4th grade teacher's gift -- Thanks a million, Mrs. R!

I've done these bags for 8 years now.  There's even one teacher here in Hudson that has two of them since she had my oldest and my youngest both for 3rd grade.  This latest version was for my little guy's 4th grade teacher.  She was a marvel this year.  Super smart and super creative.  You should have seen the "environment board" the class created for their China theme.  She took a map of China, blew it up (like really blew it up -- it covered 4 large tables pushed together) and then transferred the map to plywood.  The boys formed groups and each worked on a different region of China.  My son had the South which included terraced fields, a bamboo forest, etc.  The boys made all the topography out of clay, styrofoam, whatever.  The Great Wall was sugar cubes.  It was amazing. 

So, she deserved an equally creative bag made by the awesome boys this year.  Each boy received a 6-inch square of nice white cotton.  They turned their squares into me and I made the bag.  One side of the bag has a special center square.  I had it embroidered to represent their other major theme this year:  Whaling.  They had a mock voyage on a mock boat and named themselves the Nantucket Slayers.  My guy was the 1st Harpooner, thank you very much. 

The highlight of their year was a 6-day trip to New England including Mystic Seaport, Provincetown, and Nantucket.  Photo below is the group in front of the Brant Point Lighthouse on Nantucket.  You know it's an amazing trip when your son's highlight was a museum.  The Whaling Museum on Nantucket is on many lists of  "100 things to see before you die."  Nate is completely enamored with Fresnel lens, used in lighthouses to amplify the light.  He studied a lighthouse on the island that was one of the first in the world to use this type of lens. 

What can I say?  University School is the best.

Where have you been?

I'm embarrassed to see the date of my last post.  Truly I am.  My excuse is that it is baseball season here in Ohio (not that the weather has cooperated).  I have three boys, they all play, and I have anywhere from 6 to 12 "baseball viewing opportunities" each and every week.  Add to that 2 new perennial beds, 10 yards of Sweet Peat to spread, and you have my life these last 8 weeks.

My Vitamin D is in ample supply with all these outdoor pursuits but I have still been working a bit indoors.  These are tape measures that are embellished using recycled wool and vintage buttons.  The petals are hand-cut and then inserted using a proddy tool normally relegated to rug hooking.  I love Craft Crossover.  It's one of the reasons I am constantly trying new things.  You never know when you'll discover some incredibly useful technique.

I'm using these as teacher gifts this year.  The tape measures are the round ones with the push button to retract the tape.  I find them for $1 each at Hobby Lobby.  I cut 4-inch circles of two different wools, make a sandwich, and stitch it up using the zipper foot.  Then I take a scrap and cover the end tab of the tape.  Finally, I sew on the vintage button and proddy the petals, making sure the push button is on the plain side of the work.  Otherwise the button and flower would block the only means of retracting the tape.

I hope you enjoy.  Happy spring!

Yes, yes I can make a purse from this!!

I'm really jazzed with the way this turned out.  The sweater is a cotton-blend with the quilt motif done in intarsia.  I knit the sweater many years ago and wore it quite a bit.  But, I don't wear it any more.  So, how did I do it?  Well, I probably should have taken more pictures, but here's the basic order of events:

1. Carefully take off the sleeves by undoing the seams.  This required excellent light and small sharp scissors.  Cutting any threads of the actual garment would result in an unraveled mess.
2. Undo the side seams so you have flat fabric.
3. I used one sleeve as the back of this bag.  That way I have another sleeve and the back of the sweater to make a second bag.  The sleeve limited the width of the bag but not too much.  The bag is plenty big.
4. I used the ribbing at the bottom of the sleeve for one top edge so no serging was necessary.  But, for the front of the sweater, I'm cutting into actual knit fabric and need to secure the threads.  I carefully marked the horizontal line where the top edge would be and ran an overlock stitch several times along that line.  That way I can cut and it won't unravel.
5. I pinned the sleeve to the front, right sides facing.  Then I sewed a basic trapezoid using an overlock stitch to catch all the threads.  Then I ran a second line of stitching just inside the first for extra insurance.
6. Box the corners and overlock several times through.  Cut out the excess to avoid bulk.
7. Only then did I wash the piece.  I ran it through my delicate cycle just to freshen up the yarn.
8. Line the bag and add the handles.  Here's a shot of the lining:

Just for grins, here is a bag I made from half of a dated poncho, also hand-knit by me.  Both these bags will find happy homes with my son's teachers.  And, I still have half a sweater and half a poncho for additional bags.  I don't have a lot of cotton sweaters in my sweater cabinet.  But, there are a few in there that will be seeing new life in the coming years.  Buy less and make do!!

In praise of small gifts

Every season I make a set of small gifts. Normally, I end up using them for my boys' music teachers, gym teachers, etc. I find I need around 15-20 at the holidays and another set for the end of the school year. I like coming up with a new idea each time and Im proud to have a reputation at the schools for cute gifts.

This year, I'm doing some embellished stretchy gloves. You know those gloves you can get just about anywhere for $1? This year I'm seeing them in stripes and pastels along with the normal black. I bought 4 pair of pink ones for $1 each at Jo-Ann's just this week. BUT, I must tell you I bought 20 pair last February on clearance at Target for 50 cents a pair. What a score! I'm sure they thought I was nuts with my basketful of black gloves. I just knew they'd make the perfect Small Gift.

The photos show what I'm doing with the gloves. I've finished two pair of pink and will be starting on the black ones this weekend. I love penny rugs and I think the pennies add just the right embellishment. I'm listing some of the pairs on my Etsy shop for $10 a pair. http://www.ragingwool.etsy.com/ . Check them out if you're so inclined.

In my next post, I'll talk about the gadget cozies I'm making out of old sweaters. Again, embellished with pennies. Very cute and very economical. Plus, who doesn't want something one-of-a-kind!