Heating Pad

Who doesn't need the comfort of a heating pad from time to time?

Supplies you will need:

• Cotton fabric
• 2 pieces of fabric 10.5 inches wide by 18.5 inches long; or
• 1 piece of fabric 20.5 inches wide by 18.5 inches long; or
• 1 piece of fabric 10.5 inches wide by 36.5 inches long
• Thread
• Sewing machine or sewing needle 
• Medium grain rice

The fabrication of the heating pad is similar to that of a weighted blanket. You could make this pad and use it for the comfort of the weight and not heat it. In weighted blankets they use poly pellets instead of rice. 

I wouldn't use anything other that natural fiber fabric like cotton or wool because some man-made fabrics may melt in the microwave or may contain metallic threads.

I used one piece of fabric measuring 10.5 inches wide by 36.5 inches long. Whatever fabric combination you use the steps are the same. 

The following instructions will be for 2 pieces of fabric measuring 10.5 inches by 18.5 inches.

1. Place the fabric right sides together. 
2. Sew along the long sides and across one short side. Leave the other short side open. 

   

   My fabric was 10.5 by 36.5. I folded it in half and sewed the two long edges. 

   The right side is a fold and the left side is the opening.

3. Turn the fabric right side out and press.
4. Sew a line up the middle, from the bottom to the opening.
   
5. Make a mark at every 3.5 inches along each of the long sides, starting from the closed end.
   
6. Pour 1/2 cup of rice in each column
   
7. Making sure the rice is placed to the one side, sew on the 3.5 inch mark. You will want to take your time, feeling for any stray rice. Sewing over a grain of rice will likely brake a needle. I did not use any special sewing foot but you could if that makes you feel more comfortable.
8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 until you have filled 5 rows.
   
   
   
   
9. There are various ways to finish the heating pad but the easiest one that I found was to fold the top over 1/4 inch and then fold it again another 1/4 inch and top stitch along both edges of the fold, securing everything in place. 
   

The pad can be heated in the microwave for 3 minutes. Please place a towel between you and the heating pad as it can get quite warm. The heating pad is not recommended for kids and infants.

The heating pad is not washable. When you remove it from the microwave - you could place it in a pillow case to keep it from getting dirty.

You can place the pad in the freezer for a few hours if you need an ice pack.

The pad can also be enjoyed simply for its weight.

I have used these for over 10 years as heating pads and I love them. A friend of mine has found comfort in them for the weight. 

Reuse, Repurpose

Happy Earth Day!

The schools in my city are big on recycling, using reusable water bottles and holding a "no garbage day" once a week. On no garbage day, the children's lunches should come in reusable containers.

But I would like to do more to throw away less.

It would be nice if the schools could include in their busy schedule topics on how to reduce the amount of garbage we create (use reusable grocery bags) and how to reuse items such as well washed margarine containers to store leftover food. 

I may not be able to influence the school curriculum but I do have an environment in which I have some input. 

I am a Scout Leader to about 30 Beaver Scouts (ages 5 to 8). I thought this would be a perfect environment to get the kids to think about what other uses something could have before putting the item in the recycling or garbage.

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 I will not be able to run a meeting dedicated to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle but I wanted to show you some of the "Reuse" or "Repurpose" projects I had planned to present to the Beavers.

This little bear was made from a baby's onesie. He is about 7.5 inches long. You can get the pattern from PA Country Crafts.

The cat is made out of some fuzzy socks. You can find the pattern on Pinterest.

 

Please leave a comment. I would love to hear what you and your family do to reduce garbage. 

Masks

I am sure that you have seen plenty of posts on the current trend of making face masks, and other COVID-19 protecting equipment.

My friend from BC asked me to make her and her husband a few masks because they are not allowed in some stores without them.

I made myself a couple while I was making masks for them.

There are a lot of different face mask patterns on the web. I wanted the masks to have the option for a filter, to be comfortable and to have the wire for the nose.

Top is a pattern from Jennifer Maker

Bottom is a pattern from MMB by Hand

The first masks I made were from Jennifer Maker. I liked how they were "form fitting" and met all the requirements I was looking for in a mask. I did not cut my material out with the Cricut but printed the pattern and cut about 6 layers of fabric at once.

The second set I made were from MMB by Hand. I made a slight modification to her design and made the interior layer out of t-shirt material.

In each of the mask types, I used left over cotton fabric I had in my stash, the t-shirt fabric is from a t-shirt I decluttered from my closet and the nose wire was floral wire and pipe cleaners. Remember to round the wires at the end so they don't poke through the fabric. I didn't do that with the pipe cleaners and I should have.

I hope that you are able to take this time for yourself and do something you enjoy.

If you want to see other things I have been working on, follow my Instagram page @craftycanadianladies

Happy Easter

I hope you and your family are safe and well.

I don't know about you but I definitely needed to create something that was bright, beautiful and spring like. I absolutely love spring.

Jennifer Maker has designed a beautiful multi-layer mandala-style egg that is easy and quick to cut and assemble.

She uses a Cricut cutting machine but with her designed svg files, you could use another brand of cutting machine.

I chose to use the same colours as Jennifer used in her example.

I love the finished egg. We have it hanging in the front window to spread a little joy to those walking by the house.

Finished egg is approximately 10 inches tall by 8 inches wide

You can get your free svg design file and instructions from Jennifer Maker's blog.

Hope you have a wonderful Easter weekend.