Sack Boy & Pig Bag

Sack boy is finished!!! I found the pattern online. It was from a magazine that is released in the UK. The beginning was tough to knit, because the pattern and the stitch count did not match up. I had to figure out how to make the pattern match the stitch count. Apparently everyone else has had the same issues with the pattern. If you don't know who sack boy is, he is the main character in the game Little Big Planet. My son loves that game. This particular sack boy is the starter character. As you move through the different levels / worlds, you win new materials that sack boy can be made out of, costume, accessories, etc. My son has already started thinking about what kinds of accessories and new sack boys he wants me to make next. I also want to make one for my husband. He makes video games, so it would be cute for his office.

I made 2 of these pig bags to house the pigs that I gave as gifts. My son's librarian loved her pig and the bag. I got a nice hug from her. She collects pigs, plus she loved that I also knew about National Pig Day (March 1st). My husband's boss is out of town and won't get his until Monday (for his baby).

Fun Tee Shirts

My husband just posted a link on his blog where you can buy t-shirts with his doodles on it. I say doodles, because he likes to draw these crazy and fun things while in meetings. Then he colors them on the computer. I love them. I want 2 of the shirts for myself. http://drupanishad.blogspot.com/2009/02/if-you-like-my-weirdo-drawings.html

Recycle Sock Monkey & Pants Bag

I found these great socks with the recycling symbol all over them. The monkey's head is small, because the top of the sock was not very long. I added small plastic eyes and used a chain stitch to make the mouth and nose. I think he is super cute. My toddler had the greatest reaction when receiving him last night. He has been carrying this monkey and his pig around with him everywhere.

This bag was made from a pair of khaki pants that my older son out grew. They have been washed, but still have stains around the knees. One knee had a hole in it, which I stitched together for the bag. I am getting 2 bags from this one pair of pants. The 2nd bag is being made from the top of the pants. For this bag I cut off the pants legs just above the cargo pockets. I then opened them up on one side and sewed the 2 legs together to form a new looped piece of fabric. I then cut some fabric for the lining and sewed it to the inside of the pants fabric. The legs were too long for a bag, so I pulled the bottom of the pants inside of the loop and made inside pockets as a result. I sewed the bottom closed. Then I hand stitched 2 sides of the inside pockets so that they were 2 separate pockets. I then added a snap to keep them closed. I cut out some more fabric and used it to attach the handles. I decided not to make any kind of closure on the bag, because I want to use it to carry around my knitting or other traveling crafts. I love the cargo pockets on the outside. I am currently using one of them to hold my small scissors in. This project has been on the back burner for some time now. I finally got inspired to make something out of these pants.

Earth Day Fair & DI hat

Today I have worked on my DI hat. I am almost finished crocheting the hat itself. It is the height that I want it to be, and not I am crocheting the brim (top hat).

I started making a recycling sock monkey. I have socks with the recycling symbol all over them. All the pieces are cut out. The sewing machine part is finished, and all the body parts have been stuffed. Now on to the hand sewing part. The tail and one arm is attached. I also made a running stitch where the neck is. I will be taking this project to my quilt guild meeting tonight.

I have also made several phone calls regarding the Earth Day Fair. So far have have 6 definite people who will have a table set up and/or talking at the fair. I have a few more maybes, and I have emailed and left phone messages with several others. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I can pull this off and that it will turn out great.

Recycled Crafts

I saw this purse several months ago, and I had to have one. Since then I have been saving my can tabs. Today I got inspired to start making it. I probably don't have enough tabs yet, but you have to start somewhere. I printed out the picture of the purse that I liked (there are several) so that I can refer to how it was made. So far I have 3 x 9 tabs stitched together. I just wrapped thread (doubled over) around 2 tabs that were side by side (the top holes). Then I placed 2 more tabs below those ones, lining up the top holes of the new ones over the bottom holes of already stitched ones. Then I looped them together with thread several times, and repeated the process. I can't wait to show this purse off in public.



