Four Scrubbies

Here are the 4 finished scrubbies that I made this month (cast on 36 stitches and knit 40 rows of the pattern).  No more having to buy plastic ones from the store.  I still want to make one out of the mesh that onions come in.  To turn the mesh into yarn, just cut the mesh bag in a narrow spiral around the bag.

Bangles part 3

Today I taught a bangle class at the library.  I had made the base of these bangles out of cardboard mailing tubes.  I brought in all kinds of things for the girls to use to decorate their bangles with.  I showed them how to coil / wrap yarn to create a certain look,  but it was completely up to them how they wanted to decorate their bangle.  The girls were able to make up to 3 bangles.  Everyone seemed to enjoy it.  I made the above bangle during class using fabric, buttons, and glue.

Two types of wrapped ribbon.

Wrapped ribbon and buttons.

Wrapped ribbon.

Ribbon and buttons.

Ribbon and yarn.

Fabric and ribbon.

Wrapped ribbon and yarn.

Sponge Bob fabric and buttons.

Three kinds of ribbon.  One ribbon has a straight stitch running through the center, and then it was gathered to create ruffles.

Ribbon, yarn, and fake flower petals.

I was not able to take a picture of all of the bangles.

Some of them also had fabric flowers with button centers on them.

It was a great class!

Aside from the link parties on the right hand side of my blog, this is also linked in Lamb Around.

Dishcloth Duo Sewing Steps

I've been busy knitting scrubbies this week (doubling the pattern for a larger scrubby).  I wanted to show what it looks like before it is sewn (picture above).

Next you need to sew the cast on and bind off sides together.  It will look and feel a little strange at the moment.

Next pull your yarn through the slipped stitches on one side of the scrubby and pull it tight to close up that side.  Knot it to secure it.

Then turn the scrubby right side out and repeat the last step on the remaining open side.  It is very easy to make.  I have made 4 of these scrubbies so far out of this skein of yarn.  I have enough yarn left to make one more.

Bangles part 2

You may remember my earlier post on making bangles out of a cardboard mailing tube.  After I sanded the 1" rings down, I spray painted a few white.  That actually made them rougher.  So now I need to re-sand them before my class tomorrow.  While on vacation I bought some fun and soft yarn.  I thought that it would look nice wrapped or coiled around the bangle.  I love how it turned out.  I want to make more of these after tomorrow's class.

Wordless Wednesday: A Walk in the Park

My new desktop photo

What kind of bug is this?

Bangles

photo by Drew Medina

For two days now I have been sawing 1" rings from this mailing tube, and I am not done yet.

photo by Drew Medina

Why?  I am teaching a class on Friday at the library on how to make bangles out of recycled materials.  I am preparing the "bangles" so that the kids can decorate them.

photo by Drew Medina

As you can see they are rough around the edges.  I wonder if they would be smoother if I had used a power saw.

After they are cut, then I sand the edges so that they are smooth and wearable.  I am using fine sandpaper.

There is some waste involved, but at least it is recyclable.  These curls came from some of the rings that just didn't want to keep that layer of cardboard on them during the sanding process.  Warning: there is a lot of dust involved with sanding them.  It was much more pleasant sanding them outside than inside.

Junk Yard Bunny

This cute little plarn bunny was made by someone that I know, Deirdre.  She loosely followed the bunny pattern in Crochet Collection (c. 1994) from Leisure Arts Productions.  The link takes you to a 2009 publication, but it does have a similar bunny pattern in it (it might even be the same one).  Deirdre stuffed the bunny with the plastic bag scraps.  I just love her use of plarn color in it.  I think it turned out really cute. 


Funny story, I was showing people how to make plarn 2 or 3 years ago during our town's Winterfest.  Someone who watched my demo said that she enjoyed crocheting bunnies and that she wanted to make a plarn one.  Little did I know that I would get to know her and feature her plarn bunny on my blog.  I have met some wonderful people through being a recycling advocate in my town.  Thank you Deirdre for allowing me to blog about your cute junk yard bunny!

Scrubby & Brown Plarn Bag

I made another circular scrubby last night (I doubled the pattern for the size).  I used red heart soft yarn (acrylic).  Normally I use cotton for my dishcloths, but the pattern said that acrylic works great for scrubbies.  I really want to make a bunch of these, because I prefer washing my dishes with scrubbies.

