Tackle It on Tuesday: Car Seat Blanket

If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that I like to work on projects, of all types. I love that we have access to so many resources that can be made into beautiful items to display, use, and/or share with others.

Last week, I started on this car seat blanket with the yarn I purchased at my favorite yarn shop up in the foothills. The pattern was free with a purchase, and I thought this yarn would be perfect for this project. The blanket will measure 14 inches wide and 20 inches long when complete. I have about 8 inches still to knit before the blanket is complete. 

We had our yard sale over the weekend, which means I was able to clear out more boxes from the craft room. I know this room still needs a lot of decluttering, but I am really happy with the progress being made in here!

One reason I am happy that progress is being in the craft room...there is actually room in there to work on projects! God continues to bless me with opportunities to earn money for my next trip with Compassion!

This time, I will be making some curtains for a friend. Her family just purchased a cute little trailer. She is working on adding a glamping factor, and she asked me to make the curtains for her! 

So this week, I really didn't finish any projects, but I have made good progress on a couple of projects. I would love to know what projects you are tackling this week. Share them with me in the comments below.

Tackle It on Tuesday: Photo Wall

This past week, I have still been working on my craft room, collecting up items for our upcoming yard sale, and moving things around in the craft room to make more room to actually get craft projects finished. Phew! Maybe after the yard sale is over, I can share another photo of what the room looks like, but right now, there are still many boxes filled with items for the yard sale.

One project I did finish last week was updating my photo wall. Here is the before picture:

I have been wanting to rearrange the photos on this wall for some time now, but finding those prints last week was just the thing I needed to drive me to work on this project.

First thing I did was to mat and frame the new prints. Then I took down the photos I wanted to rearrange. After that, I cut out paper the size of each photo that would be going back up on the wall and jotted a quick note on the paper so I knew which photo would be going where.

Then with my daughter's help, we arranged the papers up on the wall to get an idea of what the wall would look like with the photos in those spots. Once we had an arrangement we both liked, it was time to put the photos back up on the wall.

Ta da! Now I can enjoy all these memories as I walk by this wall every day!

So what project will I be tackling this week?

My husband and I were up in the foothills this week, and they just happen to have a wonderful yarn shop there. I couldn't resist purchasing some yarn for a new project.

The yarn is nice and chunky, so I have made a bit of progress, even with knitting only a few rows. We will see how far I get by next week!

What project will you be working on this week?

Capture Your 365

A week worth of photos for you this week!

cropped

ISO 400, 50mm, f/2.8, 1/10 sec

Day 194 – Cropped: Each month, on the Capture Your 365 photo challenge, we are encouraged to take a self portrait. For this photo prompt, I put the self timer on and decided to take a picture of just my hands knitting a dish cloth.

old and new

ISO 400, 50mm, f/2.8, 1/25 sec

Day 195 – Old and New: School supplies are showing up in the stores. I picked up a few boxes of crayons. Believe me, they are not for us! We have a big plastic drawer full of old crayons. I will be saving these new boxes to take with us to Mexico.

I spy

ISO 400, 50mm, f/2.8, 1/8 sec

Day 196 – I Spy: My daughter has discovered Sherlock Holmes.

dry

ISO 400, 55mm, f/8.0, 1/50 sec

Day 197 – Dry: Things are usually pretty dry here in the California Central Valley during the summer. It is very rare for us to see any rain for months until the fall.

starts with s

ISO 800, 50mm, f/5.6, 1/13 sec

Day 198 – Starts with S: I couldn’t resist the strawberries at the farmer’s market. You know what that means…

a source of happiness

ISO 800, 48mm, f/5.6, 1/13 sec

Day 199 – A Source of Happiness: One more batch of strawberry jam! I hope to sell a few more jars, but we will be keeping some for all those PB&J sandwiches we like to eat.

two scoops

ISO 800, 50mm, f/5.6, 1/8 sec

Day 200 – Two Scoops: I just love ice cream, no matter what the season.

Question for you: What is your favorite thing to photograph in the summer?

Knitting, sewing, and canning my way to Mexico

Wow, a lot has happened since I first announced I will be traveling with Compassion in January to visit Eduardo.

me and Matthew

My son is going to Mexico with me!!!

passport

My very first passport arrived!!

So, those were the two big announcements I wanted to share with you, but I wanted to update you on what I have been doing to raise money for the trip.

jam making

I have been making a lot of jam, like over 20 batches!! Cranberry-Strawberry, Strawberry, Blueberry, and Apricot. Jam making is something I usually do during this time of the year, sometimes just for us, but a lot of times, I will make enough to give jars of jam as gifts during Christmas. I have been able to sell half-pint jars for $5 each. I hope nobody is expecting jam for Christmas this year!

knitting dishcloths

For bridal showers, I love to give the new bride a couple of hand knitted dish cloths along with an apron. When the trip came about, I had about 10 dish cloths already completed and ready for bridal showers in my closet. After checking prices on Etsy, I decided to sell some of these in sets of 3 for $10. I picked up a huge cone of cotton yarn at Hobby Lobby using a 40% off coupon. So far, I have made 11 dish cloths from this one cone and there is more yarn on the cone!

baby blankets and wash cloths

For baby showers, I love to sew up a flannel blanket and a couple of terry cloth/flannel wash cloths. I had 15 of these in my closet done already because I usually go to JoAnn’s the day after Thanksgiving and purchase flannel for $1.59/yard. I did purchase more flannel last month to make a few more sets, and I have been selling these sets for $15 each.

So, as you can see, I have been knitting, sewing, and canning my way to Mexico! God has allowed me to use things that I enjoy doing to raise money for my trip. I am amazed at how everything is coming together to make it possible for me and my son to go on this trip!

Stay tuned for upcoming posts on how I am preparing for this trip!

Questions for you: Have you ever raised money to go on a Compassion trip or mission trip? What ways have you fundraised that have worked for you?