A Thoughtful Gift You Can Make

Recently my friend Linda and I were talking about crocheting (which we both do) and she was hunting for her crochet hook (which we all do), so I decided I would make her a crochet hook caddy so she would be able to find her crochet hooks whenever she needed them.  I am also making one for myself because I am always hunting for just the hook I need and they are everywhere - in boxes, in my bag of yarn, in my paint brush caddy - yes, I know, go figure.  It's worse than trying to find my cell phone.

I asked Linda what her favorite colors were and she told me yellow and lavender.  I also happen to know that she loves all things "beach" because she spends time with her sister at her beach house.  We talk about craft projects and things she can make with shells from time to time and she does a fabulous job.  So, my little surprise project was under way.

Linda and I go WAAAAAY back to high school.  We are both Bosse Bulldogs, class of 1966.  Yes, you read that right.  We are both grandmas, but we are still young in spirit.  Linda lives in Texas and I live in Tennessee.  When our oldest daughter was living in Dallas, I would get to see Linda for a lunch when we visited Holly and her family.  Now, Holly lives in Tennessee and I don't get to see Linda as often as I did.  But, we do talk online and on the phone and hopefully, she is coming to visit next year.  Yeehaa, as they would say in Texas.  Boy, are we going to have some fun.  Anyway, I am getting totally off the subject.  Today is Linda's birthday, and I wanted to feature this little project I made for her.

Even if you are not the world's best seamstress, you can make one of these.  It is just simple machine sewing and is really not hard.  I just made it up as I went.  You will need 3 fat quarters in your favorite colors (or fabric scraps if you have them) and a 9 x 12 piece of felt and some ribbon.  That's it.   I can hear you asking why I used felt.  Simple.  Because I wanted the caddy to have more body and it would enhance the quilted look I planned to use to finish the caddy.  

I tried to find some "beach" fabric here in Tennessee, but had absolutely no luck, so I went with stars which are my favorite and very symbolic of Texas.  The inside pieces looks like water color swirls in yellow and lavender.

Here is how I started out.  Fat quarters are 18 x 21 inches.  I laid the two yellow pieces with the right sides facing.  I then placed the felt piece 1/2 in from the top and left edges of the fabric and cut the right and bottom seams 1/2 from the edge of the felt.

Pin the felt to the wrong side of the cotton fabric and stitch just inside the edge of the felt, leaving about a 4 or 5 inch opening in the bottom so you can turn the piece.  I used clear nylon thread so I didn't have to keep changing colors.  

Trim the corners at an angle so you will have nice points when you turn this piece.

Now, turn the piece right side out.  Turn the unstitched opening to match the rest of the seam line, press, and stitch shut on the right side of the fabric.

Now, you are going to cut the pocket that will hold the crochet hooks.  Lay your "pocket" fabric (which was the lavender in my case) at least 1/2 way up from the bottom of the piece you just finished. Allow 1/2 inch seam allowance on the top, bottom, and both sides and cut a rectangle from the fabric.  Fold each seam allowance under 1/4 inch two times so you will not have any raw edges.  Press.

Stitch the top edge of the rectangle all the way across.  Turn and pin to what will be the inside of your hook caddy.  Stitch down one side, across the bottom and back up the other side.  Now, take your smallest hood and place it inside the pocket next to the left seam.  Measure, allowing enough room to slide the hook in easily.  Mark the seam with a disappearing sewing marker if needed.  I just free stitched mine.  On the right hand side, place your biggest hook and do the same thing.  Now, make several small pockets on the left, more medium sized pockets in the middle (because most of us use yard hooks which are medium sized) and then allow a couple of large pockets for big hooks like a P or a Q on the right side.  Stitch each seam from the top of the pocket to the bottom, sewing in a straight line.  This gives you a really nice quilted effect on the inside and outside of the caddy.  

Cut two 12 inch pieces of ribbon and sew them to the right side of the caddy just above the pocket.

Roll your caddy from the left to the right and tie one piece of the ribbon around the outside of the closed caddy and tie a bow using the remaining ribbon.  You will probably have to trim your ribbon so it with be the same length when tied.  Ta da!  You are finished.  Now, you can organize all your crochet hooks easily and keep them in one place.  You can carry them with you in your purse or project bag and they are easily at hand when needed.  

Linda said she was going to take hers to the beach so she could work on projects while relaxing.  That was my hope when I made this.  Now, I have to get busy and finish mine.  Crochet hooks are calling.

This project is quick and easy.  You could also use the same process and make crayon or colored pencil carriers for your grandchildren.  I always try to have crayons with me when we go out to eat just in case the restaurant doesn't have them.  Your children would love you for this thoughtful gift.  And, if you start now you can have a bunch of these made in time for Christmas.  All those crafters and kids in your life will be so grateful for such a thoughtful gift that can be personalized individually.  

