This is the handbag made from recycled grocery bags, and acrylic yarn. I used only yarn on the strap because while sturdy, I felt the bags were a bit rough to be against the skin and the strap will come in contact with skin, depending on how much you put in the bag it could become uncomfortable. The bag was a rectangle with one rounded end, and I started the other end with ONLY recycled bags, for a flap that folds over, sewn down as reinforcement- while a pretty bag, and a great statement, being recycled from old bags, it is also meant to be a functional purse. I decided to sell these for $50 each. The material is not the issue- it is a self designed item, and each one is one-of-a-kind without a doubt! I am really proud of how this came out, and I will start a new one when I get my hat orders caught up. Just so you know for those who are curious, my next hats will be a black hat with a skull, an owl hat, and a Chewbacca hat.... I have also just finished some lovely hats made with Lion Brand Tweed Stripes yarn with appliques.

Star Wars Fan Art

The Princess Leia hat was hard- it looked easy enough, a brown beanie with buns. But I redid the buns over and over to get them the right shape, size and consistency so they didn't flop or show stuffing through the brown yarn. the trick with the buns that makes the hat comfy is that I sewed the buns separately as long strips of crochet, then rolled them into tubes, then coiled them and sewed them into buns, and then made a circle for the back to cover the stitches and stabilize the coils. Each one of these has been so fun to design! I started with Yoda hats like the one above- then made Leia and R2D2. i am thinking about a Chewie now, need to look at some more photos and think about it a while! These have been commissions, I would not have thought of the Star Wars Theme on my own but they have been great fun- i will say those buns were a huge challenge to figure out!

Recycled Crochet

Had an idea to add yarn to my recycled crochet, to change up the colors, and make it more interesting for myself. So far I like the result very much! I am making a handbag with a pattern I am developing as I go along- it will be a medium sized purse with a flap at the top and over the shoulder strap. I will be looking for a good sized, funky recycled button for the front so if you have any ideas on that let me know! Another way to use leftover yarn! I think I might have to write a book with all the ways I have found to use up leftover yarn.... hmmmmm... What do you think about that?

Pomp-A-Doodle do!

So when I saw Red Heart's Pomp-a-doodle yarn in the store, I knew I wanted to try and use it- it is so soft, and the colors are pretty and,well let's face it, I like wierd quirky things. This "yarn" is basically a heavy thread with giant pom poms attached at set intervals. The trick to using it is to pick a hook that allows you to crochet between the pom poms. I picked Caron's Dazzleaire yarn (it was discontinued, but it is baaaaack!) to go with it, because I remember the name from my childhood- and the odd lil sparkle seemed like a good choice to go with the odd lil pom poms. I think it works and the brim of this hat IS just as soft as it looks. Sort of toying with adding this as trim to a smaller recycled bag too... Give it a try! What did you make with the pom pom stuff?

More Gir Fan Art

On a 'Gir' kick lately. This iPod cover matches the hat. The tongue wraps under the iPod and secures with a lil Velcro to keep the iPod from falling out.

I will make these on commission, but I am not going to try and make to sell a lot of these because the variation in assorted phones, iPods etc makes it nearly impossible to come up with any sort of standard size.
Olivia had me save the green yarn and pink tongue color for future 'Gir' projects, so i am wondering where he will show up next?

Fan Art in hat form!

I have never seen the tv show "invader Zim" but I was asked to make some fan art! Gir is a bright green, with stitching up the center, giant eyes and a lolling tongue. his ears are thin and stand up fairly straight. His nose is a triangle sort of shape. Apparently I got him right as the hat is liked ^__^. I have made several "fan art" type hats, including Yoda, and Scooby Doo. There is a challenge to interpreting a character in yarn with a function, deciding what is important enough to add without taking away from the functionality of the hat. I like that!

a flock of butterflies!

Remember those butterflies I was making with the pattern from Katy Griffis? Well here they are in a mobile! I made a set of butterflies in purple and white for a birthday party we went to today. The butterflies are FUN and i love watching them float around each other. For the circle, I got the metal ones Michael's sells in the leather working department- I think they are for dream catchers.
These butterflies are good for other things also- I have some made from winter colors to sell as tree ornaments. I was thinking of putting them on big barrettes or hair bands. And of course I put one on a hat too! After I finish the hat I am working on, I will try to make a few bags to sell with recycled bags, and I am toying with adding a butterfly to one of those....

I have not posted these anywhere for sale yet, but I do have one mobile for sale, the butterflies are variations made with rainbow colored variegated yarn, with a variegated circle top. I was thinking to offer them for $20 These photos look a lot tinier then I thought. I should probably upload a single butterfly to see also.... This single butterfly is from the first mobile i made, which is a special gift for a special girl ^__^
The yarns in her mobile were given to me by her great-grandma! how cool is that?