For the Nurses

I know it might be hard to tell from the photo but these are 20 headbands made from jersey fabric to be used by our local nurses as ear savers.  The buttons go right behind the ears and the elastics from their masks can be hooked on the buttons.  Information about the headbands can be found here.

This was an interesting project because I had never worked with jersey before.  It's challenging because of the the stretch. That's why I needed to use the zigzag stitch.   The fabric was intended to be used as a summer maxi dress for me but since the goal was to practice using jersey, this seemed like a better use of the fabric.

The buttons make me smile.  While each headband has different buttons, they do match on the headbands themselves.  I took some from my grandma's button collection, some from my mom's friend's collection and some from my classroom collection.

Grateful

I am really grateful that I was able to make these masks.  These twenty are the result of a donation of needles I was given.  I had run out of sewing needles and placed three different orders from three different locations on Easter Sunday.  None of the orders have arrived yet.  I had my brother put a call out on Facebook and thankfully two women came to my rescue.  I was especially grateful because one also gave me a large cone of white thread.  Every white threaded tie after this picture is going to be thanks to my new cone of thread.  The lamb fabric was also donated.  Aren't they cheery?   The purple fabric was given to me by my cousin and the green fabric was in my stash.  It's actually a Christmas one that says "Joy to the World" but you only really notice the gold musical notes.

If you are interested in the story of the mask making or want links for the pattern, they can be found in my earlier post here.

Masks Upon Masks

Be careful what you wish for!  I've been saying for months that I wanted to get better at sewing as soon as my coursework is finished.  Well, I was to finish my last course for my diploma on April 6th. On April 5th, a coworker asked me to make some masks for Canada Sews, a grassroots organization that is making masks for frontline workers who are short of PPE (personal protection equipment).  My coworker is heading the Vancouver/Lower Mainland branch and knows that I am crafty.  I thought I was agreeing to make a couple masks.  No, the minimum donation is 20 masks.  Okay, I can figure this out.  Please remember that before this started, I struggled to thread my machine and sew in a straight line.  I've now completed 100 masks.  I forgot to take pictures of the first 30 and was kicking myself.  This is the second set of forty masks.  We are using a pocket mask so that wearers can add their own filter.  The pattern can be found here.  I started with making ties because elastic could not be found in Canada but after lots of reviews, I am continuing with ties.  Many of the elastics are not holding up to being washed.  I am pretty picky with my materials.  Everything is 100% cotton, including the thread so that they can go through industrial washing machines and even go through an autoclave if necessary.  My mom worked in an OR in her twenties and used to be in charge of cleaning and picking sets and running the autoclave so she was very helpful in letting me know some of the dos and don's.  Who knows if we will have to go back to that style of cleaning instead of disposable with the way the supply chains are going.

Butterfly Memories

Unfortunately, I needed a sympathy card.  I'm hoping this is the only one I will need for a while.  Our area has been very good about "flattening the curve".  I've been at home for three weeks now and have only gone out once for work.

This card was inspired by MFT's sketch 441.  Everything on the card came from my scrap pile.  The stamp was left over on my desk from my having to make 12 sympathy cards earlier in the spring.  The foiled paper was actually white, I had added Iced Spruce Distress Oxide to it months ago and hadn't used it.  I love the white foiled paper for it's flexibility that way.

A Little Thanks Amidst the Crazy

I'm hoping everyone is staying safe and healthy amid all the craziness right now.  I'm on spring break but it looks like students will be off indefinitely.  I am told I will be working but I don't know what that will look like after spring break.

Needless to say, crafting is a relaxing way to spend a bit of the day.  I started pulling out items from the bottom drawer of my craft cupboard.  It has all my saved images from cards, images my kids have previously coloured and items that were pre-stamped.  I found a bunch of items that my kids coloured ages ago and probably wish I'd lost.

I like the cheery colours and a thank you card is a nice focus rather than the doom and gloom going on.  Hopefully my kids will decide to do some colouring with me over the next few days but at least 'til then they are doing some yard work.

Challenges:

Dream Valley Challenges - One for the Boys (Since one of my boys coloured it, they will get to use the card)

Make My Monday - Something Tropical

Crafty Animals

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge - March 2020

Inkspirational - Animals

Perfectly Panda

I had fun with the Sketch Saturday Challenge this week and since it helped me to use 3 different patterned papers, my New Years' goal for the year, I decided to give it a second shot.  (If you didn't see my first card, you can see it here).  I used the same stamps and the same layout.  I love how changing the papers gave it a completely different feel.  This green and pink layout was my favourite one - it just seemed a bit cleaner.

The card is going to one of my students as a Valentine's Day thank you.  They really do enjoy getting happy mail and I really do believe that if I want them to learn about the importance of being gracious, it needs to be modelled.

Challenges:
Sketch Saturday
2 Crafty Critter Crazies
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge - February
Brown Sugar - Anything Goes
Cut it Up - Love is in the Air

Valentines' Thanks

I needed some thank you cards for my students who were so generous at Valentine's Day.  They get so excited when they get mail at home.

I am trying to use some of my stamps that haven't seen love recently.  I don't think I've ever used this panda.  I liked how this one reinforced the Valentine's theme and helped me to use some of the papers that have been in my stash since before my children were born.  Let's just say they aren't little anymore! I find using patterned patter challenging and it is my New Years' goal to bust some of that patterned paper stash.

Challenges:
Sketch Saturday
2 Crafty Critter Crazies
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge - February
Brown Sugar - Anything Goes
Cut it Up - Love is in the Air
Use Your Stuff - Circles