The next two weeks are non stop busy. Time to put away the crafts and focus on what's important, right? Well, for me, crafting is important. And the busier I am with life, the more important crafting becomes. It's how I find balance. It gives me serenity.

That is why, at the beginning of my week, with enough on my plate to sate an elephant, I decided to make 1 more shower gift for the Little Lady. Meet Baby Doll. (Name to be given someday by her mommy!) Her body was knit from merino wool and her hair is a combination of organic cotton and bamboo. Her little sleeper was made from organic cotton flannel. She is so soft and cuddly. I know that someday the Little Lady will love her dearly :)

I don't have time to share the pattern right now, but I did want to share the Baby Doll before she left for her new home on Saturday. The doll was made using our Basic Knit Doll pattern with a few changes. I knit it in the round instead of flat, I added hair, and a face. I also made a very soft little sweet-pea sleeper. I'll be sharing the directions soon.
 
Just a note... in the past, whenever I've crafted toys, they have always been for Michelle's children. For the past several weeks, Bug, Fairy and Pixie have been watching me create things, then put them away for the Little Lady. Although they totally understand the logic behind this, it is a little difficult sharing my creations. Both girls fell in love with Baby Doll. Although they know this one is being given away, they have both made requests for dolls for their fall birthdays.

"No problem", I tell them. "What color should I make the hair?"

This is a project we tried last summer and was originally post on July 3, 2009 at Nature's Way Learning. It was a good first attempt and is definitely something I want to re-visit again this summer. This time I will be limiting our colors to only primary colors so they blend nicer (our orange and blue last year turned brown and purple with the kids over zealous dipping). I will also be purchasing some squirt bottles to give us more control over the dyes. I will post again when we make our second attempt.

This is a project I have wanted to do with the kids for awhile now... a great summer project. My nephew's birthday was last week and we will be seeing his family for the first time in a long time at a wedding next week. The kids have already picked out a gift for their cousin but I wanted to give him something homemade too... something the kids could make for him. Sooo... Bug and I decide that the t-shirts would be cool.

This was our first attempt but the kids have already been asking to do it again. I'm sure we will get better at it... of course the big mistake was on my part. I had too many colors to pick from for the first try. The kids wanted to use all the colors and like an Easter egg that has been dipped in every color (if you have ever dyed Easter eggs with a two year old I'm sure you know what I'm talking about) the shirts started to take on that mucky brown/purple color.

We started with washed but damp 100% cotton shirts, Dylon brand permanent dyes, salt, rubber bands and containers. The Dylon brand dyes are reactive with salt and warm tap water (safer for the kids with no boiling water... of course don't eat it or get it in your eyes). You will probably want gloves... but I didn't have any. I think I need a manicure before the wedding ;). The kids were dressed in their swim suits and old t-shirts.

Then off course comes the tying part. Bug was able to do this part on his own but the girls needed help. They would pinch off the fabric they wanted tyed and I put the rubber band on for them.

After the shirts were tied I prepared the dyes. I followed the directions on the packet, which included I believe (I didn't save a packet to look at) 4 TB of salt, 4 cups warm water and the dye. A quick dip was enough to get light colors. Had we only used one color... thorough soaking would have led to much brighter colors. The dye colors mix like they should... red and blue will make purple.

Then we rinsed the shirts until the water ran clear (I actually did this part... the kids held the hose for me).

It was very exciting when we took the rubber bands off. Of course the kids didn't totally understand what was supposed to happen and they eagerly awaited each shirts unveiling. I rinsed them again and then hung them to dry in the shade.

NOTE: Everyone is welcome to participate in this Give Away. We will gladly send a basket anywhere in the World :)

A couple of weeks ago on Facebook, I mentioned that I have recently fell in love with bolga baskets. I included a link showing how they were made. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDKTj2z9pmA Authentic bolga baskets come from the small village of Bolgatanga, Ghana and continue to be made by hand, making each and every basket slightly different.


As it turned out, there was a lot of chatter about the baskets. Some readers were already proud owners of a bolga basket and sang their praises. Others, like myself, just drool over them and don't own one themselves... yet! After a few days, and several emails with questions about them, I had an idea... a perfectly brilliant idea, I might add.


