Plarn Part Deux

If you don't remember Plarn Part 1, click here. It's basically where I confessed my slight obsession with the show Hoarders which was freaky, but did not give me the heebeegeebees (sp?) like the show Animal Hoarders. There was a man who was living in a house what hundreds of rats...oh I just shivered...and he loved them. He cried when they were all taken away. Again, while I was completely grossed out, I watched until the end...and even had a tear in my eye for the old man (remember, I cry at everything since the kids have come along).

Okay, enough of the Hoarders. I finally finished my Plarn bag. It wasn't that it was hard, I had to build up plastic bags in my house. It's amazing how many bags you don't have once you're trying to stay on a budget. In total, I think I used 60-80 bags. But here it is...

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Here is the Plarn bag holding a bag of apples!

For you crocheters or even no crocheters...this is the pattern.

26 chains
Double chain in 2nd back and in each chain
At the end of the row make a chain and go back for a total of 15 rows.

Make two of these and use a contrasting plarn color to stitch together using a single stitch.

For the handle I made mine 5 stitches across. It could have been skinnier. I don't remember how long I made the strap, but make it to fit your liking remembering that the plarn stretches. I then attached the strap to the bag using single stitches.

There you have it! Plarn bag! My girls love carrying it around. And I feel eco-friendly.

Have a great week!

PLARN Part 1

Okay...small confession...I kinda' like watching the show Hoarders. Well, let me re-phrase that. It's not the I truly enjoy grossing myself out to the point of gagging, but I can't take my eyes off the T.V. and I can't stop watching the next episode on Netflix.

I've analyzed myself because this fact kinda' disturbs me and I think I watch it so that I can feel good that my NOT-ALWAYS-SPOTLESS home, or more appropriately ALMOST-NEVER-SPOTLESS home has crumbs on the floor and the couch pillows aren't arranged, and there are remnants of kids games throughout the house...but at least I can see the floor and I don't have to sleep in my bathtub because there's food rotting in my bed.

I'm amazed that people live like that and I feel sad for them. It also makes me think as I step over the unfolded blanket on the floor, "If I don't pick that up now, I'm one step closer to the T.V. show" and I pick it up. I mean, I do have some Hoarder tendencies...I like to buy things on sale, even if I don't really need them, and I don't like to throw things away because I might need them someday (especially craft supplies). I'm not as bad as I was when I was younger. My mother and grandmother were...ehem...are very frugal and wasting was and is a sin. So we saved a lot of things and (like I exposed in an earlier post) cut the mold off of cheese and ate the good part.

Mom has gotten a lot better about throwing things away, but one thing she has an over abundance of is plastic grocery bags. Seriously, those things are like bunnies. They multiply so quickly. My mom has this holder that you shove plastic grocery bags in and it is FULL. I once emptied it and I'm not kidding that there were nearly 100 bags in there or more.  So when I saw a purse made from plastic grocery bags at a fair, I had to know how to reuse these things that way.

Introducing PLARN. Plastic bag yarn.  This is part one because this is just showing you how to make the plarn and part two will be a cute bag I'll crochet from it.  I'll show you a preview:

The whole purse will be cute!

Be warned, PLARN takes more time to make than you think...but it's kind of a fun thing for the kids to do and it can make them feel like they are helping the planet.

First, fold the bag in half and then in half again as shown below:

Then, cut the bottom (you can recycle) and the handles (you can recycle) and cut the rest into 1 inch strips.

Then unfold the plastic bag strips and keep them in a loop.  Then, loop the circle strip under the other loop and through and pull...i know, confusing...just look at the pictures below:

Keep doing that till all your loops are connected. Because I had different colored bags, I did three brown loops then three white loops. Those brown plastic bags were REALLY thin and kept breaking. You can either tie them back together or just throw them away in the recycle bin.

Then wind up your plarn into a ball ready to crochet. For my purse I will need about 60 bags.  This section below was about 10 bags.

