Prayer Shawl Ministry update

As a group, we've been knitting and crocheting our hearts out since the beginning of the year. The results were on display this past Sunday, April 26th before the entire congregation for our very first mass blessing. What a wonderful way to included everyone in the spirit of the ministry!

To date we've completed the following to be dispensed to our shut-ins, sick, elderly or otherwise in need:

24 Shawls, 23 Scarves, 6 Lap Robes, 6 Afghans/Blankets, & 5 Hats

64 completed projects in 4 months! Wow! What an amazing group we have. However, realize that it's not only the hands of these ladies at work but, the hearts of the entire congregation. It takes every person in the church to make a ministry thrive.

Mondays with Etsy

Lily of the Valley

As promised, here is another wonderful Etsy "find", MayaLee . She lives in Sweden with her family and loves photography!

Maya Lee states that she has many other creative interests but, has been drawn increasingly more toward the photographic arts. A few of her pieces are TtV, Through the Viewfinder. According to her listings, this means that the photograph is made with two cameras, the first camera looks at the true object of interest and the second camera is used to photograph the image shown on the first cameras viewfinder. How interesting!

Maya Lee says that photography has enabled her to see the world more clearly and allowed her to "see more details, being more aware of the colors and tones around me (her)." Isn't it amazing what we learn through our artistic endeavors?

Ranunculus

Turquoise Hearts

I Love Yarn

The photos come in various sizes, all seeming to be a standard size thus easily framed. All are priced very reasonably.

I was instantly drawn to the color and clarity of these photos. They're all very light and airy in appearance, which imparts a feeling of happiness for me. Of course, my love of flowers AND yarn didn't hurt either...Enjoy!

Maya Lee, your lovely photos and shop banner inspired me to do something a bit more creative with my own shop banner. A thousand thanks for sharing your talents with the world!

All photographic rights are held by MayaLee.

Getting to know Etsy Day...

Today is Etsy Day! Woohoo!

For those of you that aren't familiar with Etsy - it is an online marketing community predominantly for those of us that manufacture BY HAND.

Hundreds around the world form this cottage industry. With this kind of selection you're sure to find something uniquely original for yourself or someone else.

There are sellers of handmade paper goods, leather goods, original acrylics and photos, prints, jewelry - costume to fine, custom clothiers, etc... If you can dream it, they probably have it!

Click the button to find the treasures..

Special thanks to schugirl for this fantastic idea. This image is copyrighted to be used only for Etsy Day.

My first piece of measured clothing...

Ya'll know that I can't stand a pattern. Naturally, I rebel against definite measurements, too. That being said, both of these things make it very difficult to make clothing...

A few skeins ago, while working on a Wrapped in Love project, I came across a pattern for a precious baby jumper. It was a little thicker and heavier weight than what I would like, so I tinkered with the design a bit.

The original had a full bodice, front and back, ruffled shoulders, and seemed a bit bulkier overall. I used the rough cast on count of 202 (I used slightly large needles than called for, so I decreased by twenty) and went to work on the base of the skirt. A few rows in I realized that the size of the skirt base was larger than anything I'd ever seen for a one year old child. I decreased every fifth stitch for two rows, which gave me a ruffled edge. (This was fine. The stitch I was working was stockinette, so it would roll anyway!)

Using the base measurement of the pattern for the proper length, I proceeded to cast off all but 60 of the remaining stitches. Then worked these stitches in a basic knit stitch for four inches. Casting all of the stitches off, I decided to add some crocheted lengths to the edges for the purpose of fastening the jumper.

Results -

Front

Back

I like it. I'm still hung up on the size. It looks like it's a little large in the waist for a one year old, even with all of the adjustments. I'm going to search for a childs sizing chart online today. But, what I REALLY want to do is find a beautiful little girl to try it on!


Do ya'll do that? After you've created something, seek desperately for a model to wear it? I think this is the hardest part of creating things to sale - there is no instant gratification of seeing someone enjoy your work...

