Sewing Success!

I've been wanting a brand new chalk bag for climbing.  But, being the budget minded, crafty person I am, I decided there was no sense in spending money on one when I can make one for free!  So, that's just what I did.

I went through my fabric stash and found some leftovers that I loved.  I also went through my collection of webbing, belts, buckles and other doodads that I've saved from old worn out purses, bags, backpacks, etc. and found the other supplies I needed.  

I finally got started on it this morning after working on some ideas in my head for a couple of weeks.  I went with some of my original ideas but figured stuff out along the way.  Here's the result...

I love how it turned out and I'm so excited to use it!

The finished size is 5" across and 7 1/2" tall.

For anyone who doesn't rock climb and may be wondering....chalk is used to keep hands from being sweaty and slippery.  Chalk is carried in the bag and the bag is clipped to the harness so it's easily accessible whenever it's needed.

Instead of spending $25 or more on a chalk bag I now have one for free. And, it's unique...no one else in the world will have one exactly like it.  I'm so excited!  Yay for sewing success, recycling, and using stuff in the stash!  :-D

Hmmmm?

I've been saving mesh/net bags from produce for a few years now. I just can't throw them out. It seems like it would be so wasteful and it's so much plastic to put into the landfill. I've thought all along that I'd come up with something to use them for. Today, I felt inspired and gathered them up from the basket I save plastic grocery bags in. I have so many more than I thought...


I think that all the red ones came from buying tomatoes. Wow! I love tomatoes but had no idea we'd eaten so many! I also have white ones, yellow ones, even a green, a black, and an orange one.

I was thinking that I could cut them into strips, link them together to make a sort of yarn ball and crochet or knit a bag of some sort. However, my attempts have ended up with a "yarn" that is far from pleasant to work with and it looks pretty bad too. I've searched online to try and find ideas of what to use these for and have come up with nothing. I'm not ready to give up just yet. I have so many and they really seem like they could become something wonderful...or, at least, useful. Do you have any ideas?

Monday Morning

I tried out my pre-mixed muffin mix yesterday. It did make muffin making easier. There were less things to get out, measure, and put away. Yesterday's flavor: banana. Yummm!

We enjoyed them with fresh, hot coffee from our new coffee press that I bought last week. We have a little electric espresso maker and we enjoy it a lot. But, we've been thinking that it might be nice to just have coffee sometimes. So, last week I set out to get a coffee maker. But, I just couldn't get myself to buy one. It would be one more appliance that someday would end up in a landfill because (unless I don't know about it) you can't recycle them. I couldn't live with that. It already drives me crazy to think that just about everything we see in stores will eventually end up in a landfill. We live in such a world of excess. I love trying to do things with as little as possible, buying used things to give them another life, recycling, etc. So...what to do? Ah Ha! A coffee press! I found one for only $8! If it ever breaks I won't feel so bad about it. I might be able to separate the glass and it can be recycled. There's not much left after that, just a tiny bit of metal and a small plastic handle. I saved a lot of money too! That's always great! And, it's easy to use and the coffee tastes great! :-)

I went to a gathering of knitters on Saturday afternoon. It was a lot of fun, as usual, and I was able to get some advice from a super sock knitter, Lisa, so I can proceed with my two sock projects. (Thanks, Lisa!) I told her that I was feeling like Goldilocks...my Pomatamus sock seemed too small (turns out it's ok), and my "man" socks are seeming way too big (they kinda are). Now, maybe, I'll get them to turn out just right. :-)

I decided not to try the MS4 project. It might be a bit advanced for me right now. Plus, I have so many other things lined up in my mind that I want to make. One of them is the Mermaid Scarf designed by Lisa. I bought the pattern and needles on Saturday and plan to start it this week with yarn that I bought for a lace project that I tried earlier this year. I hope to have better luck with this lace project.

Sunshine, Simplicity and Recycling

What a wonderful weekend! It was sunny and warm and I spent a lot of time outside working in the yard and knitting. Ahhhh! Life is good! :- )

I started these socks to have a mindless project to work on at knit gatherings but I am enjoying working on them so much that I don't want to stop. My husband kept catching me knitting so much this weekend that he started saying, "you are addicted" (in a good way). It's the only knit project I worked on all weekend. It's relaxing and it's fun to see a project grow quickly. I started them on size 3's but they were turning out big for my small ankles so I decided to set that one aside and start another one on size 2's to compare. It's interesting to see what a difference it makes, especially since both needle sizes are so small. The size 2 sock has the same amount of stitches but it's almost an inch narrower. I think it's going to fit so much better and I like the look and feel of it better. It's interesting to see the difference in the color pattern between the two sizes too. I'm using "Silver Creek" space dyed Blue Face Leicester yarn in "Herb Garden" (although, I think it looks kind of like Easter Camo or like Easter threw up - lol). It's not my favorite in the way of color but I had it and it's growing on me.

Notice the little bread ties at the top of the picture. I saw Lily Chin a couple of years ago and she had mentioned using them to keep ends safe and out of the way while working on a project. It was an interesting idea but I hadn't tried it until recently when I saw someone using them at a knit group and it all of a sudden seemed like a great idea. The next day I was busy stealing bread ties from bags in the pantry to gather lots of colors. It's fun and it's actually really nice. I don't have any problems now with the end getting tangled in the yarn I'm working with or grabbing the end by mistake. It looks nice and neat and it's fun to try to coordinate a bread tie color with my yarn. lol Hooray for recycling! :-)

I will get back to working on my Potamus socks. I'm just going to enjoy some simplicity for a few days.