A Bit O' Green for Her Pocket ~

The day is almost upon us...St Patrick's Day! I have buttermilk in the fridge and fresh flour and soda for baking. I will be making Irish Soda Bread this weekend~ Here are some interesting facts about the U.S., Ireland and St Patrick's Day~

• There are 34.7 million American residents with Irish ancestry. This number is more than seven times the population of Ireland itself.  Irish is the nation's second most frequently reported ancestry, ranking behind German.
• Across the U.S., 11 percent of residents lay claim to Irish ancestry. That number more than doubles to 23 percent in the state of Massachusetts.
• It has long been recounted that, during his mission in Ireland, St. Patrick once stood on a hilltop (which is now called Croagh Patrick), and with only a wooden staff by his side, banished all the snakes from Ireland. In fact, the island nation was never home to any snakes. The "banishing of the snakes" was really a metaphor for the eradication of pagan ideology from Ireland and the triumph of Christianity. Within 200 years of Patrick's arrival, Ireland was completely Christianized.

I made a little 'happy' for a friend to brighten her St. Patty's Day. She will be able to microwave her gift and tuck them into a pocket to keep her hands warm. I used festive green fabric, a simple pattern and some flax seed.

You could use dried/dehydrated corn (you dont want it to pop in the microwave! lol) or flax seed, which I found at the grocery store.

I drew a simple shamrock design on a piece of paper, then cut 4 shamrocks from my project fabric. Use pinking shears for quick results; you won't have to worry about frayed edges as these wont be washable. If you want a cleaner look, you can sew the shamrocks right sides together, leaving a small spot to turn, fill with flax, then finish off the open spot with top stitching.

Since these are handwarmers and will not be washable, I opted to pink the edges and sew wrong sides (not printed) together!

These can be microwaved for 5-10 second intervals until warm, then put them in your pocket or hold in your palms...cozy! I have a larger heart shaped one that I bought, and I use it all the time on my lap or lower back when it is chilly outside and I am online or reading.


sharing this with Brambleberry Cottage