Make It Mondays! Mug Mat/Hot Pad Tutorial

I LOVE blog tutorials! They not only teach me; they inspire me. So....I'm starting "Make It Mondays" with a tutorial (as often as possible) on Mondays.

Today's tutorial is for a simple mug mat or hot pad project. It is a stormy, high tide surge day here at the beach cabin, so ocean-y colors came to mind...and a cut of hot chocolate. (At the end of the tutorial, look for my "Heavenly Hot Chocolate" recipe...a 4H group favorite!

Okay, on to the tutorial....
Supplies needed: Recycled felted wool scrap, thinner craft felt scrap (or can use a thinner wool scrap piece), leftover yarn, large eyed needle, straight pin.

Steps:
1. Cut out your wool and felt pieces. I wanted a larger hot pad for this project, so I used a cereal bowl for my circle template.

2. If you want to embellish/embroider your wool felt, do it now. (I just did a simple ocean wave embellishment.)

3. Using a straight pin, pin your two pieces together.

4. Blanket stitch the pieces together with leftover yarn. TIP: If you use a bulky yarn and/or a thick scrap, use a sail, leather or upholstery needle. It will make your job much easier. Use caution with children using these "mega" needles however. I do not recommend using thread or superfine yarn. You will lose your embellishment in the thick felted wool.

5. Do not knot your yarn at the end. Simply weave your yarn end back and forth in your stitches and cut close.

6. For a more polished finished project, use an iron and steam your mug mat/hot pad flat.

Voila! These are a great family project and you can get an early start on Valentine's Day presents!

The final photo is of some of the yarns I dyed yesterday on our 4H dye day. These will be used for future button bag and other recycled wool projects.

Now to the promised Heavenly Hot Chocolate recipe! Disclaimer: Not healthy or low fat, but a delicious special treat!
In a mug, empty one packet of powdered hot chocolate mix.
Add a splash of milk or 1/2 and 1/2 and a spoonful of Nutella.
Fill with hot water and stir well.
Top with a heaping spoonful of marshmallow creme and microwave for 30 seconds (to melt the marshmallow creme.)
EnJOY!

A Glimpse at Projects in Progress....and Completed!

I truly feel like a little bit of me is knit or stitched into each project. Adrianna and I spend a minimum of 15 hours on EACH item, and most items have 20 to 30 hours of handwork. Since these hours are invested over multiple days, it's almost like having a baby born each time a project is completed. (LOL...without the pain of childbirth, but the pride and love of a new creation.) Fellow fiber arts enthusiasts will know what I'm trying to say. :)

Sometimes we transition from one project to another, then back again. I treasure the time spent with Adrianna, choosing the "just right" yarn and buttons, and our chats as we stitch by the fire in the evenings.

We made our first fingerless gloves this past week and have just listed them on our Etsy shop. We also finished up two cashmere scarves. Oh...My...Goodness! The incredible softness and luxury of these scarves. Adrianna said she would just "pet" it all day.

Now on to leg warmers. I'm starting this afternoon on a yummy blue lambswool pair. I believe I'll start with some handstitching embellishment with handspun, hand dyed yarn....

Delivery.....Done!

When we woke up to this scene at our house, we didn't think we would be able to make it down island to take the ferry to the mainland to deliver Merry Mittens. However, in a rare weather twist, it was snowy at the beach, but not in Seattle. After a successful drive and ferry ride, we stopped at Victrola Roasters, our fav coffee shop in the Capitol Hill area and were also able to hand out a few pair of mittens to some very cold senior homeless men.

Snow had started to fall in Seattle and I can't even imagine what it is like to have to sleep outside in such cold, snowy weather. As we then drove downtown, we stopped as we saw a disabled homeless man trying to push a metal walker (with his bare hands in 32 degree temps) across the street. We felt blessed as he quickly put the gloves on and gave us a big smile of thanks! For the next two hours, we visited the Union Gospel Mission and walked around the Pioneer Square area, handing out mittens (filled with toothbrushes, shampoo, soaps, lotions) to those living out in the elements.

We chose to preserve the dignity of those individuals receiving the mittens, so only took pictures of geographical landmarks from the areas where we handed out the mittens. Adrianna and Mikhail helped out and said they were truly moved by this community service project.

