Brief update

Just a quick update on the gifts I have in progress. The Tree of Life is almost done, then I have to add the edging! That will get a big post of its own, hopefully soon. On the left above is the Baby Surprise Jacket (I switched yarns, and much prefer this new one), and on the right is the vest...not progressing as fast as I'd hoped due to the heat!

New gift projects + crafting for animals

Over a long weekend recently, I had time to flesh out my bare-bones holiday gift plan. I filled in a lot of blanks and was happy to note that I will probably not have to buy any new yarn to complete the knitted & crocheted gifts I hope to make. Pictured above are the beginnings of two holiday gifts: a wool vest for my Dad and a Baby Surprise Jacket for a niece.

During my time off I also started work on one of my (non-work related) charity crafting projects: Cage Comforters for Animal Care & Control of New York. These are small, simply constructed cushions for the animals housed in AC&C facilities. I'm also planning to make hats for a neighborhood shelter or mission, but I really wanted to allocate some of my charitable crafting energy to a project for animals. Anyway, fabric is not in my budget at the moment, but I had just cleaned out my closet and had some clothes set aside to donate to my local thrift shop, so I pulled out some dresses & other larger items and cut them down. Now I have a stack of pieces ready to sew together - all I need now is the batting.