T-shirt bags

I've seen this idea on a couple of sites, including this one: t-shirt tote bag and decided to give it a go. So simple, cut off the sleeves and the neck ribbing (may need to make the opening wider) and sew a seam across the bottom of the t-shirt while it is inside out. Here are the initial results:

One got given as a gift this afternoon (containing homemade muffins and garden laid eggs, one is  for my daughter and the rest for me! First shop done:

Finished Mama Bag Blanket

Here is the finished blanket (346g):

I have learned during this blanket that I can crochet granny squares while reading a book - I knew I could crochet while watching TV, but I really don't need to look at granny squares (and all 9 squares ARE granny squares)! This blanket is for a Mama Bag, given to expectant mothers in Uganda who attend ante-natal classes. The scheme is run by British couple Barbara and Brian Hatton through their charity Greenfields Africa and they are looking for metre square blankets, baby cardigans, jumpers, bootees, hats and good condition babygros and vests.


Yarn at start of year: 31,034g
Yarn gained: 450g
Yarn busted: 1049g
Yarn given away: 100g
Yarn in stash: 30,335g

I've just worked out that if I yarn bust at this rate every month (not going to happen) and buy no more yarn until my stash is done (also not going to happen!) it will only take me 2 1/2 years to have empty boxes upstairs!

Vote here!

My latest stash buster is a mama bag blanket. As you can see I have three squares to do yet, now do I have 5 of the colour change yarn, like this:

or 5 of the multi-coloured yarn, like this:


Votes please!

Back in the game!

I have crocheted the 264g of the Curly Wurly yarn I won in the raffle into a scarf meaning I again have less yarn that I started the year with! Yay!

Yarn at start of year: 31,034g
Yarn gained: 450g
Yarn busted: 703g
Yarn given away: 100g
Yarn in stash: 30,681g

97g used, 450g won!

I've used up a lot of odds and ends to make a scrappy scarf - 97g worth to be exact! However, I have received 450g in the post after winning it in a raffle on Loving Hands! I've now got more yarn in my stash than I started with!

Out:

 In:

Total yarn busted: 439g
Yarn in stash: 30, 592g - 97g + 450g = 30,945g

Yarn Weigh In

Well  - I did it! I weighed all the yarn up in the boxes in my stash (and a couple of bags and a box downstairs), I haven't searched out wip's - I had to draw the line somewhere!

In amongst the gems were:

• various Shetland wools: 3264g
• Ice DK yarns: 2700g
• Peru chunky: 576g
• Batik scarf yarn: 800g
• Jellybean DK: 2200g
• Fresco: 850g

and lots of other stuff in all thicknesses and materials. Anyway, to cut to the chase, I have 30,592g of yarn upstairs!

So I must have started with 31,034g, gave away 100g and yarn-busted 342g. Just a bit to go then! Oh, and I have the raffle yarn still to come! I'm away to carry on knitting my scrappy scarf, I found lots of odds and ends upstairs.

Yarn busted: 342g
Yarn in stash: 30,592g

192g blanket + 100g given away!

Next raid on the stash was for the friend of my daughter who has just had a baby girl. Pink was the order of the day and Kirsty took 100g to make a hat and asked me to make a blanket in the same yarn. Not sure how that works as a division of labour but my daughter loves her local yarn store - mum's stash! The little bit of yarn left will be knitted into a scrappy scarf I am making.

On the minus side of stash busting I have won yarn in a raffle today! lol!

Stash busting total so far: 342g

150g down!

Having got a new great-nephew I am making the promised colour-coded car seat blanket. I love this pattern, crocheted on a 5mm hook using this pattern: http://crochet.about.com/od/babypattern ... inners.htm. I reduced the number of chains cast on to 85 and soon realised it was going to be too small so decided I would add a border. It is currently about 18 x 21"and has used 150g of Ice Yarns DK baby wool - 40% wool content so should be nice and warm.

If you look on the top shelf in the photo below this yarn is between the 2 boxes on the left.

The Stash Reveal!

I have joined the Stash Buster Challenge over on Linda's Crafty Corner to try to reduce the amount of yarn in the boxes upstairs. First part, take a photo as evidence of the size of the stash!

Ok, deep breath! Here are 9 boxes, there is another one with 4ply and sock yarn in it.

This one is in the living room and contains stuff left from recent projects!

2013!

I have decided to try a few new things in this New Year.

• I have to earn sweet stuff through exercise, trying to do at least half an hour a day
• I am keeping a memory jar containing notes of things in 2013 that made me smile, goals achieved, happy events, etc
• To post more works in progress on here so people can see the things I make as I make them, not just a finished object.

A fun one to start with:

Our school cleaner is retiring on Friday and along with jewellery, flowers and a ceramic bird bath made by our former art teacher we are giving her some fun gifts. She is getting a framed photograph of her hoover (nice frame to reuse), a tub of glitter (bane of her life), a gold spray painted  dustpan and brush and this:

She just needs her eyes now! She is made from a loo brush, a sieve, 6 cleaning cloths, 2 washing up brushes and a mop head with a few ribbons holding it all together.