it to be.

In many cases, you can contact your local art and craft supply stores and ask them for donations of yarns or other materials if crochet and knit isn't your thing.  You can even contact the yarn suppliers directly.  Some will send you supplies at no cost, or for shipping cost.  So give it some thought and see if you can come up with some sort of design for a craft project you can do to give back.

If this is something that you think you'd be interested in, contact your local nursing facilities, or even the local red cross, or mission to see if they would like to have donations.  Give back, it's good for your soul.

In my next post, I'll be writing about another crafting cause.