I have also been working on this plarn bag for a while now.  Last night I ran out of the brown plarn.  I sent out a call for brown plastic shopping bags to all of my facebook friends.  I need to go and search my plastic bag stash to see if I can find any more.  I also need to make some blue plarn, because I want to add some blue stripes to it as well.  Maybe I'll also raid the grocery store's plastic bag bin to see if there are any brown bags in there.  The manager of one store said that I could do that anytime, and 3 other stores have let me do that in the past.  Sometimes I even get lucky and find a few colored newspaper bags in there.

Soda Tab Necklace Video

Here is the video that I made while making this necklace.

I hope that people will understand how to make it.

If you have trouble, there is a link to another video in the description.

Soda Tab Bracelet Class

This morning I made this blue soda tab bracelet.  I was very happy to finally have enough of these blue tabs to make a bracelet out of.  I also have a few gold and red ones as well, but not as many.  Last night I made a pink one (silver tabs and pink ribbon).

Today I taught a class at the library on how to make these bracelets.  Here is my set up.  The ribbon was precut to 37", and each young lady got 23 soda tabs, a tapestry needle, and the clasps for the bracelet.

I think that the class went well.  Two of the young ladies were able to make two bracelets instead of just one.  Here is the video on how to make the bracelet.

Cleaning Recipes

A few months ago I went to my library's clean and green series on making your own eco-friendly cleaning products.  They handed out samples of the all purpose spray cleaner and the soft scrub.  I loved using them.  They did not bother me physically like other cleaners do (headaches and such).  I also tried the dishwasher powder, laundry soap, and the wood polish.  All of them worked out great (however I prefer the results of the store bought dishwasher powder more).  Well I ran out of my free samples and so I made replacements for them today.  I also got to test out my new dishcloth and small scrubby.  I used the all-purpose spray cleaner 1 recipe and the bathroom "soft scrub" cleanser recipe.  My castile soap already had tea tree oil in it.  The only essential oils that I have are lemon, peppermint, and pine, so I used them in the spray.  I also added a few drops of the lemon to the soft scrub.   The lemon is a antiseptic and antiviral essential oil.  The pine is a disinfectant, air freshener, and bronchial health essential oil.  The peppermint stimulates the senses and just smells good.  Tea tree oil is a broad spectrum antimicrobial.  After attending the class I learned that these essential oils work great together.  The oils can be a little pricey, so I am slowly buying them.  However with all the money that I am saving by making my own cleaners, its easier to splurge for the essential oils.  

Some more cleaning tips: You can clean your toothbrushes by soaking them in mouthwash.  By wiping your windows with newspaper when cleaning, you avoid streaks (I use the junk mail since I don't get the newspaper).  Hot water and distilled white vinegar goes a long way when cleaning (vinegar dries odorless).  Keep an old toothbrush on hand for cleaning between the bathroom tiles and around the faucets.  

Yo Yo Scrubby

Last night I made this fun yo yo scrubby.  I found the pattern free on ravelry.  It was a very easy two row repeat knit pattern.  It is also a lot of fun to pretend that it is a real yo yo.  With all of these new scrubbies, I'm looking forward to trying them out.

Large Circular Scrubby

This morning I decided to double the circular scrubby pattern and see how it looked.  I am much happier with the results.  I am also loving this brand of cotton yarn, I Love This Cotton!  It is incredibly soft.  I just cast on a 2nd large circular scrubby.  I'm not sure if I have enough yarn left on the skien to finish it or not.

Dishcloth & Scrubby & Twilight (no, not the movie/book)

I made the dishcloth duo by knitability tonight out of I Love This Cotton! yarn.  It was a very easy pattern and a quick knit.  However I am not happy with the size of the circular scrubby.  Its pretty small (to me).  So I went on ravelry and looked up others who had made it as well.  One person had doubled the pattern which resulted in a good size.  I'm going to try that.  Also this yarn was purchased during my road trip last week.  Its nice using sovnienier yarn right away instead of stashing it.

I've been having fun playing around with the location of my roadrunners.  This is the 3rd time that I have moved them.  Right now they are munching on a bush at twilight.

Here is a nice discover in my backyard.  I planted several flower buds last year around this bush.  I never saw any of them until today.  This is the one that made it.  I wonder if I'll see another one next year.  I just love the design of them.

While taking the above twilight pictures, I heard thunder in the distance (lightning would follow within the hour).   I just love the colors and patterns here.  I don't know about you, but I love looking at nature for creative inspiration.