Inching into spring

Living in Buffalo makes spring one of the most precious seasons of the year. While it seems like the rest of the country bursts to life in verdant brilliance we inch slowly towards it with one crocus at a time. The sight of a daffodil has been known to inspire squeals of glee. Though I have not seen the official sign that the season is upon us, that being a shirtless man doing yard work or riding a bicycle, I have heard the tell tail warnings. There may be one warm say (highs in the low 70's) and a without fail some one will say, "I don't know if I can take this heat". Fear not, because the next day it may well, and did, snow.

Not much changes for me, except maybe the colors and themes of what I am working on. Since winter ended I have finished a few projects but am largely in that in between place, much like spring itself. No particular project has seize me and thrilled me. More babies are on their way, the staff art show looms on the horizon, and several projects lay dormant - set aside in favor of some other endeavor.

My plastic bag yarn continues to proliferate. I made "the perfect crochet beach bag" from a pattern found on Pinterest, and I mailed it to a friend in a gift basket, which included one of the four fat adorable Easter bunnies I made using no pattern. Plastic bags were also turned into nested baskets through crochet alchemy. I converted a pattern for a shirt into a dress, which I may or may not wear to an event at work...or ever for that matter.

 



I suppose that even for a dry spell its still pretty prolific. I better get back to work, there are still projects that need to be realized!

Grandma's notebook project 8: Lily Sugar 'n Cream String Bag

At the top of this pattern in my grandmother's notebook she writes that this bag was made for me.  Once I got over the guilt of not recalling the bag she must have made for me, I got to work making one myself.  This is definitely a pattern I can get behind.  As soon as I finished one bag I started another.  The second bag was made from recycled grocery bags.  As I have been collecting grocery bags to make plarn this is an ideal pattern.  Ultimately even though I did not remember the bag the Grandma made this pattern certainly was , as she wrote, for me.

If you would like to make this bag for yourself you can find the pattern here.

Bags from bags

When I decided to save plastic bags to recycle into plarn (plastic yarn) I enlisted my co workers to share their bags, too. Before I knew it plastic bags were taking over every available space in my life, or at least it seemed that way.
So many other projects were much more appealing, and in all honesty easier on my hands and wrists. But the bags kept amassing and something had to be done, hence bags from bags. I sketched out several designs and had (and still have) more than enough materials. 

 

 

 

Is plastic ok?

Whenever I go shopping I am asked, is plastic ok? No, it isn't, is it? But still I smile and say yes, that's fine. And so to assuage my guilt I have begun to obsessively collect these bags. I then began to request that my coworkers give me their bags. My office is stuffed to the gills with newspaper and grocery bags. At home there are bags crammed into every closet, corner and under the bed storage container. My garbage can sits upon a plastic yarn rug. Somewhere in a box or bag or closet there is a partially finished kitty rug made of plastic yarn. I use a bag made of grocery bags to hold other bags, and another bag made of newspaper bags has served as a purse, when needed. But still I cannot keep up with the deluge of plastic.
Still I am determined and that combined with my dogged and obsessive need to crochet will see a great many plastic bags recycled into something useful or even delightful. After all, does't it seem appropriate to create plastic sea creatures? For example this squid... Who admittedly begs for a Nautilus to attack. Perhaps I will get to work on some jelly fish... Right after I make some more progress on my plastic yarn laundry bag.