Monday, August 30, 2010

Charity Project - "Caps for Good"

Please join me in a wonderful project to make Baby Caps for newborns in the countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America through a joint effort from Save the Children and Warm Up America organizations.  This is being sponsored by Michael's craft stores.

In many developing countries, something as simple as a knit or crocheted cap can help
the baby keep warm, which is key to helping newborns survive. Nearly 4 million babies die each year in their first month of life - half within their first 24 hours.  



To download free patterns and instructions:
http://www.goodgoes.org/caps



I will start shipping out knitted or crocheted baby hats that I've made, or have collected from friends, on the 3rd Saturday of each month, starting on September 25th. I hope that many will also join in this effort and collect hats from your friends and co-workers and ship them to this organization.  It is a great way to involve the community in giving back to these precious little babies. This project ends in late February.

Happy Blessings! 

(FREE PATTERNS added here in the COMMENTS section. Click on the COMMENTS link.  Do you have a free pattern (knit or crochet) for a newborn baby hat that you want to share?  Add as a Comment, or send your pictures of your completed hats to bitsofblessings [at] gmail [dot] com    They will be shown on the blog.)

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Owl Hoot

An Owl Hoot recycling project made from an Owl Hoop.

Remember the crafts from the 70's & 80's that made works of art in those wooden embroidery hoops?  All sorts of pictures were made by placing embroidery, fabric pictures, or other types of crafts that were embellished in the circular frame.  This may have been when the hot glue gun frenzy began.


Thrift Store find @ 25 cents

While hunting in the thrift store, I couldn't resist this lace owl for 25 cents. The lace fabric & background has been taken apart from the wooden frame and washed.  The glue and woodstain have discolored the ivory trim, so it's unusable.  It will be remade into a new item soon.

Christmas Cross Stitch Ornaments

Years ago, I used to make these little framed cross-stitch ornaments with the gold frames.  It was a handy project to take along with you.

Another "thrifty find" this month, was a complete kit to make 3 Christmas ornaments for 25 cents.  There was no date on the package, but it looks like those from the 70's or 80's.  I started right away on making Santa Claus.

Antique 1760 Cross Stitch Sampler

There's something about going on a Treasure Hunt and finding those little finds in unlikely places.  I came across a bin of craft items at a thrift store and brought home lots of "treasures".   One of which was a complete kit for a reproduction of a cross-stitch sampler, that was made from an 11 year old girl in 1760.  That's pre-Revolutionary War. 

Included was the fabric, DMC floss, graph and instructions.  I paid 25 cents for it.




I've always wanted to create a reproduction of an antique sampler.  So, it's another project for me to start on and will track the progression.