It’s Pumpkin Time!

Welcome to Imagine That on Wednesdays!

With the holiday season fast approaching, people are breaking out the crafts.  First up are Halloween decorations.  We used to carve pumpkins when I was growing up.  Simple at first, but then I fell in love with the various patterns you could buy at Michaels.  Carving cats was much more fun than triangle noses and mouths.  My least favorite part, however, was scooping out the pumpkin innards.  Blegh.

My solution now is not to carve at all.  But my mom still wanted some pumpkins for decorations, so last year she bought them anyway–and gave me the job of decorating them.  Not to worry.  If I didn’t want to use a knife, I could use a Sharpie.

You can do this at home too if you don’t like the mess of carving the pumpkins (and the even worse mess of throwing them out after they’ve molded).  And you can still use the patterns from the carving book.  Simply use the Sharpie to color in the areas you would normally cut out.

Last year's pumpkins

For some other Halloween crafting tips, see Debra Kristi’s post on making a budget friendly “Wicked Wreath of Delight” and Tameri Etherton’s “Getting Crafty With It!“

Tying Knots of Love

Welcome to Imagine That on Wednesdays.

Thank you everyone for your comments Monday about community service.  Continuing with that theme–

Have you ever thought of turning a hobby into a way to give back?  A lot of people may think that community service involves donating money or joining a volunteer organization.  Not everyone feels inclined to go that route, however.  And if they don’t feel that they quite fit in with those avenues, they might believe they just have nothing to offer.

With a little creativity, though, people can find lots of different ways to give back to their community.

Those with pets probably know that any furniture in the house doesn’t really belong to the humans, but to the animals.  That’s how it is with my cat, Teagan, anyway.  She believes my big fleece blanket is meant to serve as her bed.  I made her a cat-sized one for herself, but she still insists on napping with the bright green, My Little Pony blanket.

I was really impressed with the rescue organization where we got Teagan, and would have loved to volunteer some hours at the shelter playing with the kitties, but their headquarters are a 30-minute drive away and my schedule just doesn’t allow for me to commit regularly.  I still wanted to give back in some way, though.  Then it hit me–why not make some cat blankets for the kitties?  Shelters are always in need of blankets, and not only was it something I could set an afternoon aside for, I could make a party out of it and invite my friends.

Do you want to know the best part about making fleece blankets?  No sewing.  That is right, my friends.  This is perhaps the easiest fabric craft there is.

You’ll need two pieces of fabric, a nice design for the front and a complementary solid for the back.  Trim the edges so the two pieces are lined up evenly.  Then you cut the edges into 3-inch strips about the width of a Popsicle stick.  You’ll need to cut the corners off, 3″x3″.  Then you simply tie the strips together.  The blankets look best if you tie it so the bottom strip is on top; that way you get to see the color scheme.

Last weekend, some friends came over to help me with this project.  There were five of us, and in three hours we took 12 yards of fabric and made 24 blankets.  We also took all the scraps–the lengthy trimmings–and braided them into 36 cat toys.  We still haven’t found a use for all those extra square patches.  (Remember, the reason I like this is there is no sewing! 😉 )

I’ve been making cat blankets for two years now.  It’s not a constant activity, only something we do maybe two to three times a year when the fabric store has a huge sale.  In October, one of my friends will be doing the same for Project Linus, making fleece blankets for kids in the hospital.  (1 yard of fabric will make 4 cat blankets; 1 1/2 yards will make a person-sized blanket.  Though that’s actually double because remember there is a front and back.)

Have you made these tie-knot fleece blankets before?  Are you going to try making one now?  They make great Christmas gifts.  😉  Are there any hobbies you think could become a way to serve your community?  I love hearing from you!