I started a pair of knitted cuffs yesterday for a gift for a family member. These look something like a sock top, and are meant to cover that cold space when a coat sleeve is too short, but you don't want to wear gloves. They are also called wrist warmers. These have really pretty colors of cream, spruce green, light green, pink and lavender, worked within a scalloped knit pattern. It's a challenge working with that many colors at once, and working with a lace type pattern at the same time. These would be pretty over the cuffs of a long sleeve cuff too.  

Edey

Since I've been doing crafts with my MIL over the last month or so, I realized how much I've enjoyed it! And miss it!! In the last 4 weeks, working only 1 day per week, I've managed to handpaint 28 Christmas ornaments for a craft show on the 7th. The kids and I also have made beaded holiday pins, and various ornaments using kits from Oriental Trading. They are very excited about making their own crafts to sell at Grandma's craft show next weekend. I've also been sewing Christmas fabric gift bags. I am a very novice sewer, but I'm having a great time. My MIL and I are thinking about taking a beginner's quilting class so we can use up a lot of our scraps of material. I've also been saving Brian's old flannel shirts. Someday I hope to make a couple very simple baby blankets from them, and save them for when Sarah & Andy have babies.

I'm going to make each of the kids no sew blankets; Sarah will be Michigan colors, and Andy's will be Ohio State. lol I actually got some really nice Michigan fleece, but OSU won't release their license, so Andy's will only be scarlet & grey. I'm also hoping to have enough of the fleece leftover to make them each a matching throw pillow.

Eyrehead, you are getting me thinking about doing crafts with my mil. she loves crafts but since the kids are around I don't really do them.  They just get in the way even when I give them something to do.  Well ds for sure. 

I should do some crafts that have been kicking around here with her when ds is in kindergarten. 

I finished niece's pillow.  One side is light pink, dark pink, and black with silver yarn done in double crochet.  The other is two strands of the dark pink and one strand of light pink also in double crochet.  Then I used light pink eyelash yarn to sew the front and back together about one inch in from the edges.  It's stuffed with a garage sale pillow (50¢ as opposed to an $8 pillow form from the craft store).

It looked very busy when the two sides were laid side by side but now that it's together, it look pretty good!

I will say this--I'll be glad when I'm doen with the dark/hot pink yarn!  I got it on close out for 75¢ a skein and bought 6 of them.  So far I've made a granny square afghan for 4 yr old niece, the pillow for the 10 yr old niece, a cell phone case for my BFF, and a pot holder.  I'm getting really, really tired of pink!

re-tired  

I have to say I am still not happy with the slipper design.  I'm going to have to teach myself to crochet in the round so that I can change designs.  I guess I'll make a can cozy or two to teach myself.

re-tired

I love hearing everyone's craft ideas!

 Several months ago I was able to get a couple bags of miscellaneous craft material from a freecycler nearby - so I'm going to be cross-stitching some towels that were in that lot, and making some stocking-shaped cross-stitch ornaments that I'll back with felt from that lot as well. I usually knit socks for family members, but everyone has a couple pairs already so maybe I'll take a year off from that.

 One project I have done for the last two years is glass beaded ornament hangers. They are made using 18 gage floral wire and glass beeds that fit over the wire. So far everyone I have given these too has really liked them and they are so easy and cheap to make. I usually use a lot of silver beads to give them extra sparkle. My dd has taken to helping me make them now and she loves doing it. I figured the cost for making each one at less than 20 cents a piece, depending on the cost of the beads and.

Another thing I like to make is beautiful little stitch markers for knitting and crochet. Same concept, only using larger jump rings as the base and sometimes premaid charms to add a little more interest. I don't really have enough knitters to make them for, but I love making them just the same.

Another glass bead project is making wine glass stem markers. Each one is made differently so that when you are in a crowd of people drinking form long stem glasses, you can still identify which one belongs to you. The craft stores, especially Walmart and Hobby Lobby has the ring already formed and you just add the beading. I made a set for my step son and his wife last year and they seemed to like them.

My final glass bead projects are making long, dangly ear rings. I have actually had people ask me to make them for gifts to other people and pay me to do it. It's just a hobby, but I have been able to make a few beautiful pairs that I see friends wearing ocassionally. 

There's other stuff I do too, but these have been my best gifts so far.

Currently I am knitting up small gift card holders to hold the GCs for my grand kids. I can't afford much this year,but always like to have something handmade for them too. The little holders should be big enough to double as a coin purse on a strap that could be worn to the mall and concealed well. I intend to line these holder with scraps of material that I have lying around the house. I am also supposing they could double as cell phone holder as well. What teen would be caught without their cell phone these days and I don't know about your teens but my dd likes to ravel light when she goes to the mall.

I am joping to make some family jar gift mixes this year as well. I found a recipe for pumpkin butter that I might try making for my brother that likes pumpkin. I also have a brother that likes apple butter. So am hooping to flirt with these items as well...

If I have time I would like to try and knit my dd a sweater for Christmas, but it would have to be done in larger gage with larger needles. I have an idea for a sweater, involving a favorite character of hers, but not sure I know how to transfer the design to the actual sweater yet.

as usualy I have a lot of ideas floating around in my head, but just don't know how to make them come to fruition... :-(...but I have been happy with the beaded projects so far...

Kathy

kabin:

Another thing I like to make is beautiful little stitch markers for knitting and crochet. Same concept, only using larger jump rings as the base and sometimes premaid charms to add a little more interest.

I love these!  I made several of the myself using Swarovski beads just for the luxury of it. They were so simple to make.  I also made counting chains - similar concept but linking several jump rings together with beads in between. I make them with different numbers of jump rings; they are great for counting row repeats in a knitted pattern, or for counting rows in between decrease or increase rows. 

Edey

Can you tell me how you make stitch markers?  I'd love to make some for my mom and aunts!  (and maybe me...)

hello timezagin do website can i get from denim sling purses my 12year old niece would love one of those thanks...                        sissy