100 Bags Project

Usually, when I crochet with plarn, I cut up about 50 bags to get started, then cut more as I need them; so by the time I'm finished, I'm never quite sure how many bags I've used. This time I decided to make 100 bags into plarn up front, then see how much of a bag I could make with them.

This is what 100 bags looks like. These are mostly Kroger bags, with a few others thrown in. I collected these from friends, family, and recycling bins.

I sliced them into 1 1/4" strips with my rotary cutter, and filled this storage tub to overflowing. Sorry for the bad photo quality--my flash isn't working, and it was a cloudy day. I had to edit heavily just to get it to this point.

I meant to take a picture of the two balls of plarn I ended up with, but once again, no flash, cloudy skies. But I did have sunny skies on the day I reached the halfway point:

That's 50 bags' worth of plarn that I've crocheted, and 50 bags' worth still wound into a ball. This will be a messenger bag when completed. I'm thinking about using a thrifted woven belt as the strap, and lining it with recycled twill.

"Green" gift wrapping

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. My parents moved halfway around the world and accidentally took my USB cord with them. Shipping from where they are would be prohibitively expensive, so I had to find a new one. Turns out that it's rather hard to find USB cords for my almost-antique camera, but I finally found and ordered one online--once it arrives, I have lots of pictures for y'all. :)

Meanwhile, here's a great post I came across, by a blogger named Jessica, about how to make a gift bow from scrap paper. I personally think that items made from recycled materials usually have much more personality and character than items made from new, and this bow is a fine example of that philosophy!

Make a Gift Bow From a Magazine Page