Last minute little things

Just before Christmas I was quite busy. The cookies never got baked because I didn't have time to make them. The festive cookie jars were out but they were empty. There was enough of other things to snack on. I may make some cookies later - or I might not. There are way too many other things to occupy my time with. Here are a few things that got made just before Christmas.

One fat quarter, some extra wide bias tape and little Teemu has his very own apron. He loves corn, by the way.

This is a hooded towel. The outer fabric is soft, warm flannel and the lining of course, is toweling material. I bought towels and cut them up because it was less expensive than buying toweling fabric.

I had a lot of flannel so I didn't have to buy any.

I only had to decide who gets what flannel. I made 6 altogether.

One towel didn't have enough fabric for the whole thing so I used another towel for the hood. They weren't hard to make - just time consuming. A lot of straight stitching. All of them are top-stitched too.

Little Wren needed some soother strings. These were made after Christmas.

Little Teemu was visiting yesterday and had a runny nose so he would get a tissue but I noticed that under his nose, his lip was red. I had him choose the fabric for his very own handkerchiefs. These are flannel.

I had some leftover flannel with animals on it but then, when I showed him these, he wanted the doughnuts. So, that's what he got. The flannel is so much gentler and softer for his nose.

And lastly, my daughter Maili wanted a headband with a twist in the front.

So, I finished this yesterday. It's made from Red Heart's Reflective Yarn. I had made arm bands with the same kind of yarn before but Maili wanted a headband. It shines at night when light hits it so if she is out walking, running or riding her bike, hopefully, she'll be seen.

It's too cold these days to be doing much of anything outside so I'm concentrating on finishing up some projects. We've had some snow too.

I hope everyone had a joyous Christmas with family and friends.

Just a little update

Here's the last mug rug I made. The little Dresden plate was made a couple of years ago and I finally got to use it. I had always meant to make it into a mug rug but it never got finished - until now.

The colour is not that good in this photo. 

I enjoyed making all the mug rugs.

This is one of the wheelchair quilts that Marg and I are making.

This is the other one. We cut the backing for both but won't start quilting them until the New Year. We thought one was more feminine and the other could be used by a male.

I finished this blanket for little Atticus. It's been delivered so I can show it now. It took one whole ball of yarn - not my favourite acrylic.

These are two little dresses that I just finished for the twins. I hope they like them. They are made out of knit fabric that is brushed on the reverse so it's nice and soft against their skin.

I've still got some things on my list of sewing and knitting so hopefully, I can get something finished this coming week.

The temperature is a bit milder for the next couple of days. Perhaps it will be warm enough to melt the little bit of snow we have.

Try not to stress over the holidays. If you don't get everything done, that's OK. Just do the important things on your list first and all will be good.

'Thank You' mug rugs

What is your 'go to' gift for a thank you? Does it depend on who it's for? What if you don't know much about the person but want to do something for them?

I decided I'd like to make mug rugs. I don't know the people to whom these are going but I have met most of them - they are nurses.

This was the first one I made. It was a free pattern/tutorial that I came across while searching for patterns. I made mine one inch longer and I used bias tape for the black keys because they gave a better finish than just cut and fused fabric.

Here's the pattern: http://bettinadanger.blogspot.ca/2012/07/piano-mug-rug-tutorial.html#.WiVr-FWnGDI

Another idea I got off the internet. It was from a search on Craftsy. My colours are much richer than the mug rug I saw.

I liked making crazy stars or maverick stars and since I had a lot of one colour already in a pile, I just went for it. Again, the idea came from something I saw on the internet.

This is why I had a bunch of purples already in a pile. The pattern is from Fat Cat Patterns. I am a pattern tester and since the mug rugs were mainly for nurses, I thought it was appropriate.

Another one in blues.

A group shot. I have one more to finish up and hopefully, I will remember to take a photo and post it.

Some sites you might want to get inspiration from:

https://www.flickr.com/groups/mugrugmadness/pool/page1

https://www.flickr.com/groups/1533394@N22/pool/

https://www.craftsy.com/search?query=mug%20rugs

Knit? Crochet?

Want some yarn?

Yarn Canada has "started what will hopefully be a yearly event of giving yarn to individuals and groups who knit or crochet for good causes.

[They are] giving away $2000 worth of yarn and are hoping to get as many applicants as possible to ensure it goes to whoever it will have the maximum impact."

The contest is open to Canadians and Americans and you can win yarn for yourself or for your group. Many of us knit or crochet for charities. 


One such good cause that has been dear to my heart lately is Octopus for Preemies.
This is a worldwide group with many countries participating. The octopuses are made for premature babies who start off their lives in incubators. The tentacles of the octopus resembles the umbilical cord and doctors and nurses have found that it calms the babies and their little hands hold the tentacles instead of getting caught up in all the tubes that they are hooked up to.

Each country has a facebook group you can join and there are very strict rules for making the octopus. There has to be in order for the babies to be safe. Once an octopus is made, it gets sent to a co-ordinator who checks it over to make sure that it is tightly made and that the tentacles are within the prescribed length. If the octopus passes, it gets washed, bagged with instructions for the new parents and then given to a participating NICU. Not all hospitals are on board with this.

Here's a photo of my little grandson Atticus and the octopus he got from the hospital. He is sleeping on a heart that I knit for him.

Here's the link for you to enter:  https://www.yarncanada.ca/for-good

I was approached by Yarn Canada to see if I was willing to do a blog post about this.

A link to more information on the effect of octopuses on preemies.

https://www.todaysparent.com/blogs/the-reason-this-hospital-is-giving-preemies-stuffed-octopuses/

Here's a link to the countries participating if you wish to join or get more information.

http://mynomadhome.com/the-octopus-for-a-preemie-project-a-list-of-countries-and-their-websites/

Quilt Show - Part five

Well, we have now come to the final few photos. 

This could work in so many ways. You could personalize it to anyone or anything and you could certainly use any colour.

This would make a great scrap quilt. The floral rectangle is bordered on two sides with a green strip to make the block a square. Them just flip the blocks and you have a quilt that looks complicated but is oh so easy to make. These were pre-cut kits that the guild was handing out to people willing to sew the top together. I made one in blues for the guild. I wish I had taken a photo of it.

That's it, that's all.