Waste Not Want Not Wednesday: Cotton Baby Ball

I made this ball on a small round wood loom with two strands of Sugar 'n Cream yarn that had been in my stash for a few years.  The ball is filled with waste from my stuffing bag such as serger trimmings. Since the tiny bits would slip out of the open loom knit stitching I loaded it up into the foot of a no longer wearable pair of tights.  The end was tied off and I put a few stitches in the knot to be extra sure it won't open when some little sweetie chews on it.  It is fully washable and I'm proud to say it kept scraps and a bit of microfiber tights out of the waste stream.

This is a donation for Online-Angels.

More Hats for Online Angels

Two strand acrylic foldover brim toddler hat made on the red loom. The pink yarn was from the OA Breast Cancer progressive lot auction from a few years ago. I still have a bunch more of that yarn. It is really nice to work with. The multi was from a package of yarn someone sent to me to be used for charity crafting.

Four newborn acrylic two strand hats from the blue loom. The sparkly yarn is in Christmas colors. I got the yarn on sale at holiday time a couple of years ago. These are self-brimmed in a different stitch. In the lower right corner there is a rollover brim preemie hat, also off the blue loom, made from a soft nylon I got in an OA auction lot.

You should visit their auctions when you can, there are great bargains to be found.

Tidy Thursday: Front Closet

Today I went through everything in the front closet. I found a sweater I forgot I had! I thinned the contents by three - an XL very warm faux sheepskin lined collared sweater, a fleece collared zip up jacket, also an XL and a zip up juniors S black windbreaker. All went into my box for Online Angels. I debated making a skirt out of a sweatshirt that was in there but I decided to leave the sweatshirt intact for now. Hubby might still wear it. Next time I come across it hanging there without having gone through the laundry (if it had I'd know he'd worn it) it will become a nice, soft, and easy to make skirt for lounging on the deck in.

I also put the carpet cleaner where it belongs - in the closet against the wall - and hung the various jackets that were on the hooks properly on hangers.

Did you do a little something today to brighten your surroundings? What was it? I need ideas for my next burst of straightening up.

Hello Kitty Fabric is Now a Pillowcase.

Remember the Hello Kitty fabric I got at Salvation Army? It's now a soft flannel pillowcase destined for Online Angels.

Fabric Prayer Cloths

For those not familiar, prayer cloths are made many ways, but what they all have in common is that the maker prays over them while they work, for the intentions of the receiver. The receiver holds the cloth when they pray.

These two are made from fabric that makes me think of heaven. They're simply sewn together right sides facing, with a small hole left for turning. Once turned, they're ironed and topstitched. Some folks add an ornament of some sort. I leave mine plain because handsewing isn't the best for my arm. They may have ornaments added when they reach Online Angels.

Thrifty Thursday: Handmade Baby Sweaters

Is this a score or what? Seven brand new, handmade baby sweaters, freshly tagged and placed on the rack at Salvation Army.

For .39 each!!

Can you believe what great timing I had? I feel so lucky that seven babies will get a sweet little handmade sweater from Online Angels, something I can not usually send them since I don't know how to make baby sweaters, for $2.73.





Another happy little find was this Hello Kitty flannel fabric. Two yards for .49!

Hats Made While Waiting for Word From the Surgical Team

I made these hats while at the hospital with Dad. He is home and doing well.



These thirteen baby hats will be donated to Online Angels. There was another of the pink with little yellow accent tags but I gave that to my sister-in-law to give to her daughter who just found out she is expecting a baby girl.



The two multi colored adult hats will also go to Online Angels. The brown ones are for my bald spouse who works in a cold environment and finds that nothing keeps a bald head warm like alpaca and alpaca/wool blends. There was a third brown hat but it was put into use before I got the chance to take this photo.

The pink & multi-colored yarns were from OA auctions. The rainbow is a little ball I had left of a favorite yarn of mine. The brown alpaca was purchased for this specific purpose as baby it is cold outside. ;) The black chenille is more salvage yarn from the hat I made for Mom that had a thread snap and I could not repair it. The red sparkly is a little ball I had left from making myself Valentine's Day leg and wrist warmers in 2007. The little yellow tags on a thin string was bought out of the Target dollar bins on impulse and has sat around for years because I had no clue what to do with it. Glad I finally found a use and it is not sitting here mocking me any more.

