Thursday, November 30, 2017

September, October and November Donation blankets

November Donation Blanket

September Donation Blanket

Edge of September blanket




The last few months were pretty busy with school starting back up for the kids.

Yarn and fabric donations have been piling up.

I have been busy making blankets at the kids practices. The nice thing about yarn is that it goes with you, wherever you may go.

Fabric will be used to make dresses for Operation Christmas Child. Each dress uses 3 yards + of fabric. That is where my supply surplus is going.

Not pictured, is the October donation blanket. I put it on facebook, but then forgot to post it on here. It was pretty with diagonal stripes.

I am making as many knit blankets as I can during the cold winter months. I have been blessed by friends who are cleaning out their yarn and fabric stash and giving me their scraps.  Without these wonderful craft hoarders, I can not do what I do.

My plan for the upcoming year is to knit as many blankets as is possible. I will then donate One of them each month to the Gabriel Project. A local charity in my area that helps out young mothers.

Other charity projects for this year include, but are not limited to:
Making dresses for Operation Christmas Child
Making small dolls for Operation Christmas Child
Purple baby hats for Shaken Baby Syndrome awareness
Red Hats for the Little Hats, Big Hearts Red Cross campaign
Buying and donating hat and glove sets for the local women's shelter


There's always a way to reduce, reuse and recycle. Quilting, knitting and crocheting do not have to be expensive hobbies. Thrift stores always have yarn and some of them even have fabric. Yard sales are a great place to look as well.

If you are looking for a way to get integrated into your community and be part of the change you want to see, simply ask around. Someone will be more than happy to accept your crafty madness.

Thursday, September 7, 2017

August Donation blanket


August donation blanket


For August I crocheted a granny stitch afghan.


This was a great way to use up my scraps and practice crocheting. I usually knit. 

As I have said before. Crafting does not have to be expensive. Dig in to your scraps. Scour the thrift shops and keep an eye on clearance shelves. You never know what crafty treasures you will find.

Happy crafting.

July Donation Quilt

July Donation Quilt

For July I went with a red and blue theme.




Red and blue flannel backing, which was graciously donated to me.


I do quilt as you go. Then I top stitched with something decorative.


Binding was sewn on with my machine.


My supplies are usually on sale, from a thrift store, bought at a yard sale or donated. Quilting does not have to be expensive. My batting is usually pieced together randomly. Little bits and pieces of batting, fleece and felt come together to make the batting of my quilts. Can anyone tell in my finished product?  No.

My quilts and blankets are getting donated to the Gabriel Project, which helps young mothers in  my area.

Take your scraps and turn them into something beautiful for yourself or someone in need.

Happy crafting.

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

June 2017 Donation Blanket

June Donation blanket made in same pattern as my May Donation Blanket

A crocheted border was added to tie the design together and as a convenient way to hide the ends.

This blanket was made entirely of my project scraps and donated yarn.

As with the othere blankets donated from this year, this blanket will be donated to the Gabriel project. The Gabriel project helps young mothers in my local area.

These blankets are easy to put together and I'm sure that someone in your local area would love your homemade blankets. All one has to do is ask around to see if there is a need.

Put those scraps to good use and have fun.

Until next time, Nelly :-)

Monday, June 5, 2017

May Donation Blanket


May Donation Blanket


This was knit in a diagonal pattern, the same way you would knit a washcloth.

Crocheted border in Baby Clouds yarn

The blanket for May was knit with a variety of scraps from my stash and yarn that was donated to me by a local knitting group that I get together with. It was knit in the same way I knit square washcloths.

Pattern:
Cast On 4 Stitches
Knit 2 stitches, Yarn Over, Knit remaining stitches. 

Continue in this pattern until the blanket is as long as you would like it.
When it is as long as you would like it, start decreasing.

Knit 1 stitch, knit 2 together, Yarn Over, Knit 2 together, knit remaining stitches in the row. 
Repeat this row until you only have 4 stitches left. 
Bind Off. 

For my border, I did a single crochet border around the entire piece. This helps when weaving your ends in, as they can simply be crocheted in with your border.

Monday, May 1, 2017

April 2017 Donation Quilt

The quilt was sewn in quilt as you go design. 

Flannel backing was donated by a local semastress.

Binding was pieced together from binding that was left over from other projects. 

I always machine fininsh my binding to make sure that it can put up with abuse.

This blanket was donated to the Gabriel Project, a charity in my community which helps young mothers.

If you have fabric scraps, leftovers from projects, a bursting fabric stash or stockpiled baby blankets look around in your own community. An organization may need your help. Every little bit counts. 

Saturday, March 25, 2017

Knit lei for Fisher House Remembrance Run Walk or Roll




This is a free pattern for a knitted lei. I am knitting these for the Fisher House in Hawaii. They need 7300 for their event in September.

The leis will be placed around the boots of fallen soldiers at the event.

For my example I used ribbon yarn from the Darn Good Yarn company. It would be equivalent to 3 strands of acrylic worsted weight yarn held together.

On size 11 knitting needles
Cast On 44 stitches
Knit one row
Bind off

Put yarn on both ends, as they will need to be tied around the boots.

This pattern is easy to make bigger or smaller. If your lei isn't long enough, add more stitches. If it is too long, cast on less stitches.

For more information about this project, visit their Facebook group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/979914775452572/

Friday, March 24, 2017

March Donation Quilt and other donated crafts

I donated my March donation quilt without taking pictures first! This is how busy I've been lately!

It was a strip quilt done in Quilt as you go technique with a lot of Orange and Green for St. Patrick's Day.

I apologize for the lack of pictures :-(

Other projects I did in the month of March include:

30 bookmarks for my local PTO's book fair.

1 embroidered drawstring back pack for a basket raffle

1 embroidered pillow for a basket raffle

1 filled Easter basket for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.




Friday, February 24, 2017

February 2017 Donation Quilt

This is the February Donation quilt which was given to Project Gabriel.


Some Fabric for this project was left over from other projects. Other fabric for this project was donated by the employees of Schrader's Fabrics by Barb.


Batting for this project was purchased with funds from my Etsy Shop, Nelly's Quilt Room .


Thread was purchased from yard sales, also with funds from my Etsy shop.

Monday, January 23, 2017

January 2017 Donation Quilt

The January 2017 donation quilt is shown on a twin size bed.


The flannel backing was donated to me by Sue O Keefe who works at Schrader's Fabrics by Barb.


Binding was all done with my sewing machine.
If you have scraps make them into a quilt. If you ask around your community, you'll find that there is always an organization willing to accept your art.