My mom sent me the February issue of Family Fun because of this craft. It is a milk carton wallet. I finally got my printer to work (the baby had stuck some things in it), and was able to print out the template. You can go to their website and do a search for "milk carton" to find it. It was easy enough. The hardest part was cutting the hole for the spout to fit through. My husband suggested that I cover the inside of the spout so that the money does not fall out when the cap it off. The cap is the locking devise. I think I might line the inside with fabric, and that should fix the prolem while making it look nicer.

Pig, Octopus, & Sackboy

I made another pig from the free pattern at lionbrand.com. This one has embroidered eyes, unlike all the others. This was a request from my husband. He thinks that his boss's baby is super cute, and wanted me to make one for him. March 1st is National Pig Day, so all the pigs that I made as gifts will be given then. I started working on yet another pig. I want to use up all of my pink yarn (stash busting). However the newest pig will be made in the reverse colors: Rose for the body and Pink for the body parts.

I also started knitting Ollie the Octopus from the free pattern on lionbrand.com. I finished making the body last night.

Then my older son kept bugging me to make him Sack Boy from the game Little Big Planet. He bugged me so much, that last night I found and printed a pattern for it. Originally I was going to knit some socks and make him like I would a sock monkey, but this way is better. However the man who wrote out the pattern must be on crack (figuratively speaking), because I have had to fudge the pattern to make the stitch count match up. I did a Ravelry search, and others have had the same problem. They all said that it still turned out right, so there is hope. I just finished knitting the body. You would think that it would be knit in the round, but its not. The body is joined by adding a zipper, just like on the game character. When I am all finished with sack boy, I know that he will be bugging me for accessories for it. I'm thinking that that will be a good birthday present.

Another mouse

I made another mouse from the book "Knitted & Felted Toys" by Zoe Halstead. I started making the penguin from her book, but had to start over about 5 times. The 1st time was painful since I was on row 30 when I discovered a hole at the beginning.

I've also been working on a 4th pig and my DI hat off and on. In non-craft related news, I am organizing the Earth Day Fair in my town for this year. I will be doing a demo for the passers by as well as showing my recycled crafts during that day.

Mouse toy & dish cloth

Yesterday someone gave me some extra yarn that they had. One was Red Heart acrylic yarn in the Royal (blue) colorway. I really enjoyed making the pigs and wanted to make another animal without having to go shopping for more yarn. I found this knitted mouse pattern in "Knitted & Felted Toys" by Zoe Halstead. My husband had bought it for me some time last year and I had never made anything from it. The mouse was one of the few patterns in there where it did not matter what color yarn you used. I knitted it while watching tv last night. My toddler seems to like it.
With this dish cloth, I knit it from corner to corner. I cast on 1 stitch, then knit that stitch. I knit into the front ant back loops of each end for every other row. The alternate rows were just knit in every stitch. When I decided to decrease, I knit 2 together in place of the increases. Between this dish cloth and the other one, I ran out of this yarn before I could finish this project. I had a striped green yarn and I used that on the bottom corner.

Valentine's Weekend

I have made 2 more pigs and have started making another one. One of the pigs is for my son's school librarian. She collects pigs. I need to find out when national pig day is, and I'll give it to her then.


I also knitted another dish cloth. I used a self striping cotton yarn in Easter colors (blue, purple, green, and white.... all light colors). I cast on 37 stitches and just knit in garter stitch. I used Lily's Sugar'n Cream and size US10 needles. I just cast on the same yarn on the same needles for a new2 dish cloth. I am starting off with one stitch and increasing on the two ends every other row. The alternate rows are knitted as is. I'll eyeball where I want to start decreasing it. This way I'll end up with a square dish cloth with diagonal stripes.


In other news, I am an Instant Challenge appraiser for my region's DestiNation Imagination Tournament this year. I went to my training session on Valentine's Day. The one creative thing that an appraiser has to do is make a silly hat to wear at the tournament. It puts the kids at ease. I am making mine out of recycled materials. Right now I am crocheting a top hat out of plastic bag yarn. I am going to embellish it. I have a few ideas floating around in my head. At the end of the tournament, there is a hat contest for the appraisers. That should be fun. If you don't know what DI (DestiNation Imagination) is, it might be easier to look it up than for me to explain it. I was a team manager for my son's team last year. It's a lot of work. The kids come out of having learned a lot.