Stay tuned for my finished purse (about 2 weeks because I'm leaving for a business trip to Chicago and will be gone for a while!!)

The Key to Being a Hands-On Mom

I am a happy mom to 4 children. My oldest is 8 years old and my baby is 7 months. Ya, it's busy. I've always joked that when we had one child, I played one on one defense in public. When I had my second child, I moved into zone defense in public. Once you hit 3+ children and you need to run errands, you can only throw your hands in the air and pray.

When we're running around in the car, my hands can get used up quickly between holding a baby, strapping a diaper bag on one shoulder, and herding the other three around. It can be tough as we're getting closer to the car and I need to dig through the bag or dive into my pocket to get the keys out to unlock the door.

I've never been a real fan of the telephone cord keychain wrapped around my arm, however I did like the concept. Last week, I was browsing one of my favorite quilting websites. I was looking through some of the ideas that had been posted since the last time I checked. I was reading through the instructions for this clutch. I quickly thought it was way beyond my skill of straight stitches. But when I saw the handle for the clutch, it hit me. That day, I went to work and made myself the quilted keychain below. It literally took 10 minutes from start to finish. And I had requests that same day to make more to share.

So my idea to pass along today are the instructions to make your own keychain strap. Now, just like the great Jane Fonda Aerobic Workouts of the 80's, I'm going to provide you with the original instructions and then some easier options.

Instructions for Quilted Keychain:

Materials Needed: fabric, scissors/rotary cutter, thread, batting, ruler, iron, key ring

There are two different sizes that I have here.

The original keychain that I made is 5 inches by 12 inches. The batting will need to be 2.5 inches by 12 inches).

The narrower keychain that I made is 3 inches by 12 inches. The batting is cut to 1.5 inches by 12 inches).

** The 12 inches fits my wrist comfortably. You may need to make it shorter or longer depending on the size of your wrist. **

1. Fold material in half length wise and iron.

2. Open material back up. Fold one side to the middle (to the pressed line). Iron.

3. Fold the other side to the middle. Iron.

4. Insert batting.

Fold the strip in half lengthwise. (You can press it at this point). Pin it.

Using a 1/4" seam allowance, sew a straight line down the open edge side.

Do the same thing to the other side.

Continuing with the 1/4" seam allowance, sew down the middle using the first line of stitching as your guide.

Do the same thing to the other side.

Now it's time to add the key ring. Put the strap through the key ring. Match up the edges. Sew across the strap. (I went back and forth twice to ensure that it would hold tight).

Now bring your key ring back down to the seam you just made. Turn your strap inside/out (or I guess technically outside/in). Leaving enough room to move the key ring freely, sew across the strap to finish (again I went back and forth a couple times on my stitching).

Now add your rings and you will be ready to run errands with both of your hands.

Instructions For the Slimmer Strap:

When I sewed/quilted the slimmer band, I only sewed two lines at a 1/4" seam allowance down the two outer sides (instead of 4 with the wider strap). If you click on the picture above, the strap on the left is the slimmer strap. Instead of using the safety pins, it was easier to sew using straight pins.

Instructions For Ribbon Strap:

This way is super easy and quick. The materials that are needed for this are scissors, thread, key ring, and grosgrain ribbon and a flame (from a candle or lighter).

Cut the ribbon into a 12 inch strip. (Again, you may need to go longer or shorter depending on your personal preference). Before sewing, I ran each end of the ribbon through a flame to prevent the ribbon from fraying in the future.

I placed the ribbon through the key ring and match the ribbon end to end, wrong side facing out. Then sew the ribbon at a 1/4" seam allowance.

Next, turn the ribbon right side out. Move the key ring down to the seam that was just sewn. Leaving enough room for the key ring to move, sew the strap closed. (Again, I went back and forth a few times to ensure that it would hold tight).

And as simple as a few stitches, you now have a much cuter wrist strap than that telephone wire the office supplies. I made a bunch of these for the women that I work with at church:

And just another look at a ribbon strap. This was the first one I attempted to make sure it would work: