Plarn

I'm over-run with plastic grocery bags. Now, before you get after me, telling me that I'm not doing my part to save our planet, let me say that I do own cloth grocery bags, and I use them regularly.  However, I often make quick drop-in/spur-of-the-moment trips to the store, and on those trips I don't generally have my cloth bags with me.  So, I've been saving my plastic guys (I use them for liners for the bedroom and bathroom trash cans around my house--probably like most of you), and I've reached the point where I've got too many to deal with.

It's definitely time to make some plarn.

I did a little research to find some plarn-making techniques. For future reference, and for any of you who are looking for the same, I've posted the links that I've found to be the most helpful:

Instructions from My Recycled Bags

How to make Plarn and Crochet an Eco-Friendly Tote Bag from Etsy.com

 

(I think these instructions are my favorite )

Here's a video that's pretty good too:

Finished!

Remember the Newsboy Cap I was working on?

It's done!



To be honest, as I started work on this, I wasn't all that confident that the colors would work together very well.  Looking at it now though, I think it's kind of fun.  It's not a color combination that you see every day, and I think that's what I like most about it.

Incidentally, getting this picture was harder than you might have imagined.  It was a very windy day, and my Styrofoam head kept falling over and rolling away.  Pretty frustrating, but somehow I managed to get a few shots in between gusts.   (Here are a pair of out-takes, just to prove my point.)

Feel better about your own photography skills?

(Yeah, I thought so.)

Newsboy Update

Well, I got all my brown Newsboys done, and I talked my sister into modeling one for me earlier this month.  The pictures turned out really great, in my opinion.  I just love the way Becca's hair and coloring and warm smile combine with the cap and the evergreen tree behind her to make a setting that is just so much fun.

Here, I'll show you what I mean:



On another note, I'm working on a red variegated newsboy cap for the same customer that ordered the red cap that I talked about in this post.  I found some Peaches & Creme yarn that I liked, and since I'd heard that Pisgah was going out of business, I went ahead and ordered a whole bunch of my favorite Peaches & Creme colors, along with some of the variegated red for the cap.  When the order arrived, there was a note with the information that Pisgah had been acquired by Spinrite, and that Spinrite was in the process of analyzing what products would continue to stay in the Pisgah line.  Then it referred me to the Lily's Sugar and Cream website to look at the offerings there.  I'm just wondering if any of you have heard definitively one way or the other whether or not the Peaches & Creme cotton balls and cones are going to be continued.  The thing is, as far as the quality of yarn, I haven't noticed a whole lot of difference between the Peaches & Creme and the Sugar and Cream offerings.  BUT, I like the color selections in the Peaches & Creme much more. 

Anyone heard anything? 









I'm linking to:

a gorgeous etsy treasury

I'm just tickled pink to have one of my scarves featured among all this beauty.  Wow! 

(Check out that Embroidery Hoop Art with the Stacked Houses!  Isn't that amazing?)

 

'~ whisper of eternity ~' by Ki3m

760x100 banner logo f... simplydoodles $6.00	Handmade Chunky Scarf i... salutationscro... $43.00	Three Soda and Wood Fir... khphillips $91.00	Sheets 8 X 10 inch Sign... gildinglilies $20.00
Decorative Damask Throw... DelindaBoutiqu... $19.00	Stacked Houses - Origin... saysthetree $50.00	dreamy song sparrow, a ... ORphotography $23.00	Upcycled Chunky Frames ... cottagehomedec... $25.00
Softly - 8x12 Fine Art ... Lori411 $27.00	Single Freshwater Pearl... LexiandGem $26.00	Brooch Felted white ros... Baymut $24.00	Set of 20 - Butterfly -... MamaTita $30.00
Coconut Craze Olive Oil... dennisanderson $5.50	Custom Monograms FineEmbroidery $30.00	Berry Bowl - Linen - La... vesselsandware... $56.00	Japan Relief Efforts - ... HoneysHive $15.00

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com A/B image testing.

and as long as we're talking about flowers . . .

Check out this post at Skip to my Lou.  CindyLou has found ten great (FREE) tutorials/patterns for beautiful crocheted flowers.  From peonies to poinsettias, she's got it all listed and linked.  What a gift!

Picture from rosehip.com, which is where you can find the pattern for these dainty treats.

Thanks to CindyLou, and thanks to my cousin Tasha, who clued me in to the post in the first place!

Something for Spring

I've been doing a little work with ornamental flowers lately.  Not too long ago, I had a customer contact me about crocheting a group of 20 or so flowers for her.  She makes and sells one-of-a-kind headbands, and her previous supply of crocheted flowers had dried up.  Her only specifications were that they should be around 2" across, that all the petals should be made of a different color, and that every one should be different. 

I went to work and came up with these:

Front Side

Back Side

And, just for fun, here's the pattern I came up with to put them all together. 

(By the way, these little beauties make a great stashbuster!)

Triple Layer Multi-Colored Flower
Crochet Hook size F

For Outer Petals:
Ch 4, sl st in 4th ch from hook to form ring, work petal (ch 2, 2 dc, ch 2, sl st in ring) 5 times. Sl st at base of 1st petal to join. Fasten off.

For Middle Petals:
Ch 4, sl st in 4th ch from hook to form ring, work open petal (ch 4, sl st in ring) 5 times. Sl st at base of 1st petal to join. Fasten off.

For Center:
Ch 3, sc in 3rd ch from hook, sc in same space four (or five) more times. Join with sl st to top of beg ch 3. Fasten off. (6-7 sc)

Assembly: Layer flower center, middle petals, and outer petals and sew together to form flower.

Enjoy!

Extra! Extra! Read all About it!

(This is a post about newsboy caps--hence the title.)
(Get it?  Extra! Extra! about newsboy caps?  Hilarious, right?)
(Okay, okay, let's just get on to the post.)

It's been a little while since I've posted over here, huh?  Yeah.  I have a few explanations for that, but the primary one is that I just finished hosting the third annual Midwinter Musical Madness competition over at my other blog.  It's always a great time, and is a big help in getting me through those February and Early-March blues that I tend to get when spring doesn't come around quite as quickly as I want it to.

But, as long as I'm typing here and now, I thought I'd do a Work-in-Progress Wednesday post, my first ever.

Right now, when it comes to crocheting, I'm working on newsboy caps.  I got word that my friend Lee had actually had one of her caps disappear (she lives in a residential care facility), and that she could use another one.  So, I made her up another one, and I figured as long as I had the pattern in my fingers, I might as well make up a few more, while I was at it. I got out some cotton yarn that I had reclaimed from some sweaters last year, and went to it.  I've been toying with some different ideas for adding elastic around the brim to make them a little more versatile, and I'm still looking for a solution that hits the right balance between aesthetics, practicality, and time/expense.  Overall though, I'm quite pleased with how they're turning out.








As luck would have it, while I was in the process of making up these brown hats, I received a custom order for a red one in a larger size.  So, I made one of those up as well.  I haven't decided whether or not I will make more like this to sell in the shop.  Right now I'm leaning toward "yes", but only time will tell. 




I'm linking to: Tamis Amis and other Crochet, and Everyday Crochet