Two Hats for Thursday

As always, for Online Angels.

These hats are in honor of my Angel friend Tracy and her beautiful Mom, who passed this week.

Betty worked long after most folks have retired, was a strong and loving lady. She certainly raised a wonderful woman, Tracy, who herself is a strong and loving mom.

The black yarn is soft, like a mom's loving touch, and is recycled from a hat I made my own mom. The body of the hat is very thick and warm, protecting a little one's head from being cold or bumped, just like Betty - strong and present.

The variegated is a favorite yarn of mine. It makes me smile when I see it, just as Tracy brings joy and light to those around her.

Waste Not Want Not Wednesday: More Booties to Share

For Online-Angels' blitz, another fifteen pairs of booties. Lots of boy stuff this time out. Let's see, part of a pillow cover that came apart, fabric from the back of a nice cotton button down shirt my son got a stain on the front of, fabric left from Christmas gifts, excess fabric cut off when I made the shoe bags and a bit purchased from the remnant bin.



Ten pairs I made last week but didn't get to post.




And 12 pairs I made just now after composing this post. The football ones are very timely, I'd say. Not a big fan but wherever you look you can't escape talk of the impending Super Bowl.

Cutie Little Booties

Made from scrap fabrics left from other projects and the ever so elusive high quality ribbing I'm forever looking for in the stores, I enjoy the heck out of making these fun little pops of color for Online Angels.

Waste Not Want Not Wednesday: Pillows

I had some stuffing I cut out of a couple pillows that had lost their shape. Here it is with some fabric remnants from my stash:




Put them together, and well, here's the obvious:




Some cute little kid sized pillows that are now headed for my charity.

Waste Not Want Not Wednesday: Bless Someone Else

I've begun working on shredding years worth of files that I have been needlessly saving mostly because I couldn't face going through it all. I've gone at it here and there but I never tackle it. Generally, I'd say it is because I seem to always have to stop because the house gets out of control if I don't keep tending to it.

Well, I'm about at the end of my rope with the house and have made that very well known. As a result it seems that my spouse (the official dishwasher, lawn-mower and mechanical handyperson) is making an effort to wipe off a counter after making a sandwich and that sort of thing that seems small but takes tons of time out of the day when you have to do it over and over again. We won't even mention the built up resentment over it.


Adding to the ability to keep the house a little more under control is that the kids have their own spaces now. I say spaces and not places because only my son has his own place. My daughter has taken over the studio apartment over hubby's workshop which previously served as their teenage hangout and childhood pool cabana. So she's not exactly left home but she's in her own space. This is wonderful for two reasons - spouse can't abdicate responsibility for cleaning up something by blaming it on someone else but best of all - when I come across something that belongs to one of the kids it goes in a bag or box that gets handed to them. If it isn't important enough to occupy their space then why should I have to store it? You wouldn't believe the amount of stuff my kid has told me to donate. It has been great to give so many things (often brand new) to OA to give to folks to enjoy.

With these two great improvements under my belt I have decided to begin to tackle the next beast - our attic. I used to be very good at keeping up with it but when I got sick I couldn't go up there any more. That was over ten years ago. I've made short bursts of progress up there in the last couple of years but my daughter just bags things she can't deal with up and tosses them there so any progress disappears when the clothing season changes.

I've decided to come at this by taking one box, bag or plastic tote down to look through each week. Today, the first day, I actually brought down a kitchen trash bag, a plastic tote and a few items I pulled out of another tote. Lots of little gifty things for the Angels to put up for auction, a few toys still in their boxes, some moldy baby outfits bought for a gift and never given (makes me wonder how badly the few keepsakes I have up there of the kids' fared *sniffle*)...and a bin of 3X clothing.

