Celebrate Earth Day any day

You can celebrate  Earth Day any day by upcycling...
I have a thing for saving unwanted items and remaking them into something useful.  Here are a few of what I call my Earth Day creations.

I turned my collection of plastic grocery bags into this handwoven rag rug.  It makes a great liner for the trunk of my car.

I saved the woven plastic feed bag and converted it into a large market bag.. yeah, to use instead of collecting more of the plastic grocery bags. 

and my latest, from my husband's discarded undershirts... a knit rag rug for our little bathroom.

I created the tee shirt yarn by following the instructions in this tutorial, and knit the rug using the instructions for Rag Doily Rug (originally made from sheets).

Use the good stuff...

Go ahead use the good stuff, no matter what that is.  Do you ever find yourself saving the good stuff for that special project only to have it sit in storage? For what?  I have, but no more.  I did this with a shawl that I spun from a raw Icelandic fleece and knit into a lace shawl.

I saved it because it was "good stuff".  I thought I would sell it but realized that I would have to ask what seemed like an outlandish price.  I packed it away and moved it a few times before I came to my senses and took it out of hiding.  I moved it to my car for use when the AC was too cool for me and just right for my husband.  I found myself admiring it and smiling.  I then brought it out in public... oh yes, to the air conditioned office where I was chilly.  I wore it with pride and admired it again when I saw it draped over the back of my chair.  The color graduations amazed me... I didn't notice those changes in the yarn while spinning.  I saw it in the knitting but hadn't planned the changes to match the pattern so nicely.  Again, I wondered why I had shelved this good stuff for another day.  What day is better than today?  Enjoy.  Use the good stuff.


I am now planning my next  project using the good stuff: my handspun angora from Latte.

 I am going to make this lace scarf.

What good stuff are you going to use/take out of hiding?