The Mitten Experience/This project is now closed.

  Aloha my friends. I have much to share with you regarding the Mittens for Miyagi Japan Relief Project. In the beginning I truly did not know what to expect. I had a desire to help and a small idea on how to do so.  
That was about it...and so I began. 

    I bought 6 yards of fleece, elastic and thread and I began to sew. I had an idea to ask a dear friend who served a mission in Japan if she had any way of knowing where I might send these mittens. She did some calling for me and found an address in which the LDS Japan wards were sending their donations. Then somehow her email was forwarded to a couple missionary in Japan that replied to her saying that the children could really use some mittens. 

    With that I found even more of a purpose to sew. My friend was the first to donate more fabric. Then another friend wanted to donate fabric and sew her mittens. Then other friends and family members wanted to help and donated also. I was moved, touched and completely inspired to do the work. I would sit down and sew for 3 hours at a time. Sometimes into the late hours of the night. Mitten after mitten until each one was done. 9 complete days of sewing. 213 pairs I did sew and my dear friend Sister Harris sewed 32 pairs.

    It was not easy...I had never sewn so many of one item before. At times I thought my hands would give out, but I kept hearing one thought.... Service. If I could try to do this one small thing then my Heavenly Father would help me to accomplish this task. And he did. I truly felt my Heavenly Father help me through this task of service. 

    When I cut out the first yardage of mittens I was averaging 11 pairs a yard. Then as I cut the next yardage I got 12 pairs a yard. So, I figured that out of the next 4 yards I would get 48 pairs of mittens. I cut the fabric the same exact way and somehow I got 56 pairs of mittens. My thread and elastics would last through all of those mittens and even when I thought my needle had bent it was straight as a nail. Luckily, my husband,boys, and mom helped me to cut the elastics and stamp tags. These were little things that I had noticed during this project that helped me to go on. But, the most wonderful thing was when I was too tired to cut and sew, then at that moment I could feel the need of those children and see their little faces. It brightened my heart and kept me going.  In becoming an instrument in His hands we are serving others as well as our Heavenly Father.

    I truly felt my testimony grow through this small act of service. There is kind of a saying that goes around here in Hawaii. If can, can. If no can, no can. I have changed this saying for myself. If can, can. If no can, TRY HARDER. Through this effort I was able to send 245 pairs of mittens to Japan. I know of others who are sewing and sending many of their own pairs of mittens to Japan. Thank you...you inspire me. I was also helped in order to send this rather large box through FedEx. 
Thank you to those who helped with that!

  Upon leaving the FedEx building, an unknown man who had overheard the mailing transaction came up to my car and asked if I had family in Japan. He told me that he did and that some of his family and friends were still missing. There were tears in his eyes and all I could offer was a sorry and wish him the best. I said that I didn't have family in Japan and I saw that familiar puzzled look staring back at me as he asked then why would I do such a thing? All I could reply was that I had wanted to help and, like anyone else, if possible then I would be there serving. He thanked me and I in turn thanked my Father in Heaven for letting me be a part of His work. How awesome it is to know that we all have a Heavenly Father who loves us and knows our needs. He watches over us and guides others to help us in times of need.

    It's funny when you are making an effort to serve, everything seems to fall into place and the spirit of it touches others. Lighting a desire to do something more. I know there is good in everyone, a brotherly love that connects us. As we strive to help one another we will emulate the light of Christ. Mahalo to everyone who felt inspired to donate to those in Japan. My prayers and thoughts are with you.

~Christie

Mittens for Miyagi Update

This project is now closed.
Mahalo for helping with this Japan relief project!!!

I have been sewing and sewing and sewing! And I will be sewing tonight again. I know I can't sew enough for all of those that have been displaced because of this disaster and so I am very grateful for all of you who have decided to help. 

Thank you!

Mittens for Miyagi/This Project is now closed.

The horrific triple disasters that Japan has been enduring is more than unbelievable. Seeing the tsunami waves hit the country immediately broke my heart. I knew what it meant to see those waves and I feared for those in danger. Families broken apart in something quite unexpected and unimaginable.

As Hawaii went under a tsunami warning, we worried for what might be coming our way. In the night the sirens continually went off to alert the impending danger yet to hit our shores. While Hawaii suffered some damage from the tsunami, it was quite minimal to that of Japan's disaster.

My heart goes out to the people of Japan. How I wish I could be there in person to help in what ever way possible. And so, I am working on a project for those children now in need. It is still cold in Japan, with snow on their ground and no heat in their buildings where survivors are being housed. I know there has been an effort for sending blankets and aid. I personally cannot afford to send blankets and so my husband and I came up with the idea to send mittens for the children. Miyagi was the hardest hit prefecture and so I name this project Mittens for Miyagi.

  I found a simple pattern online here at  http://www.sewing.org/html/letsmittens.html. Although, I made a few modifications. The materials I used were fleece, elastic and thread. I skipped the biased tape and show how to sew on the elastic in this tutorial. There are three sizes.This is the large size sewn in the tutorial

For each mitten, cut 2 from the pinned pattern. This is material folded in half with wrong sides together.