I contacted the lovely Sonya over at A Toy Garden because I know she carries bolga baskets. I told her about the wonderful response to my post, and asked her if she would be interested in hosting a bolga basket give away. She said, yes... YAY Sonya! She sent not one, but two baskets that we have to give away. There is a small Child's Bolga basket and a large Child’s Bolga Basket. (The Large baskets are 9" or more in diameter. The Medium baskets are 7 1/2" - 9" in diameter. The Small baskets are 6 1/2" - 7 1/2" in diameter.) BTW... she also carries a medium size, a large size, and an oval market basket. These are all much larger than the children's baskets. The oval market basket is a great size for actually taking to market instead of using disposal bags or for stashing your knitting and craft projects in! The children's baskets are her best sellers and children use them for play and for lunch baskets. But don't let the name "child" fool you. They are absolutely beautiful and would make a nice addition to any family... even those without small children!


As a way of saying "Thanks bunches" to Sonya, I'd like everyone to think about the wee ones in their life be it child, grandchild, or even neighbor. Then decide on 1 gift you would buy if price were no object. I'll start us off. I believe in making the ordinary, extraordinary. (That's why I have 314 napkins :) I am in love with A Toy Garden's Rainbow Salad Bowl Set. If you have a child that normally won't eat salad, put it in these beautiful bowls, and they just might have a change of heart!

To enter the contest, head over to A Toy Garden and find the perfect gift. Then, come back here and leave a comment telling us what you would purchase. If you would like to increase your chances of winning then Blog, Facebook or Tweet about us. Then, come back here and leave a separate comment for each additional time you spread the word. Make sure to include a link to your postings. 

The contest ends Sunday, August 1 at 9 EST when two winners will be chosen at random. Winners will be announced shortly afterward and contacted via email. Winners will have 1 week (August 8) to send us their snail mail address for shipping or a new winner will be selected. 

A big thanks to Sonya at A Toy Garden. This is an absolutely lovely give-away. And good luck to one and all. Uhmmm... I do wish to point out that I have these 2 beautiful bolga baskets sitting on my hutch right now... the very baskets that I was drooling over a mere 2 weeks ago... that I am going to need to pack up in a week and ship to 2 lucky winners! If I'm a bit "mopey" on Monday, you'll know why :)

Song of a Scarf: Quick Bias Scarf Pattern
Size 11 Needles
Gauge not important
Yarn 1 Skein - Mine was hand spun and varied a lot in weight... basically this is a great pattern use funky yarns with... very forgiving.

Cast on 17 sts
Row 1: KFB, K14, K2T
Row 2: K
Repeat rows 1 & 2 until you reach your desired length.

My souvenir from Vermont was splurging on this skein of hand-dyed cotton yarn. I have animal fiber allergies and am so envious of all the dazzling wools others can wear. I don't normally run across specialty cotton yarns and fell in love with this dreamy skein of yarn in the soft blues and violets. But now here is the question... what shall I make. This is a just for me... I actually get to keep it project. It is about 550 yards worsted weight. I would love to hear some of your ideas.

Remember that pinwheel quilt I started before my vacation. I didn't forget... as promised here is the second part of the tutorial. Now that you have complete Part One of this tutorial, you should have your 17 pinwheel blocks completed and 18 6" print blocks cut out.

Layout your block into rows as follows...
3 rows (A) with Pinwheel, Block, Pinwheel, Block, Pinwheel
4 rows (B) with Block, Pinwheel, Block, Pinwheel, Block

Sew your blocks together into rows and iron the seams.

Pin your rows together in the following pattern... B, A, B, A, B, A, B.
Sew your rows together and iron the seams.

Cut out your border. You will need 4 4x42" strips. Your strips will be longer than you need. I always like to leave my border longer and trim them after I sew them on.

Sew the borders onto the long sides of your quilt block. Iron your seams and trim the borders even with the top/bottom edges of your quilt.

Sew the borders onto the wide sides of your quilt block. Iron your seams and trim the borders even with the sides edges of your quilt.

Now you need to cut out a piece of batting to fit with your quilt top. Trim up your yard of backing fabric to fit as well. Layer your pieces batting, backing right side up, quilt top face down. Pin and sew leaving a 5" gap. I like to use a 1/2" seam allowance when sewing the quilt layers together.

Turn, iron the edges and then sew the gap closed by hand.