Pig & Hearts

Last night I knitted 3 heart shaped dish clothes. I used Lily's Sugar'n Cream cotton yarn in the pinky stripes color way. I used a size US8 knitting needles for this project. I now know that pattern by heart, lol. I know that I have posted this link before, but here is the link for the instructions:
http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/BK4K-0602001.html?noImages=

Today I made an amigurumi pig. Instructions can be found at http://www.lionbrand.com/cgi-bin/patternFinder.fcgi?search=Search&searchText=pig&Go.x=21&Go.y=10. I used Lion Brand Vanna's Choice yarn in the Rose and in the pink color way. I also used a size G crochet hook. This was another Valentine's Day present for my toddler. My oldest son picked it up with chocolaty fingers that left a mark. Oh well. I plan on making at least one more. The librarian at my son's school loves pigs. She is such a nice woman, that I would love to make her one.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

I was on Ravelry.com today when I came across a thread that asked what you can do to reduce your waste at home. I forgot to add using a compost and a water barrel in the thread, but here is what I posted.

Cereal boxes and other food boxes: 1. make file boxes (I keep magazines and computer print outs in mine)
2. Make a book. You can sew in the pages or just staple them.
3. Quilting templates. I have made several templates for my hand pieced grandma's flower garden quilt.
4. ornaments - glue on left over or used wrapping paper or old cards (Christmas or whatever cards).

Juice pouches, like Capri Sun & Kool Aid: I clean them out and sew them up to make all sorts of things.To see examples, check out [my blog][1] or [my website][2].

Plastic shopping bags: 1. cut them to make yarn then knit, crochet, or weave them to make great tote bags or other things.
2. fuse them and then sew them to make produce bags. Examples are also on my blog.
3. Make a winter wreath out of them. Vicki Howell from Knitty Gritty has a link on how to make one on her blog.
4. Mailing packages, instead of using bubble wrap and packing peanuts

Plastic Bottle caps: 1. ornaments
2. jewelry
3. punch a hole on 2 sides, string together, and you have garland for your outdoor trees
4. Personally I am going to make a trash can out of mine by punching 4 holes (around the sides) and putting them together with wire.

Metal bottle caps: 1. ornaments
2. jewelery
3. game board pieces, like for checkers
4. turn your shoes into tap shoes
5. I have seen them made into hand bags and even chairs (the frame was made from something else)

Soda pull tabs: 1. a beautiful purse. I've seen pictures and now I am going to make one.
2. Some people crochet flowers using them

Twist ties and bread clips: These are good for around the house. You can keep your wires and cords together, hang things, etc.

Scrap ribbon: 1. fuse them or stitch them together to make a funky new ribbon
2. collage
3. use on gift cards and gift tag

Left over pieces of yarn, thread, fabric, and other soft materials: stuffing. I make dog toys and use those left over tid bits to stuff it with. Some people find a way to put these things in their quilts (as part of the design).

Those green plastic things that strawberries come in: 1. an Easter basket
2. line with tin foil and put a plant in
3. weave ribbon through it and make a container
4. makes an excellent bubble wand
5. printing (just dip in paint and print)
6. turn upside down and it is a pencil holder

Plastic bottle: 1. message in a bottle (Family Fun has it for a Valentine's gift)
2. The bottom is cut, sanded, and attached to more bottoms to form a flower like curtain
3. Cut the top off, punch holes around the top, and join a few together with ribbon or yarn - great pencil holder

Potato chip bags: 1. cut and fold like a gum chain, join, invisible stitch, and make a change purse (DIY's Craft Lab has instructions)
2. Turn inside out and it is shiny wrapping paper

Duct Tape: make a sheet, flip over so that sticky side is up, attack candy wrappers or other paper like products, fold and glue or tape to make a gift bag.

Business cards: take two and glue the fronts together so that you end up with 2 blank sides. Fold in half, punch a hole at the corner, and you have a gift tag.