Mondays with Etsy

I've decided to do a post weekly showcasing some wonderful Etsy finds. The themes will vary. Some will be Fiber Arts oriented - hey, this is a knitting blog - and others will be about things that tickled my fancy.

Be sure to join me on Monday's to see what I've found. Hehehe, wiggling my fingers and showing a devious smile, this will be like a weekly treasure hunt!

Here is this weekends find -

TwilightKnits has hand dyed yarn!

Isabella

Wicked

Dizzy Girl

Blues Springskein (cute name!)

Yummy colors!

These are all Merino Wool blends. The yarn comes in skeins of 450-462 yards and all are a fingerling weight. Perfect for those socks you want to work on or for that new baby that's on the way! There are many other color combinations available in the store, so be sure to visit TwilightKnits store.

Added bonus - there is currently a SALE going on!!!!!

JadieLady, I hope this post doesn't ruin your "yarn diet"...

All photographic rights are held by TwilightKnits.

I'm making jewelry!

All that Shimmers Necklace

Lately, I've been making things to stock my Etsy shop. I've made several shawls, often ending up with remnant yarn. I can't stand to see remnants laying around and throwing things away, well, that's almost painful. They cry out to me to be used...Help! Help! I want to be loved, too!

These are a few of the creations that have come out of that need to use up every scrap -

Stormy Sky Choker / Necklace

All that Shimmers Bracelet / Arm Cuff

All that Shimmers Choker / Necklace

All are available for sell at my Etsy shop - La Vida Dulce. I've enjoyed figuring out new ways to use the scraps. Finding creative ways to provide a clasp or connection is the most fun! Talk about a great way to challenge you mind...

Give it a try! I'd love to see your creations!

By the way, what do you think of my pictures? Are they getting better?

Prayer Shawl Ministry update

It's been so long since I posted about the group. We been making leaps and bounds into the direction we want to go.

Due to lack of storage space, growing yarn and project stash I moved all of the goodies to the church, once I found a spot. Our church, which is older and has a huge Sunday School extension, was considering sharing space with another smaller congregation for awhile and the extra rooms that we had available were on hold until those issues were ironed out. Three weeks ago we were assigned our official room (pictured below)!

The past two weeks have been spent clearing out the old tidbits and remnants from the previous usage. As I'm only at church on Sundays and Wednesdays and occupied for most of that time, this was a slower process than I'd hoped. Our most recent meeting was the last Sunday in March and we were unable to meet in our room because there were still lots of craft items to be relocated. However, I finished that up last week and we'll be able to use the room fully now! (Special thanks to Linda S. and Lauren T. for helping move all of our goodies from our old spot to the new room.)



Remaining stash





Bins laden with finished projects!



To date we have 20 people signed up in the ministry and most are very active. We have 18 shawls, 5 lap robes, 19 scarves, 4 children's hats, and 4 baby blankets turned in! Phenomenal, especially if you consider that 1/2 of the participants maintain a full-time position and a few are suffering from illnesses themselves.



Finished projects




As we won't be limiting ourselves to shawls, we've decided to take on a more descriptive name for the ministry. We're a Moravian (not Mormon - that's a little different) congregation and our motto is:

In essentials, unity;

In non-essentials, liberty;

and in all things, love.

Jesus said that the greatest of these is love and since we're attempting to share that love with others we decided to name the ministry "Wrapped in Love". It's very apt, don't you think?


Our first blessing is scheduled for Sunday, April 26th, at which time we will bless our work alongside the entire congregation during worship. The following week members will begin dispensing the projects to our sick, shut-ins, and anyone else that we find in need in the congregation.



Our goal is to eventually be able to branch out further into the community. Perhaps we can team up with some nursing facilities, Hospice, cancer treatment centers, and the like. We're looking into this now. If you have any ideas or links, please let me know. I'd also love to hear about the great things you're doing or wish to do in your work.