Cut 4 inches of elastic

They should look like this. With the elastic sewn on the wrong side of the fabric.

Then pin right sides together. Make sure that the end of the mitten is even in length.

Sew a straight stitch with the outside of your footer on the edge of your fabric.

Be careful on the curves!

As you round the corner, continue to sew down two more inches.

Pick up the footer and rotate the fabric continuing to sew up to the edge and following around the curve with the footer on the outer edge.

Sew to the end of the mitten and make sure you back stitch in the beginning and the end of the mitten.

Now it's time to trim the seam. Be careful don't trim too much!

Trim in the thumb area.

The finished trim should look like this. 

Notice there is no hemming required for the finished fleece end of the mitten.

Turn it right side out and it should look like this! Now sew the other one.

And you have a pair.

And one for the boy.

 I plan to sew as many of these mittens
in small, medium, and large children sizes as I can.
I hope that others will feel inspired to do the same.
Let no kind thought go undone.
May small and simple things do good when intentions are heartfelt.

(My thank you's to my friend Kristin!!! :)

The Knitting Groove

I have been crocheting for nearly seven years now.

I crochet sweaters, hats, booties, and whatnot. 

I always wanted to learn how to knit but didn't feel like I had the time. 

To knit or not to knit?

 So, I tried...and I tried...and I tried. And....I hated it!!!! 

After being a long time crocheter,

I just could not coordinate holding the knitting needles with the yarn while trying to knit. There was no hook. It actually was quite distressing! The problem was holding the needles too tight while knitting. This was messing up my tension and making my knitting look really bad. I think I restarted the process at least 10 times before I got the hang of it. Needless to say, it totally tensed up my whole shoulder back area and gave me a sore wrist. I had to put the knitting down for a few days before resuming. I know, injury by knitting?! True as it was, I didn't give up, even if I hated knitting! So, I worked at it.

Over and over I knitted the garter stitch until
I finally found my knitting groove. 

 Oh, joyous celebration!!! I finally figured it out with great tension and I began to love knitting! Amazing...miraculous...fantastic! 

Now, I can't stop knitting. It actually has become a stress reliever.

I think I'd like to knit a scarf in every color of yarn available! 

Lesson learned from this silly endeavor:

Hard work and perseverance will get you far. Never give up!

 In this project I casted on 21 stitches and then knitted in every stitch or otherwise known as the garter stitch.

Go and learn how to knit. 

It's time to get on your knitting groove!

Lucky to be Me

Getting into the spirit of things 

and thinking of a fun way to celebrate 

St. Patrick's day 

with the girlies. 

I decided to involve them in a creative project

to kick off spring break.

These are the materials I used to make this mini tote. I cut 4 squares, 4 rectangular strips, and one rectangular piece out of white fabric. 

I let the girls dip their fingers in the colored fabric paint and create a rainbow on the white piece of cotton. I then painted the words Lucky to be Me. 

I painted the Me in gold glitter symbolizing the pot of gold. 

They really enjoyed being part of this process 

and were very careful not to get the paint on their clothing.

After the pieces dried overnight. I sewed it to the front of the tote and trimmed it with a green grosgrain ribbon. I pinned wrong sides together and sewed the outer portion of the bag around the three sides. I then did the same for the lining. Then I placed the lining into the bag. The rectangular strips were then sewn right sides together and then turned out by hand.(My least favorite part!!!)

I placed the straps along the top of the bag and folded down a hem. 

Edge stitched along the top of the bag. 

The lime green sequin embellishment added to the green grosgrain ribbon gave it that extra sparkle.

Now the girls have something to leave out for the leprechaun in order for him to fill with candies. 

I think that this is a fun alternative to configuring a contraption to catch

the uncatchable leprechaun.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Toddler Art Smock

 My new find. 

One-Yard Wonders, written by Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins,

has 101 sewing projects all using 

one yard of fabric each. 

Sew exciting!

What I love about it: Making use of 1 yard of fabric, practical projects, 

nice and neat and oh so sweet! I am hoping to be able to sew as many of these projects as possible this year. 

First project: Toddler Art Smock.

It was quite easy to sew. The pattern pieces are included in the book. Once cut out, the directions are fairly easy to follow. It has a large pocket along the bottom of the smock with many individual pockets sewn within for paintbrushes and stuff.

I made my own bias tape using 2 inch fabric strips in which I folded in half, pressed, then opened it and folded the sides to the folded center, pressed, then folded in half once again and whala. Did that make sense?

I am glad I decided to make my own bias tape because 

I love how the printed floral pink makes the color pop.

There are two side panels and a tie in the back.

I think it turned out really cute. 

Kinda of a vintage feel to it with the fabric choice.

Little girl loved it and plans to paint a lot!