Tape cassette holder: flip open and you have a business card holder

CDs: 1. cut a Styrofoam ball in half, glue the 2 halves to either side of the cd, you have Saturn
2. Cut and mosaic
3. use the back side to make a card or ornament
4. punch small holes, string together, and make a curtain
5. glue a marble in the center of one side and a water bottle cap to the center of the other side and you have a spin top.
6. I've seen beautiful sculptures / mobiles made from cds

Soda Cans and other cans: 1. make a robot (not a real working one)
2. there are books on how to make airplanes and cars from them. My uncle made a road runner out of some
3. I made a chair out of them once. I couldn't sit on it though.
4. cut and flatten, then tack onto wood: purse, sign, planter, etc.
5. Fill with water, freeze, using a nail and hammer, make holes in a pattern. Then let the water melt, then dump the water out. You have a lantern. Great for Halloween.

There are books on what to do with tubes, egg cartons, boxes, etc. I love looking in the children's section of the library for ideas.

Valentine's Box

My oldest son needed to make a Valentine's holder from a shoe box. He wanted it painted red. I spray painted several coats of paint on it so that the writing from the shoe box did not show through. He said that he wanted a heart cut out of the top (where the Valentines would go). I cut a large heart out of paper and used it as a template. I first asked him if it was the right size. He wanted it a little smaller. Thats why I started out big. You can always make it smaller. Then I showed him what it would look like on the box in 2 different placements. He liked the diagonal placement. So I cut it out for him. I also die-cut several hearts, tags, and letters (that are in his name) out of different colored construction paper. I'll provide him with these things plus stickers, glue, and writing materials so that he can decorate his box for school tomorrow.

I've been working on the heart log cabin quilt. It is slow going since I am hand sewing it. I have 3 blocks finished, and 4 others almost finished. I am also posting a picture of my youngest son with his knitted heart pillows.

Knitted heart pillows

I finished knitting the last of the 4 hearts today. I then embroidered the white hearts. I sewed the hearts together to make 2 small pillows for my toddler for Valentines Day. The red heart has a cat toy inside of it. Its one of those balls with a bell inside. I find that it jingles better than just placing a bell inside with the stuffing.

Hearts

Last night I knitted 3 more hearts and started a 4th heart. I am using this pattern from Lion Brand: http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/BK4K-0602001.html?noImages=
However I am knitting from only one strand of yarn using size US 8 knitting needles. Two of the hearts are made using red Lion's Brand Homespun and the others are made from the standard acrylic yarn in white. I am making small pillows for my toddler for Valentine's Day. I might embroider something on the white hearts. The white hearts are slightly smaller than the red ones. That just goes to show you how 2 different yarns can result in 2 different sizes.

Valentine's Day Log Cabin Quilt

I am hand sewing a log cabin quilt for Valentine's Day. I am positive that it will not be finished this month. However it will be finished for next year, lol. I love log cabin quilts. I saw one where the blocks were turned to form a heart. That is what I want to do here. I am not sure how big it will be or who it will be for. It will be for someone in my home though.

Heart Pot Holder

I just finished knitting a heart shaped pot holder. I got the free pattern from Lion Brand's website: http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/BK4K-0602002.html?noImages=
I am trying to use what I have in my stash. So I used 2 different types of red yarn (one being Lion Brand's Homespun) and one acrylic white yarn. I used size 8 knitting needles (too small, so it is really tight). Now I just need to weave in the ends. It turned out pretty good. Next time I will just use 2 strands of yarn with the same needle size.

I have also been making plastic bag yarn.

Winterfest, Winter Rest

I had a table set up at the UU Church for Winterfest from 9 am - 2 pm today. I showed people how to make things out of recycled materials.
-make yarn from plastic bags (with examples of knitted and crochet tote bags)
-make a wreath from plastic shopping bags and coke bottle caps
-things from juice pouches (the notebook being the easiest to make)
-t-shirt bags
-blue jean purse
-I had a change purse made from potato chip bags (like a gum chain)
-notebooks from cardboard boxes
-pencil holder made from plastic soda bottles
-file box made from a cereal box
-fused plastic bags turned into small bags (good for produce)

How tos can be found through HGTV.com or diynetwork.com
-Creative Juice: juice pouch notebooks
-Craft Lab: potato chip bag purse
-Carol Duval: How to make yarn from plastic bags
-Also Martha Stewart shows how to make bags from t-shirts
You can also do a Google search and find directions, or just ask me. I can give directions or links on here if anyone is interrested. Just let me know. On a previous post I explained how to make a juice pouch notebook.

