Knitting: Hat #1 for Lesotho

A few weeks after I saw the appeal for children's sweaters, I saw that another organization was hosting a hat and sock drive for the poor children in the mountains of Lesotho. I have several college friends who are missionaries in South Africa, so this really caught my attention.

These children spend long hours in the freezing cold tending their family's animals, and they have almost nothing. How could I not help out?

This is the first of the hats, modeled by my 8-year-old son (please excuse the cheesy smile). This one really fits well, and I like it. It couldn't be any easier, either! You can find it free for downloading on the Coats & Clark website here. I made two of them using this pattern.

Because of the climate, these needed to be made from wool or other animal fibers. And since they don't own washing machines, the wool didn't have to be machine-washable. I decided this was a great use for the wool yarn I've harvested from thrift store sweater unraveling.

Stay tuned for a few more hats and such!

Knitting: Sweaters for Charity

I've been enjoying knitting so much lately, but I can only use so many knitted items for me and my family. When I heard about an organization that takes children off the streets of India, feeds them, clothes them, and gives them an education, I wanted to help out with their call for children's sweaters. They recommended the Knit for Kids sweater pattern in sizes 2 or 4.

If you've never made one of these, you wouldn't believe how incredibly small these kids are - and to be living on the streets! When I finished the first pink sweater, I showed it to my own children, holding it up to my small-built 6-year-old daughter. It was too small even for her, and they were shocked that children this small were living on the streets of India.

I was able to make this first pink sweater with machine-washable wool I had picked up on a recent thrift store trip, but it was all the wool I had in my stash at that point. However, the coordinator assured us that acrylic sweaters would be just as appreciated, so I got to work on a second sweater.

I had been given these coordinating Red Heart Super Saver yarns a few months ago, and there was just enough yardage to make a sweater. Several people have mentioned that this yarn softens up nicely in the wash, so I was happy to be able to use it for a good cause.

I also managed to make one more sweater before their February 2nd deadline, but I forgot to take pictures of it before the shipping box was sealed. It was a brown sweater, using a tweed yarn for the bottom and solid brown for the top.

They have an ongoing need for these sweaters, so I'm hoping to be able to make some more in the months ahead and ship them out three or so at a time. That way, they'll have some ready for the next trip they make.

Butterflies & Doilies Cards

Here are some more of those pre-decorated "inchie" images that I didn't know what to do with before. I also managed to use up some hoarded paper and more of that huge stack of doilies.

Since the doilies are slightly bigger than 4-1/4", I had to think of ways to trim them to fit on my cards. This was a great idea I had seen on other people's cards. I just trimmed three scallop sections from one side, and it fit perfectly.

This is the last of my cards from our cardmaking day. I hope you've enjoyed the peek as much as I enjoyed making and showcasing them.

Angel Cards

When I was going through some boxes from my parents' house the other day, I ran across these angel images I had cut from magazine ads years ago. I was inclined to throw away anything that didn't have sentimental value, but I decided to hang onto these since I knew they would make some cute cards.

One of my favorite things about these cards is that I was also able to use up paper scraps from the other cards I had made that same day. One of my unwritten craft "resolutions" is to not have paper scraps. I challenge myself to use up every bit of usable paper before the end of the day. If there are only 1" scraps left at the end of the day (and I can't think of a good card use for them), I'm throwing them away.

I know that sounds crazy for someone as "thrifty" as I am, but there comes a point when you have to decide to throw away something so you can hang onto things that (a) really matter and/or (b) are actually worth something. I've officially gotten to that point. :) I won't be throwing away 1/4 sheets of paper, but I'm feeling very good about tossing those 1" scraps that I always felt guilty about before.

As you can see, the card design is very simple. With images this detailed and pretty, you don't need much.

I was thrilled to discover that they matched very nicely with the scraps from my teacup cards.

See? I still didn't throw away smallish scraps, since I actually thought of a use for them before the end of the day. I'm considering this card to be a work in progress, since I'd like to add a little more to it (other than the obvious sentiment) before I give it as a card. I'll try to remember to keep you posted when I add to it.

Teacup Cards

I bought these teacup images as gift enclosure cards when they were clearancing them from the $1 bins at Michaels. I love teacups, and the designs were just my style, so I got a whole pack of each design I liked. After giving one of each card to my daughter to write in, I had 11 of each left.

I didn't get around to making anything with them until our cardmaking day, but when I finally hit on a design I liked, I decided to do them all (11 of each of these designs). I'm leaving them without a sentiment until I need them, so they are more versatile. (The sentiment will go on the bottom, where there is "blank space".) I've been sending a lot of small "thinking of you" packages lately, and I thought it would be wise to be able to use them for those packages or for ladies' birthdays, if needed.

Of course, I hat to cut out each of the teacups/mugs before I could use them. I used an X-acto knife for the insides of the handles.

This was also a great use for the huge pack of doilies I had bought for cardmaking awhile back, so I was very happy to use up some stash on these cards.

Another collage-style card

After I made the Mother's Day cards, I decided to go ahead and do another collage-style card with these mini images that have to do with writing.

This one could be used for many occasions, and I decided to use a sentiment on the inside. That way, I can decide what to use it for when I need it.

I have a funny problem with my cards. I run out of birthday cards, so I make a whole pile of them. And suddenly I have a need for tons of "thinking of you" cards instead. Inevitably, the cards I just made for birthdays would make perfect "thinking of you" cards, but I already have a birthday sentiment on them. So I decided to experiment and make a few cards that I can add a sentiment to when I need them.

Mother's Day cards

This is the first card I made on our cardmaking day, and I'm actually quite happy with it. Since I have my mother and mother-in-law both still with us, I needed to make two of these. They're identical because I thought they "fit" both of them very well. I also tried to make them as non-dimensional as possible since they will have to go through the mail.

I had bought a sheet of these postage-stamp-style collages a few years ago, cut them apart, and then had no idea what to do with them. Then, a few weeks ago, I came across an inchie design that I thought might serve as inspiration for using them. You can see the card that inspired me (from Moxie Fab World, the first featured card) here. It was a very loose interpretation, but it really helped me out!