The Harvest Fair 2011

I have mentioned before that my church's Harvest Fair is one of my favorite fall things. Every year the church community comes together to create an amazing array of crafts, foods, baskets, and other things to sell, and donates items for a silent auction. The fair raises enough money to cover a lot of the costs of running the church.

I have been running the book room for the past few years. It's not a big money maker...but it's lots of fun. Usually I come home with a box full of books.

Every year I am amazed at the things people create!

Recognize those monsters?

 

 

I love those tiny hats that look like berries...must make!

Church mice!

Every year I donate some of my creations to the fair...and that got me thinking about my halfway successful charity resolution for 2011. I did end up making and donating quite a few things, but I didn't quite get in the groove of a project a month. I think there are two reasons:
1) I went overboard in the first few months, and then had trouble keeping up that momentum.
2) It was harder than I had imagined to find a DIFFERENT charity each month, which had been my original idea. A lot of charities wanted very specific things, which I just wasn't excited about making. In order for this to work, I had to be able to make things I wanted to make.

So, what did I do?
Hats in February
Squares in March and April
Socks in May
Sweater in June
Blanket in July/August
Fair Items in September/October


Moving forward...I think I need to keep my projects more manageable. Just because I decide on socks...or squares...or whatever...doesn't mean I have to make a million of them! Every little bit counts, and I think as long as I keep making and donating then I am at least making a difference.

Does anyone out there have any good crafty charities they would recommend?

I have felt so craft-deprived lately! I have been so busy the past few months that I haven't touched my sewing machine since before Christmas...but I have been doing a bit of knitting. (This week on vacation I have been knitting an adorable penguin for a friend who is having a baby). Now that ski season (at least the competetive part of it) is mostly done, I should be having some more time. So, some of the things I want to try this spring:

• fusing paper bags. I think I'd like to try making some reusable sandwich bags, although it seems like the possibilities are endless.
• a dress like this one. I know, I don't have any kids. But I picked up a cute pillowcase at a shop called "Repurpose" and I think this would be a good use.
• a t-shirt quilt (I have so many old t-shirts I can't bear to part with...but I'm scared because I have never tried to make something so big before! Has anyone tried this/have any suggestions?)
• a t-shirt tote. This seems incredibly simple but really fun. And a good way to clean out the closet of old shirts...
• A new hat for my favorite boy. Haven't decided on a pattern yet, but I've been searching the possibilities on ravelry.

In the meantime, I love the Olympics!