Anyway... There weren't as many people there as there was last year. I enjoyed showing people how to make things out of recycled materials. When everyone is trying to save money, it's nice to be able to make a present for little to no money. Make a gift out of a recycled item, and save money, help our planet, and give a very unique gift. Not enough hand made gifts are given anymore. Those are the most treasured gifts in my opinion.

Come see me at Winterfest on Saturday!

I will be doing a recycling demo at the UU Church in the middle of Chelmsford, MA from 9am - 2pm this Saturday (2/7/2009). I was able to get in just this week. I also have 3 juice pouch items up for auction there as well. I will defiantly be showing people how to recycle plastic shopping bags. I might also show how to recycle juice pouches and their boxes. I will not be selling anything, but I will have my business cards available and I can take orders. The important part for me is showing people how to recycle things in their home and turn them into useful items. It's even more important in times like these when every penny counts. You can make a gift for someone for zero to $5 from using things in your home. Velcro and ribbon can cost as low as $1 each, and zippers are just a little bit more. Of course you do need to have certain basics: a crochet hook or knitting needles, scissors, and a needle and thread (hand sew or machine stitch).

You can't change the world, but you can make a dent :)

Knitting group & Bee Stitch

While on Ravelry, I discovered that there is a knitting group that meets in my town every Wednesday night. The time frame was perfect since I can't leave my house until later. There were about 9 people there. I was so happy to see such a large group. I was not the only new person either. People were knitting and spinning and talking. I had fun, and I finished that dish cloth that I had started knitting on Tuesday night.

I started a new dish cloth last night after I got home. I am using the bee stitch to knit it. It's a favorite of mine when making dish cloths. I like the way it looks. I'm using the same yarn and needle size as before (US 10, Lily's Sugar'n Cream cotton). I cast on 29 stitches for mine.

Bee Stitch

Multiple of 2 sts + 1

Row 1: Knit across

Row 2: (right side) K1, * K1 below (go through the knit stitch in the row below), K1; repeat from *

Row 3: Knit across

Row 4: K2, K1 below, *K1, K1 below across to last 2 sts, K2

Repeat rows 1-4 for pattern.

Twisted Texture knit pattern

I have been hand sewing the Valentine's Day log cabin blocks. It's nice to be able to do this while watching tv or while my son is playing in the bath tub. I have also been knitting a dish cloth. I like to try out new knitting patterns while making something useful (a dish cloth).

I am knitting the "Twisted Texture" pattern on size US 10 needles, using Lily's Sugar'n Cream yarn (cotton). The yarn company says that gauge is US 7 needles, but I like having some air holes in my dish cloths (they don't smell as much).

Multiple of 3 sts + 1 (I cast on 28 sts)

Row 1: Purl across

Row 2 (right side): P1, * work Back Cross (knit in 2nd st on left needle, knit in 1st st, then let the 2 left hand needle sts drop), P1, then repeat from *.

Row 3: (The opposite) K1, * purl in 2nd st on left needle, purl in 1st st, then let the 2 left hand needle sts drop, K1, repeat from *

Row 4: Knit across

Repeat rows 1 -4 until you achieve your desired length.

Ravelry

I'm on Ravelry.com now!!!!! Woohoo! My name on there is KristyRecycles. I'm so glad that now I can participate in topics and other things that my favorite knitting podcasts do. What are my favorite knitting podcasts? Y Knit, Knit Picks, Yarn Craft (by Lion Brand), and Stash and Burn. I love Knitters Uncensored, but it seems like they are done podcasting.

Steps to the Stars Quilt

I added the border to this quilt. The smaller, inner border is the red floral fabric that was used in the quilt blocks. The outer, larger boarder is mainly purple with some white. It features small birds (doves I think). I bought this fabric in high school before I knew how much fabric was enough fabric (about 14 years ago). Which means I bought way too much fabric. I never knew what to use it for, but I really liked it. I still like it. So it seems fitting that my 1st use of it will be for my grandmother's quilt. The picture was taken while I was pinning the last of the border on.