Mending Jeans Sashiko Style

 A great pair of jeans is hard to find! When my perfect jeans break, I try anything I can to save them. Usually, the part I want to fix isn't front and center so this pair presented a unique challenge. 

So, I purchased these jeans already distressed. They looked cool but it wasn't long before the threads all broke and the opening at the knees started to rip when I sat down. I do think these distressed jeans look fine on other people but I just can't feel comfortable with giant gaping holes in my pants! Since the holes were so large and right in the front, I wanted to patch them, but do it in a cool way that looked intentionally fashionable. Hopefully, I achieved that and I'm not just fooling myself, LOL! 

Custom Thank You Cards For Etsy

Make your own thank you cards for your Etsy shop
with a custom QR code

I've been including a little printed thank you card with all my Etsy packages, kinda generic...thank you for your purchase, contact me with any questions, follow me on social media, blah, blah, blah. I've been wanting to redo these cards for a while. I did them in a hurry and they didn't really reflect my brand. Also, it was impossible to include all the ways for people to find me online and let's be honest, these probably ended up in the trash without serving any purpose:-( I may never get repeat customers if they can't find me again or don't know I'm working on new products!

Mountain Frost Hat- Free Pattern

I ran into Joann's looking for something totally unrelated to yarn and then walked out with more yarn! I've been trying to destash my yarn collection not add to it. There were a few balls of this Thick & Thin yarn on clearance, how could I just leave it there? If you follow me on Instagram, you know I've been focused on creating hats and scarves for Operation Gratitude for most of this year. You can read more about that here. Once in a while, I come across a project or a yarn that inspires me to drop what I'm doing and start something else.

Fleece Dog Bed

Making a simple fleece dog bed is SO easy! In fact, it's so easy you could make more than one. You could have one for upstairs, downstairs and this would make a perfect dog crate pad.

This blog post about DIY'ing a dog bed is really an excuse to show off my crazy cute puppy! His name is Frankie and he's a Jack Russel mix.

I found this fabric remnant for sale at Walmart for a couple bucks. I whipped this together one evening while watching tv. At the time, I wasn't thinking of doing a tutorial, so I never actually measured it. You can get a piece of fleece any size you want. Remember, if you're trying to fit to the size of a crate, make sure to add a couple inches to your measurement to account for puffing up stuffing and seam allowance. My finished bed measures 21x26

Military Appreciation Month- Crochet and Knit Donations

This year I decided to dedicate my time and my yarn stash to supporting the troops!

I've been working hard these past few months and I plan to send my handmade hats and scarves to service members. Being a military veteran myself, I know it's important for those in service to feel appreciated and connected to home when away from family. Also, who doesn't love getting mail?!

Operation Gratitude is an amazing organization that sends care packages to deployed troops, veterans, first responders, recruit graduates, wounded warriors, their caregivers, and military families. Every box has useful items donated from individuals and service-friendly companies. To date, they have sent out over 2 million care packages!!

If this sounds like your jam, there are so many ways to help! Click HERE to see how you can donate items, your time, or organize a collection drive. You can also request a package for a service member you love.

I really hope this post inspires my fellow makers to donate some of your time and skills this year for our military and first responders!

You're probably here because you knit or crochet and may be interested in the patterns I use. I'm mostly doing hats because they're my fav and maybe I'll throw in a few scarves to mix things up a little. There are some pattern suggestions on the Operation Gratitude website but you can use any you like. I know men outnumber women in the military, but I can't bring myself to make only big man head sized hats. I want anyone who receives one of my hats to be able to actually wear it so I tried to find hats that are more one-size-fits-all designs. There are some I like more than others. Check my Ravelry project page for notes. Here are some patterns I've used that are pictured...