Water Bottle Cozy

  My daughter needed to take a water bottle on a walking field trip.

I thought, you're going to carry that bottle in your hand 

the whole way?! I don't think so. 

Off to the sewing supply I went. 

I picked out two coordinating fabrics. 

Made a pattern by measuring the circumference of the

water bottle along with the length. 

Cut two circles for the bottom of the cozy. 

One out of print and the other out of polka dot flannel.

I then measured the length of the strap and cut the width that I wanted.

For the strap I also cut an identical measure of lining

to make the strap more durable. 

I also cut two rectangular pieces for the connecting straps.

I pressed all pieces.

I sewed the printed fabric for the bottle cover right sides together. Then I pinned the printed circle to the bottom of the cover. Sewed in place. I then did the same for the polka dot cover. I then turned the printed cover right side out. Pressed the top over 1/4 inch. Left the polka dot cover wrong side out and folded over the top 1/4 inch. Placed the polka dot cover inside of the printed cover.

Sewed the two rectangular pieces, added in the D rings,

pinned them in on the side of the top of the cover and sewed in place.

For the strap, I pressed the printed fabric with the lining on top. I folded it into thirds, tucking the overlapping piece under and pressed in place. I pinned the fold and used a zig zag stitch to sew down the middle of the strap four individual times. I then attached the strap to the D rings by looping them through and sewing them into place with two rows of zig zag stitching. 

                                                      

Needless to say it was a hit! 

She loved it. 

Now I have been requested to make 3 more, 

two of which will be completely sewn in boyish colors. 

Happy sewing!

Cookies 'n Cream

Do you want the recipe? Shh! It's a secret!

 

Prepare 1 white cake mix. Mix in 3/4 c. chopped oreo cookies. Pour into two 9 inch round greased pans. Bake at 350 for 30-32 minutes until done. Cool completely!

Use a cake leveler or serrated knife to evenly cut each cake into two layers. 

You then will have 4 layers of cake. 

Use two small tubs of whipped cream for icing the layers and then the top and sides. 

Sprinkle chopped oreos on top.

Chill at least 2 hours.

(Cover in order to keep foods like onions or meats from invading your cake.)

Cut and serve.

A sumptuously light dessert....one you will never forget!

An Oldie...but a Goodie.

While working my way through the mending basket 

I found a pair of too small shorts ready to become a cute skirt. 

This is a great way to lengthen the life of little girl clothes.

I simply cut the shorts just above the leg seam line. I then cut 4 strips of material. I measured them to be 3 inches longer than the width of the shorts. Two strips were 3 inches wide and the other two strips were 6 inches wide. This gave me a shorter ruffle over the longer ruffle. I then stitched the pair of fabric strips together at their sides. Pressed under the edge hemmed each fabric strip. Then with the shorter fabric strip over the longer fabric strip I used a gathering stitch all the way around the top. 

I then pulled the thread to get an even gather. 

Pinned the gathered ruffles right sides together with the top of the skirt.( Make sure you line up the side seams of the ruffles to the side seam of the top of the skirt.)

Stitched the two together. 

Then used an over lock stitch to get a neat seam. 

I then turned the skirt right side out with the seam facing towards the ruffle of the skirt and stitched along the top of the ruffle 3/16 of an inch.

(If you press the seam downwards at this point it makes it easier to sew.) 

And whala...of course little girl would not wear it until I hand stitched some rhinestone hearts on the side. 

This is a great idea for any number of pants or shorts that are too short or worn for wear. You can certainly alter the length of the ruffle, the number of ruffles and the combination of fabric. 

An easy project to get ready for spring and summer. Have fun with it.

Sew Organized!

Aloha to all of you creators in bloggieland! Recently I viewed a post by smashed peas and carrots in which she used comic book cardboard  to wrap her material in mini bolts. I fell in love with that idea, but was stumped by the comic book cardboard. Since, I absolutely try to use what I have in any endeavor, the idea finally popped into my head one Saturday morning. Manila folders! I had a surplus of those and so I proceeded to wrap my fabric stash around the folders. Worked like a charm! For the other pieces of fabric I simply rolled them into bundles and organized it all by color. 

I love how it turned out to be a rainbow array of supplies. Sew fun.

All of my crafting scissors, rulers, and tools kept in the painted buckets. 

(My Ginghers safely in their case on the side.)

Notions packed away on the bottom shelf and I love, love, love this.

Cut out with my rotary cutter and square template from 10 pairs of old jeans. 

How about that for upcycling?

Planning a fabulous outdoor quilt for this one.

Maybe, I will have time in the summer.

Containing my necessity glitter, scraps, yarn and other craft supplies under my sewing desk. I keep all of my thread, misc. tools, and patterns in a full sized tool box. Works great, especially in keeping out little helping hands. Can you believe this was all in my craft supply stash?! Crazy. 

The organization freed up 4 large bins and happy to say I have my closet back again! 

Now that the mending is done, I am so excited to start some new projects....

time willing of course!