Now I'm not much for saving that kind of thing. As I lost weight my clothing was given away to family members who it would fit but I couldn't let go of the last of this. My spouse promised me that if I ever needed it again he'd just buy me something new but I'd already spent quite a few dollars on these very nice dress clothes. At the time I wasn't very keen on dressing up so each item was worn very few times and very carefully.

What a blessing these items will be for a person who needs these for job interviews or office work! They're boxed up and ready to be dropped off for shipping to Online-Angels. No refashioning of these - I think they'll do more good as they are.

Waste Not Want Not Wednesday: Four

One of the fun advantages to repurposing sewn goods is the shortcuts you can glean by reusing features of the original item. A few years ago my mom gave me some decorator curtains she was no longer using in her house. I've used bits and pieces for different projects, but still had four large panels, plus tiebacks and a couple of valances.

They were very soft lined curtains. The fabric seemed just right for the pillowcases I've been working on and the bonus was that I reused the original deep hem for the pillowcase hem, saving me several steps in the construction.

I plan to use the liner - original hem intact - to make myself a muslin of a blouse. If the muslin works I'll likely dye it and wear that as well as the projects it is a test for. Now to figure out what to do with the gorgeous pin-tucked tiebacks. Any ideas?

Photo 1: Curtain hem now pillowcase hem.
Photo 2: Tied up with a ribbon scrap.
Photo 3: Boxed and ready for donating along with others made from stash fabric.

Pillowcases for Charity

The charity I hold dear to my heart, Online Angels, recently received a request for pillowcases for ill children. Upon hearing this, one of the Angels mentioned that they might be nice for putting in the Christmas stockings we make up for Seniors as well. So holiday fabrics, kiddie fabrics, even plain fabrics are welcome. Plain pillowcases will be enhanced with machine embroidery upon receipt by the good folks who run OA.

I particularly love the orange one. The bear print is in a little bag made from leftover fabric. These are so easy to make, I hope to find lots of stash fabric big enough to make more of these.

Coats for Cubs

I just learned of this program and hope folks who have an old fur they'd rather not have now know where they can donate it without worry that someone else will be promoting cruelty by wearing the fur they donated.

Coats for Cubs is a program of the Humane Society of the United States. Fur items donated are used by rehabilitators to comfort orphaned wildlife. Those who own or inherited furs can't turn back the clock and prevent the item from being made in the first place, but they certainly can do good with them now.

Send Grammy's old stole to HSUS. She nurtured you, now the stole you won't wear can carry on her nurturing and love with a wee one who needs comfort and warmth to grow.

Share What You Have With Those Who Need.

I have long understood the value of giving. Each person will know in what manner they can best give: time, money, skills, goods, legacy, what have you.

The group that has been my favorite for a good six or seven years now is Online Angels, a 501(c)3 charity. Please take a moment to look around the site and consider getting involved. There are many ways to help OA, whether it be by purchasing a raffle ticket, sending in school supplies, crocheting a love-ghan. You donate it and Mary, Royce and family will get it to the person who needs it plus you'll get a tax deduction for it! I donate all sorts of things, from auction items, to school supplies, to a box of new clothing and toys for a specific child at Christmas. That's the thing about OA, with very few exceptions, everything given to recipients is new, with much of it being lovingly handmade by a good soul with a prayer in their heart. Of course you don't have to be religious to give to OA, but you might find yourself feeling spiritually fulfilled by doing so!

This cute little hat was made on the pictured blue Knifty Knitter loom with yarn donated to me by another volunteer who couldn't use it. You can get Knifty Knitters at most any crafting store these days. The pink and brown is very stylish right now and it took me but about ten minutes to make the 18 rows necessary for this preemie sized cap. The tool is from Craftsman, sold in a 4 pack of different shapes for about $5 in the tool department at Sears. Basic loom knitting such as this is easy and almost meditative. If you'd like to learn a little more about it, check out the Livejournal community Loom Knitters or help out OA by going to GoodSearch, selecting Online-Angels of Pottsville, PA as the charity you'd like your searches to be credited to and using their Yahoo powered search engine to learn more about loom or board knitting.