Sleepy Cat Hollow

Ramblings about Crafting & Life in Northern Nevada

Copper Jewelry and Lap Quilts

Posted by sleepycathollow on April 29, 2008

In between building my raised garden bed (soon those veggies will be growing!) I’m working on a couple of lap quilts for Odyssey Healthcare in Gulfport, MS and playing with copper wire for myself.

Sitting on the floor last night while watching one of my favorites on the Food Network channel, Guy Fieri’s Diners Drive-in’s & Dives, I played with my copper wire again. Made two round necklace pendants (ok…so one is not so round) with beads and wire wrapped. Hammered them. And placed one in a container with Liver of Sulphur (LOS)…ahhhh…that took me back to my geology lab days! ROFL! I love the smell sulphur in the evening! :roll: Kept the one piece in the LOS for about one hour and then peeked in…had gun metal grey, brown and reds…so I took it out. Pretty cool looking. I’m wearing it today.

Here is the other one ~ with out the “antique” oxidizing. It’s too big for my liking. 1-3/8″ across. Think I’ll try it again in the size of a quarter.

My friend Belinda was approached by Odyssey Hospice for volunteer help and she rallied all of her online friends to help…I volunteered to make a few lap quilts. I have to go get some cotten batting for these, discovered all I had on hand was for my husband’s Underground Railroad quilt. So many unfinished projects! ACK!

A couple of days ago, I received a request from someone who manages volunteers for a hospice in Mississippi. She was looking for volunteers to sew for her hospice patients and was asking me for resources. I will be sewing for this hospice, Odyssey Healthcare (www.odsyhealth.com ) as well as continuing to sew for Mission of Hope (www.missionofhope.org ). I would like to encourage you to sew simple projects for this hospice, or perhaps one like it in your area. Although my dad was never put on hospice care before he died, I had the opportunity to watch the hospice staff as they visited other patients in the nursing home, and I was always impressed with their unique ability to bring smiles to people who were in situations where all they wanted to do was cry. I think that people who are directly involved in hospice work must be very special people indeed.

Anyone who sews, knits, crochets, or quilts can volunteer to donate simple projects. Blankets, pillows, pillowcases, adult bibs, crafts, and quilts are all acceptable. Apparently, there are no restrictions and any donations will be used, with nothing going to waste.

If you should decide to volunteer to sew, knit, quilt, or crochet for this worthy cause, here is the contact information

TClark@odsyhealth.com or 228-297-5976

(I would suggest that initial contact be made via e-mail or phone because there are a few guidelines that must be followed.)

The mailing address is : Tiffany Clark, Manager of Volunteer Services, Odyssey Healthcare, 9414 Three Rivers Road, Suite 3, Gulfport, MS 39503

I hope that some of the readers of this blog will consider sharing sewing, quilting, crocheting, or knitting skills, even if it’s just one time. You might play a small part in making someone’s final sunset just a little bit easier, and after they have passed through that final sunset, the blanket or pillow that you made might bring some comfort to the family left behind. At first, they might see through tears, but eventually, they will be able to look at a project that someone sewed or quilted, and remember happier times with their loved ones. The tears may still come, but with each passing day, it may become just a little bit easier to smile through those tears. Wouldn’t it be a great feeling to know that perhaps by creating just one simple project, you might play a part in bringing a small measure of comfort to someone?

Here are two finished quilt tops ~


Split Rail Fence Quilt Pattern

Posted in Friends, Quilts, food, metal, wire | 2 Comments »

Copper Wire Crafting

Posted by sleepycathollow on March 18, 2008

I seem to pick up lots of things on a fancy…and while I’ve always liked to work with wire (french beaded flowers and whatnot), I found some copper wire not too long ago and started hammering away on it.  Tappa Tappa Tappa into the night I went.  Then I started adding glass and metal beads to the hammered wire.  Now I’m hooked…until the next fancy comes along. 

It’s a good thing I have lots of creative outlets for my stress!!!

I have a big anvil type vise out in the shed, but it’s cold out there still and it’s bolted to the work bench.  My husband went upstairs and came down with a small 5×2x2 piece of steel for me to use while inside at night.   But he yelled at me around 11pm last night to cut out all the racket…phooey.  It’s hard to hammer copper wire quietly, eh?! 

This is what I made while sitting on the floor…watching Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives last night. Just love that guy ~ I could take him and Bobby Flay home with me any time.

My little inside hammering set-up ~

Posted in Artists, Crafts, Jewelry, beads, food, wire | 4 Comments »