Knitting, etc.

Jane Austen Swap (at craftster.org)

Take a look at these items I received from a Jane Austen swap at Craftster. They are a one-project knitting bag, 2 skeins of handspun yarn (alpaca and lamb's wool), and a hand made silk scarf. Now I can pretend like I am one of the characters in Pride and Prejudice. Don't worry--I won't try to be the bratty runaway daughter. Lydia.

Earth Day/Recycled Swap--Items I received

I just participated in an Earth Day swap at craftster.org (I made the recycled sweater bags). This is what I received in the mail from my partner, Kristina, today.

She crocheted me a bag out of plastic bags that she cut up to use as yarn. (This takes a long time--believe me, I've tried it!). She also sent me some really soft recycled red yarn. The last item is a little kit that contains directions how to decorate, cook, and shrink the styrofoam from those containers they give you at restaurants to take your food home in. So cool!

embroidered handkerchiefs

I learned how to embroider a bit recently and here are a few of my efforts on some handkerchiefs

Felted recycled sweater bags

These bags are made from felted recycled sweaters that I washed in hot water and then dried to shrink them more, and then cut up. My mom sewed them up for me on her sewing machine (since I have no machine and don't know how to sew well). I then embroidered them with thread I have for another swap project. These were made for an Earth Day swap at craftster so they were supposed to be from recycled/reused materials. The larger one was meant to be a re-usable shopping bag and the smaller one could be a purse or something.