MotherLove Project

This month's art charity was chosen from a book I picked up for .75 at Craft Bits & Pieces a week or so ago.  It's awesome because this woman who started out donating art creations to charities started a blog and eventually got others on board.  Her book is a collection of different charities and crafty art donations you can donate to.  I chose the MotherLove program through the YWCA of Asheville for this month's charity art donation.  http://www.ywcaofasheville.org/site/c.7oIEJQPxGeISF/b.8131583/k.2A86/MotherLove.htm

The book gives an idea of a project you can donate and patterns.  This one was to embroider a bird with a flower pattern on the top right side of a white onesie and then dip the bottom half in a colored dye.  Well, of course I took my own spin on what I created.  My co-worker had a bunch of like new onesies that her daughter has out grown. They were all in awesome condition and she was happy to donate them to this cause.  I searched for some baby friendly images online and then free hand embroidered them on the onesies.  I then used a Michaels coupon and picked up a calming shade of green dye for $1.23.  I haven't tie dyed in a long time and didn't even know it required salt. So after a trip to the grocery store I stood in the kitchen with a couple of pots, the dye and salt while scratching my head trying to figure out the directions.  In the end I winged it and just did what I thought I should do.  Instead of dipping the bottom half solid into the dye I decided to tie dye the bottom half and used rubber bands to create the tie dye effect.  A little dye accidentally got on the spoon I was using, then on my hands, then on a onesie which created a kind of cool different color look all over the onesie.

In the end I made 7 onesies in about 3 hours worth of work (this was mostly while watching a movie). ;)  It was pretty easy and fun to do.  My co-worker who donated the onesies has a bunch more. She liked the look without the tie dye but I liked them either way. I may create some more with a one color dye look and without dye. Who knows... maybe I'll even sell them on my Esty shop someday if I ever get it started. :)

Knitted Hat Craze Continued...

Here are some hats I knitted for Christmas gifts. The first two are baby hats for my colleagues daughter who is 8months old. The last one is a hat I made to give my friends "little sister" for Christmas. Since I helped her make a hat for her mom I decided to make her a hat. I even followed the directions for once and figured out how to make an actual rim and tie it off differently. This way was easier and looks better. What do you think?

Update 12/19/12:  My friend said her "little sister Destiny" loved the hat, especially that I had mentioned it was one of the best I had made yet.

I went to my friend Megan's house last night and gave her daughters their Christmas gifts. Baby M. wasn't quite sure what to think about being squashed into her new hats. Shown below with permission from my friend.

The Purple Quilt

So here's the story of how I came to make a purple quilt.  My co-worker brought her 4 y/o into the office one day and I helped to keep her busy by having her decorate some raffle bags for an event for me. While we were coloring we had a conversation about why she refused to sleep in her bed and instead wandered into her mom and dad's room. This inevitably left my co-worker with her husband, 4 y/o, two dogs and baby all in one room and my co-worker pushed out to her 4 y/o's bed.  When asked why she doesn't sleep in her own bed her reply was, "Cause my blanket is brown." With clarifying questions I figured out her bedspread was pink and brown. When asked what it would take for her to sleep in her own bed she replied, "A purple blanket." Hence the creation of the purple blanket.

I've spent about 5-6 weeks collecting purplish fabrics, cutting the squares, sewing them together, sewing the flannel for the middle and the purple fabric for the back. Then I went to my Aunt's house over Thanksgiving and she helped me to use the stretching boards and tie the quilt. I finished with hand sewing the border.

I'll be going over for dinner sometime before Christmas. We'll see what she thinks when I give to her. My guess is she'll like it but be disappointed it wasn't an awesome toy! After all what 4 y/o wants a quit for a gift. :) I know I wouldn't!

Update 12/19/12: I gave Grace here Christmas present (the purple quilt) last night. She actually was very excited! I even received a text from my friend that Grace was fast a sleep under her new bedspread last night. ;) Wish permission from my friend here is the picture of Grace and her purple quilt.