Teaching Charity to My Chidren

A couple weeks ago, Griffin, Willow, Grandma R., and I joined Stephaniejo (creator of the Read Me A Blanket Program) to donate the rest of the cat blankets we collected for Rowan's birthday. We had included a couple crochet swatches for the cats to play with. Griffin got to put one in a cage and he was delighted when the cat began batting at her new toy.

We hung out watching the cats for awhile and noticed that most of their "toys" were simply strips of fleece braided together and knotted at each end. When I told Griffin they would be easy to make from stuff we had at home, he was eager to start.

As soon as we got home, he asked his dad to get out my bin of fleece and wool scraps. With a pair of scissors, he started cutting strips and sorting them by size. Then he helped me tie the ends together, and held them while I braided. We made a total of 15 cat toys over the weekend.

Last week, he was excited to deliver the cat toys himself, in memory of his first baby sister Rowan. When we walked in to the Humane Society, there was a large cat sitting in the middle of the lobby. Griffin cautiously approached the cat, took one the toys from the cardboard box he was carrying, and tossed it in front of the cat. He was an older cat and not very playful, but he did show a little interest, sniffing at the new toy.

I am very excited to find a way to include Griffin in the Remembering Rowan Project. As he gets older, I look forward to finding more service projects he can really feel a part of, teaching him to care for people and animals in need, in his community.

30 Completed Projects in 30 Days?

In my quest to concor the UFOs (UnFinished Objects) which have overtaken my craftroom, and open my Etsy Store in the next month, I am trying to finish one crochet project every day in the month of September. So far so good. But if I post the list, I am making more of a comitment to following through.

Some are new projects (like my new obsession with cocoons), some UFOs in various stages of completion. Most of the new projects are using yarn already in my stash, also helping clear the clutter. I will keep adding to this note as the month progresses, let's see if I can reach 30. Wish me luck!

Crochet Projects Completed in September:
1. Teal Granny Square Head Scarf
2. Harvest Cocoon (Inner Hooker Pattern)
3. Blue Chenille Large Baby Cocoon (IH Pattern)
4. Waterfall Fringed Blanket (IH Pattern)
5. Angel White Mohair Cocoon
6. Blue Boucle Cocoon
7. Brown Alpaca Newborn Nest
8. Natural Wool Newborn Nest
9. Gold Felted Doll Crown (may add needle felting)
10. Small Felted Doll Crown (may add needle felting)
11. Scrap Cat Blanket

In My Work Basket:
1. Blue Boucle Hat (UFO)
2. Chemo Cap for 6 year old girl (UFO)
3. Child's Felted Crown (in the washer getting felted)
4. Natural Multicolored Cotton Cocoon
5. Bulky Green Cotton Large Baby Cocoon (IH Pattern plus leaves)

G’s Terrarium & Fairy Garden Update

Before we even started our Fairy Garden, G suggested we make a Terrarium like we had seen on another blog awhile back. A Terrarium is generally a self enclosed little world, but when our neighbor offered us a lovely 5 gallon water jug she had lying around, G had other ideas. His dad was not happy to cut off the top of a jug that would have been perfect for his camping trips, but he did it to create G’s vision. Dad also suggested using the collection of broken toy parts they recently collected around our property, left by the neighbor kid (we like to call him Sid, like from Toy Story). The basil plants I had been meaning to put in the ground all summer make perfect trees for the dinosaurs to roam under and protect the treasure box filled with beads “left by the fairies.”


We also made fairy windchimes (upper right), toadstool caps, and plates we painted and finished with polyurethane to last longer outside. Over the first couple nights, the “fairies” left us a few surprises like tiny silk flowers in the pots we left them, and little white “tables” which G carefully arranged the toadstools around. Our neighbor even got into the act, and hung some strands of beads on the tree. G came in that afternoon saying, “I love checking to see what the fairies bring us for our garden!“

Young Entreprenuer - "Griffin's Goodies"

We started making more of the stitch markers this week to thank those who completed the 7 in 7 challenge making at least 7 Cat Blankets in 7 days. When Griffin found the earring hooks, he decided to start making sets earrings. Then he moved on to beaded key chains and bracelets. He did the designing and beading, and I just pinched the wires and tied knots in elastic.


He decided that we should put them in a box and go around the neighborhood "knocking on the doors of people we know" to see if they want any of his wares. He brought me a scrap of paper to make a sign reading "Griffin's Goodies" that he taped on the top of his box and hit the streets.


At each house he asked people if they wanted anything. Mostly he just gave them away. But those who asked if he was selling them were told, "The bracelets are one dollar, the earrings are two dollars, and the keyrings are zero dollars." Though I think the last one changed depending on if people said they did not have money at the time.


I told him he could save any money he made, or we could take it to the bead store and he could pick out his own beads instead of using whatever I have on hand. He was excited about going to the bead store, and has been asking to make more things to put in his box for the past two days. Maybe we will come knocking on your door next...

Ribbon Rings

My neighbor frequently has her three nieces over for long visits, and she quickly runs out of activities to keep them busy. Apparently they have taken to asking if they can come to my house (at 8am in the morning), so I have been trying to come up with crafts for them.


I saw these awhile back on Make and Takes. I already had plenty of ribbon, and recently picked up a couple dozen shower curtain rings at the $Store for a Ribbon Crafting Playdate. But 14 moms with 1-3 kids each (mostly 3 and under) never got around to making the Rings, though we did manage to make a few No Slip Hair Clips that day.


So the other day I invited the girls and my best friend’s daughter over to make Ribbon Rings. With four kids and a baby on my back, I helped them pick several colors of ribbon, cut them to about 4 feet, and helped them tie the ribbons onto the shower curtain rings. Then I trimmed the bottoms so they were more or less the same length, and let the kids run off with them to play with them in the garden.


To use up the short left over scraps, we tied them to stretchy hair ties to make little toys for the babies. We even heat set the ends so they will not fray when they inevitably end up in the mouth. The Ribbon Rings are a lot of fun. But if you are not feeling crafty, you can pick up something similar, with much nicer wooden rings, from my friend over at Green Baboon Designs on Etsy.

Angels & Dragonflies

Angels, Butterflies, and Dragonflies have taken on a special meaning for me in the past 2 years. They are thought to represent the souls of those children that leave us too soon. Griffin watches for them when we are working on our garden, or riding in the car. He keeps telling me, "Mommy! There's a little white butterfly. Do you see it?" I do not always see them...

When I was looking for little "Thank You" gifts to give to everyone who has helped with our Blanket Project before the first donation, I looked for something that included those symbols. I found some lovely little handmade paper boxes, so I decided I needed something to fit in them. I know, finding something to fit into a specific box is totally backwards, but they are really cute boxes! I even wrote the recipient's name on top, and "Thank You" on the inside, with my "calligraphy" pens (cheater scrapbooking pens that look like calligraphy) and tied them with a ribbon.

After much thought, I remembered I had seen kits for Angel Earrings, and they happened to be on sale after Christmas. I thought they would make lovely Stitch Markers for all of the crocheters and knitters by simply replacing the earring hook with a lobster clasp. I found some extra green skirt and wing beads to mix with the white ones from the kits. I wanted to include green beads in each one, as Peridot is Rowan's birthstone.

Griffin helped me make them all. It was a great activity for practicing pattern recognition once he learned the order of the beads: skirt, wings, head, halo. Then I just bent the wires to finish them up. We also made Hemp Bookmarks for the non-crocheters who helped in other ways, with a Dragonfly on one end and an appropriate Word Charm on the other (Believe, Inspire, Hope, Love, Friend...).