Now it is time to tie your quilt. Use two full strands of embrodery floss in cordinating colors to tie your quilt in the middle of each pinwheel and print block. I tie 3 knots and then trim the thread to be about 1/2" long.

Enjoy your Playful Pinwheel Quilt.

We just got back from our annual trip to Vermont. Just thought I would share a few of our 'Moments in Time' with everyone. We had a wonderful time and the kids are already plotting our adventures for next year. I hope everyone else is having a wonderful summer as well.

I must admit we ate a lot of ice cream (truly a lot of ice cream). It is impossible not to when the Ben and Jerry's factory is just down the road. We tried lots of different flavors... some old time favs like Chunky Monkey, Cherry Garcia and Phish Food and added a few new must haves to our list including Americone Dreams and Peanut Brittle. YUM! I think Peanut Brittle might be my current fav. Out of curiosity what's your favorite B&J?

BTW - You might be asking yourself... do those cows look familiar? Ben and Jerry's factory was indeed the inspiration for Gammy's playroom.

Several months ago we received an email from Michelle at Will Knit For Food. She asked for permission to use our Basic Knit Doll Pattern to create dolls to send to a village in Africa were her sister Hallie was volunteering this summer.

Our answer... a resounding YES! We did ask her, however, to share pics with us, especially photos of the dolls in their new home. Last week we received the photos you see in this post. Michelle also shared a little bit about her sister's experience.

 

Hallie is a student at Northern Illinois University. She is in her final semester of nursing; she was able to join the group she traveled with as medical assistance. The group she traveled with are engineering students who are working with "Engineers without Borders". This is the second year the school has taken a group to do work. They are committed to four years of work, so they will be going back to continue improvements for the community. This year, the team installed solar panels and lighting fixtures into the school buildings at their site in Tanzania. Last year, they built a dormitory for the school.

I learned so many things from talking with Hallie about her experience, i.e. most people do not have access to running water or electricity. And, children who attend school are required to purchase a uniform in order to do so; if they can't afford a uniform, they are not allowed to attend.

The professor who oversees the project is an African native, and he and his wife have started work on a separate, independently funded project to build a school and dormitory for children who cannot afford to attend traditional school and/or who are orphaned.

To learn more about Hallie's experience, read Michelle's post Out of Africa.

Here are all of the dolls that found new homes in Tanzania.

At Wee Folk Art we share our crafts in hopes of promoting global goodwill and friendship. NOTHING delights us more than receiving comments and emails that readers share with us on how they have used our projects to bring joy to others. As you can well imagine, to see our dolls being loved by children so far away, validates what we do here. We hope you find this as inspiring as we did. Thank you, Michelle!

I bought this cabinet over ten years ago to hold my ever expanding collection of music cds. Designed for that purpose, it served me well. Then, in the past few years, I started buying my music online and was going to the cabinet less and less. Finally, I moved the collection downstairs and began using the cabinet for napkins. It was in my dining room and the shelves were the perfect size for napkins. I had a few stacks of homespun napkins and stored votive candles in there as well.

Then, last summer, I decided I wanted napkins for each month of the year. I made my own using the easy Rip and Tear Napkins that I wrote about last August. So here I am, 1 year later, and I did it! I now have 24 napkins for each month of the year. (Actually, I have 48 for December since we have a large Christmas dinner.) Before you start taxing your brain, that is 312 napkins. Crazy, right? Given the fact that you can get 4 napkins from a yard of material (let's see... 312 divided by 4)  that's, gulp, 78 yards of fabric!

Me: Ah, Tim... we have 312 napkins.

Tim: I love you.

 Me: You must.

But, in my defense, the children LOVE them! They are excited each month to get out the new napkins. Some months, like March and August, all the napkins are the same. Some months have 2 prints, some 3 and April and December have 4. Each day the wee ones try to be the first to get out napkins so they are sure to get their favorite pattern. (BTW... Gammy is very tolerant of napkin exchanges so everyone gets a favorite!) I have to admit, even though I bought all of the fabrics on sale or with coupons, it was an expense, BUT, they will last for years and years. 

I'm not suggesting any one else should get so carried away... BUT if you do... it's tons of fun, and I love leaving the cabinet door open and just staring at them! 

January:

February:

March:  

April:

May:

June:

July:

August:

September:

October:

November:

December: