I Had a Great Title...

 ...but I didn't write it down before I fell asleep LOL. 

The charity I make blankets for put out a call for some. They aren't collecting yet for their regular program, but they had been contacted by a place looking for blankets. I haven't stopped making them even though they weren't being collected, so I had FIVE I could run over.

From top down: Lionbrand Homespun, aprox 500gr; Red Heart neon stripes, aprox 580gr; chunky assorted yarns crocheted; green Bernat Mosaic (didn't get donated); chunky assorted yarns, knitted

This is the neon stripes I was working on but ran out of yarn.  Originally, I wanted to do something with short rows, to get some direction changes in the stripes. But I got bored, and worried it wouldn't work out to be the right size in the end. This is a boat load of stockinette stitch LOL. So, I ended up with this section at the bottom, then used the gauge and some math, to repeat the same thing at the other end. Then I washed it and steamed it like crazy.

Rob says it's going to make someone go blind LOL. I think it's delightful.

In the yarns I got from my Mom, who got them from a friend, was quite a bit of this Lionbrand Homespun. Rich jewel tones. It sort of glows, which is hard to see in the photo. 

Very crappy photo. My phone was misbehaving for awhile.

The other blankets were already blogged about. 

I don't have the exact weights for these blankets. I did weigh them, and wrote it down... if I ever find that piece of paper I'll update this post. 

Yarn In:   6477gr
Yarn Out:  1080gr + 8915gr = 9,995gr
Balance: 3518gr gr more OUT than in!
Costs:  $140.68/323 days = $0.44 per day

Rob's New Favourite Mask

 Megan asked me to make her a mask with pleats on the side. I just couldn't get it to look nice, so I just made a dart on each edge. It gives the mask more structure and projection. She said it was too big on her, but Rob tried it and loves it. 

I've included two ways to finish--with an opening for a filter, and without. Now the recommendations are really heading towards 3 layer masks.

Google Drive link:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NbLijeWTjUPt9AbILel6RFZO0rIhBEAa/view?usp=sharing

Materials

2 pcs tightly woven cotton, aprox 7.75”x8.5” (19.6cm x 21.6cm)

2 ear pieces, aprox 8” (I used a 3/8” strip cut from a pair of thick skating tights. Cut up t-shirts, cotton-lycra fabric, pre-made ear loops, baby headbands, elastic, all work)

1 pc nose wire, aprox 3.5” (9cm). Many different options available. Look for coated wire. Curl the ends. Or pre-made nose pieces are available

Thread, scissors, sewing machine

Directions:

Mark the centre of the two shorter sides. Mark aprox 2.5” (6.3cm) from top and bottom. Pinch the fabric at those two marks and bring together, letting the excess go to the back. Pin. The fold should match the middle mark. Press. Sew from where the fabric meets (2.5” from top and bottom), towards the middle, aprox 3.25” (8cm). This creates a triangle of fabric on the wrong side. Trim, about ¼” from seam, finish as desired (serge, zig zag, pinking shears). Repeat for other short edge. Repeat for other piece.

Press top edge down ½” on both pieces.

On inner piece, sew a 3 sided rectangle, about 3.5” (9cm), centered; joining the seam allowance to the body. Before sewing the third side, slip in the nose wire, and stitch the 3^rd side (the 4^th is the top fold). I find using a zipper foot helps.

 

If you want the top to have an opening for a disposable filter:

Top stitch the top hems down, close to the fold, being careful around the wire. 

Place inside layer right side up. Place ear pieces on top, aprox ½” in from edges, loops towards the middle, tails sticking out the side. Pin at edge and in the middle to keep it out of the way. Place top layer, right side down over top. Ensure top edge is still folded down, and stitch from top corner, down side, across bottom, and up other side, at ½”. Ensure the tails of the loops are sticking out and you just sew over the piece at the seam. Turn right side out. Sew centre top edges together for about 9cm. This allows an opening to slide a disposable filter or tissue in.

 

If you don’t want a filter pocket:

Place inside layer right side up. Place ear pieces on top, aprox ½” in from edges, loops towards the middle, tails sticking out the side. Pin at edge and in the middle to keep it out of the way. Place top layer, right side down over top. Ensure top edge is still folded down, and stitch from top corner, down side, across bottom, and up other side, at ½”. Ensure the tails of the loops are sticking out and you just sew over the piece at the seam. Turn right side out, and top stitch top edge closed, close to the edge.

Layered Letters

As I mentioned in my post about my initial papercrafts with the Cricut Maker, I learned about 3D layered paper projects and was instantly hooked. When I first got the Maker, and started looking at designs available, I was not too inspired. Many designs seem to be really fussy to me. Multiple fonts used in one design, florals and flourishes, hearts galore. I don't do a lot of decorating (because Rob is so fussy on how things are hung on the walls), my budget is small, so I don't buy a lot of knick knack dollarstore items that I could customize, etc. 

Then I learned about 3D layered art! I watched many videos about mandalas and I loved them, but they were still a little too "decorative". Through YouTube's "Suggested Videos", I came across PattyAnn's Place's video on doing a single letter. Oh boy! I had learned enough that I thought I could do this in Inkscape. 

Of course, the first one I try is an M, for our last name! 

It's only 4 layers, but how much fun that can be? I just picked 3 colours from a pack of themed paper from Recollections. The 4th colour is the top black layer. Each layer is elevated  by foam double sided squares, except the top, which is glued to the layer beneath. It could probably have been raised too, if I had the tiniest foam dots. 

One thing I didn't like was the file had some edges that weren't very smooth. See towards the bottom of the picture? It's a free font though, so if I want it smooth, I can do that myself. I couldn't back in August, but I think I can now. 

While at the cottage this summer, I had wanted to watch lots of Inkscape tutorials. I couldn't though because the wifi wasn't very good. I could, however, use Inkscape without wifi. I started playing with L, for Lucy. I wanted to do it Tricolour (Queen's University).

This one, she deemed too red.

This one is too blue. We realized whatever colour is on top is going to dominate, and for Tricolour, none can dominate. So we went with black on top.

There are 5 layers. I needed someway to show case this in her "dorm room" (Hugh's bedroom that became a guestroom got a makeover and a new desk and she uses it for her online university classes). I found the free easel file at an incredible website, "Special Heart Studio".

That website is incredible. So many free layered designs!! There are a lot I want to make, and she keeps creating more!! If you're on Facebook, join her group. It's very helpful.

I decided to try one for Nya, in her school colours for her dorm room. The N looked good at first, but when I did the first offset (in the grey), some of the areas filled in totally. My personal assistant didn't know what might have happened. Sometimes Inkscape holds on to "artifacts"--nodes that didn't get removed before saving, but didn't show up (on a hidden layer, or just very tiny). I'm not sure I have the skills to fix this. The font (Zengo) is free, so I can't complain. I will try again using her last initial. Or find another free alphabet.

I had to pay the little girl that did Megan's papers while we were away. I made the envelope with her name cut out. What I didn't realize was that there were score lines in the file that needed to be changed from cut to score. So, it cut the front out of the envelope and each flap for the back was separate. I took that front piece, covered it with clear book protector film (from Dollarama--a cheap option to transfer tape) and essentially laminated it. I told her it was a magical bookmark to remind her that mistakes can become something wonderful. She was so excited by that! More than the money!

For her card, I shrank the L down, and did just three layers--the solid dark pink, the light pink with the scrolls cut out, and the gold. 

Stuck it to a card (cardstock folded) and there you go! Personalized card! I think I'll make one up for someone else in my family that needs a card right now. 

I have another layered letter project to share, but it deserves its own post.