Happy Birthday Linda.  Hope your day was great and that you are enjoying your crochet hook caddy!  Now,  everybody get busy and give this project a try.  

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Every gift from a friend is a wish for your happiness.

Richard Bach

Spring Banner Made With Kites

What are the things that take you back to your childhood in springtime?  For me, it's jump ropes, hula hoops, jacks, roller skates, marbles, bubbles, pin wheels and kites.  Remember playing on the playground at recess when you could bring your jump rope to school?  Everyone lined up waiting their turn to enter the rope being turned by two playmates, chanting all the rhymes.  "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn around.  Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, touch the ground."  I have spent hours untold jumping rope.   I have probably roller skated around the world - twice.  Hours were spent mastering the hula hoop and all the tricks that could be done with it.  Those were the days when you spent every possible moment playing outside.  There were no video games, we made up our own games.  We didn't spend all our time in a car going from this team to that lesson to another team.  We played whiffle ball and kick the can in our back yards until dark.  We caught fireflies and headed home when we were called.  I have to say, those were some awesome days.

One of the things I loved to do most in the springtime on a nice windy day was to fly a kite.  When I was a child you could buy a paper kite for a dime and a ball of string for a dime.  That twenty cents could make for an entertaining day.  All you needed was a good brisk breeze which didn't cost anything.  There is something so amazing about watching a kite lift into the air with it's beautiful tail swaying in the wind, sailing above the ground tethered to the earth by only one thin line and you acting as the anchor.  Letting the string out so it could go higher, pulling it back in to keep it from spinning out of control.  Beware of kite eating trees!

A kite can be a simple diamond shape made from paper, two sticks, a tail and a string.  That's it.  And yet, that simple paper kite can soar with eagles.  Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to do that?  Soaring above the earth on a beautiful spring day, going where the wind would take you in the glorious sunshine, floating in the breeze, letting your mind drift - if only.  No, we are the one holding the string on the ground, but that is okay.  We can imagine the glory of sailing like that kite.

I wanted to make a spring banner for my mantle, so I bought four "fat quarters" in colors that I liked together.  When I sat down to make it, I realized I didn't want pennants, I wanted kites.  Nothing is more representational of spring to me than kites.  So I made a pattern and cut out kite shapes.  They are 6 inches long and 5 inches wide, cut in a diamond shape.  Then, I put ModPodge on the front and let it dry, then on the back and let it dry.  This gave it some body.

Now a diamond shaped kite has to have cross braces made of some kind of thin wood.  To represent that I used some silk cording I had bought for jewelry making.  I drew perpendicular lines with a pencil to make it easier to follow.  I used hot glue to place the cording.

As a crafter, I have all kinds of supplies on hand and I was very fortunate that this cording worked very well with my fabric.  I ran a bead of hot glue down the vertical line and placed a piece of cord on the glue and then did the same with the horizontal line.

Diamond shaped kites have a tail to keep them stable when flying.  The tail is string with fabric or rags tied on it.  I didn't want to use string because it would be too limp.  I wanted to be able to "shape" the kite and the tale, so I found some 20 gauge wire that I had from Lowe's.  Perfect.  I cut 12 inch pieces, one for each kite.

I used my needle nose pliers to twist the ends into curly cues like this.

I made two turns on each end.  That way I would be able to hang one end on the rope I used on the mantle and the other end would be long enough to make the tail.  I then ran a bead of hot glue down the back of the kite and hung the kite on the wire using the top curly cue.

To make the ties on the tail,  I used different colored ribbon that I already had and cut 1 inch pieces of it, 5 pieces for each tail.  I put a little dot of hot glue in the middle of each piece and pinched it together to make it look like a bow.  I held it until it dried and then hot glued each piece to the wire.  Love the way they look!

After I made 9 kites for the mantle, I placed them on a piece of lavender colored nylon rope that I had and hung the kites on it, spacing them out until I was happy with the look.  I hooked the end of the top curly cue through the rope so it wouldn't move, then bent the kites in different directions to make them look like they were flying in the wind.

Next, I cut 6 inch strips of the fabric used to make the kites and tied them on the line in a random pattern so they looked like the tail of a kite.

Oh, they make me so happy!  They say springtime and childhood memories and the joy of a perfect spring day.  If you look closely, you will see the paper pinwheels I made also.  We'll talk about those later!

Now, I want to go buy kites for all our grandsons and take them out to an open field and spend the splendor of a perfect spring day with them flying kites.   That would be quite a memory.  


Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Imagination is the highest kite one can fly!  Lauren Bacall