If you are reading this blog and live in another cold part of the country, we highly encourage you to start a Merry Mittens Project in your area. It only takes an hour or two to stitch up a pair of woolen mittens from recycled sweater sleeves and wool will keep the hands of the homeless warm, even when the mittens get a bit wet.

Hope you all have a warm, dry and safe week ahead!

Merry Mittens Project Update

Last night we "stuffed" 40+ completed handsewn woolen mittens and a handful of hats, scarves and ear warmers. Today we will drive down to Seattle to deliver these to the homeless. Sub-freezing temperatures and a major snowfall are forecast for mid-week, so this inaugural batch of woolen mittens were finished just in time!

I've also been working on completing the first two cashmere scarves this week. They are totally whipstitched by hand, with handspun, hand-dyed yarn, so each scarf takes two to three days to complete. I'll post pics as soon as they are finished, but right now, we're off to the mainland with Merry Mittens!

First Trio of Button Bags Listed on Etsy!

Over the Christmas weekend, I completed the third button bag. It was so fun creating all of the rosettes with which to adorn the bag. I used a combination of handspun, hand dyed alpaca yarn from Adrianna's alpaca Phidippides, along with hand dyed cotton yarn, for the blanket stitching of the rosettes. Then of course, I got to pick out the "just right" vintage buttons. Since this is a really nice, soft lambswool sweater by designer Alfani, I choose to leave the tag in...just for fun!

Please visit our Etsy store "Spin A Yarn" (from Adrianna's former homeschool entrepreneur storefront project) if you are interested in purchasing one of the Button Bags. DIY kits for the bags and very reasonably priced DIY bags for rosettes will also be listed by New Years.

We will even be scheduling classes for : Button Bag Creation and Three Gifts to Make in One Hour Each. These 1/2 day classes will be at our beach cabin later in January. Tea and cookies included!

Merry Christmas from the Beach Cabin

With the children at their father's house in Canada for Christmas weekend, it has been a time of rest and reflection for me. I feel so blessed to live in this wonderful beach cabin. Yes, really...the view is from my fiber studio window!

After more than a year of not being able to spin fiber (due to my autoimmune arthritis), I oiled up the wheel and spent some lovely time spinning today! The baby blue yarn is from Adrianna's 4H alpaca, which we hand dyed last year. After being made into a 2-ply yarn, it will be luxurious embellishment for a button bag. Maybe a diaper bag for a baby boy?

I'm not totally alone today. Dream, our 6 1/2 year-old "Lassie" collie, is busy supervising (between naps) from her favorite perch on the loveseat.

In between spinning and working on the latest button bag, I've also spent some time organizing more buttons. Aren't they pretty? Within a week, I hope to have DIY button bags posted on Etsy. The DIY kits will include the felted wool sweater purse, ready to be embellished with handspun and/or handdyed yarn (included), instructions, and of course....buttons!

Hope and prayers for a wonderful, relaxing Christmas for all of you. And, please remember to recycle from your holiday celebrations!

Buttons, Buttons, and More !

I'll admit it. I love buttons. These tiny jewels catch my eye, my heart, and my imagination. As I spend hours rummaging through antique shops and secondhand stores for buttons, my mind tries to envision the family stories behind these buttons. I'm often intrigued by the myriad of containers women have used for decades in which to store their spare buttons or their family treasures.

Buttons and recycled fibers just go together...the perfect marriage in my creative mind. The fiber is the canvas and the button and handspun yarn are the paint.

So, I wanted to share with you my new found treasures, acquired in two full days of antique and secondhand store visits. They still need to be lovingly washed and dried by hand to bring out their shine after being buried for many years in dusty drawers.

If one of them (or more) catch YOUR eye, then please contact me to design your custom button bag, made entirely out of recycled fibers and natural materials.

Finally, I am posting a pic of my first ever button and recycled fiber project, mittens I made seven years ago, using a felted wool sweater, some of my early handspun yarn, and yes, buttons. These mittens have served me well, protecting my hands from wood splinters as I have refilled the woodstove bin, keeping me warm as I went on a winter walk, and more.

Please check out this great blog from a sister fiber recycler from the other end of the country:
http://www.resweater.blogspot.com/