Re-making with paper and plastic we all have around is a challenge, and the more we can do of it the better. I also think the more fine and beatiful we make it, the more desirable and worthy it is to choose and cherish re-made items. It’s inspiring and humbling to see the craftsmanship that is paid to repurposed materials in places where supplies are harder to come by, and trash piles up due to lack of infrastructure.

Plastic bags

If you can crochet, you can make shopping bags into numerous things like a sturdier long-lasting shopping bag, (see another bag example) or even shoes! You can also weave plastic bags into rugs, with a homemade loom (wow). Of course, we’re better off refusing the bags in the first place!

But compared to the cheerful and quick examples linked above, this West African bag is amazing. These bags are made from finely woven repurposed plastic bags. Really lovely. (picture taken and posted by msjacoby on flickr)

Junk Mail galore

I saw these magazine bowls last summer.

The patina website shows some vases for sale, and mentions they are from vietnam, I think the bowls and boxes I saw were from vietnam too (you can click to zoom in, i think that’s vietnamese??) hopefully fair trade. there is a high-resolution image here so you can check it out

I tried to make a bowl, but I ended up with three coasters. I saw a tutorial about this on craftster by cbass on craftster, but they looked a bit chunkier than the ones in the photo here.

However, the craftster tutorial says you should fold the paper from corner to corner, which means the edges show, and i think they must be thicker in the middle, and this is why the turns do not look as smooth as the Vietnamese ones. And the rolls are also wider.

If anyone knows of more tips and tutorials for this it would be great to see them!

Now that I’ve tried it, I can appreciate how much time must have gone into these lovely objects.

There’s a new issue of Spun Magazine available online which includes knitting patterns, recipes and even a tutorial on making bath bombs.

It’s fiber festival season and Knitter’s Review has a huge online listing of the 2006 fiber festivals. If you’re going to MS&W, I’ll see you there!

Couple of fun looking knit-alongs — Wobbly Circles Tote KAL and One Skein Knit-Along.

More and more on lace from Eunny.

The Dye-o-rama! It’s too late to join, but not to late to watch the colorways that people create arrive at the Flickr group.

magic wool ball

This project comes from a warm, wonderful, old-fashioned book called The Children’s Year (Hawthorn Press). It’s a sweet project for kids who are old enough to handle small objects (otherwise it’s a choking hazard) and old enough to appreciate the charm of a magic yarn ball. It’s especially fun for those who knit, crochet, or do other yarny crafts.

And it’s so simple, it’s brilliant. Basically, a child (or adult) wraps cool little treasures up in a ball of yarn, and gives it as a gift. As the recipient crafts with the yarn the treasures fall out one by one, and they discover the fun as they knit or crochet.

This project is perfect for swaps. In fact, I made one to swap with my six-year-old friend Sophia. Here’s how I made mine.

Start with something round-ish for the center, and begin wrapping one end of your yarn around the object. I used a superball, but a stone, nut, large bead, or bottlecap pincushion would also do nicely.

Keep wrapping and adding objects. I added squirrel and sushi stickers, thrifted quilting poms, pieces of ribbon and vintage eyelet trim, and a few large beads. Children might also want to include temporary tattoos, tiny bits of crayons, special leaves or rocks, or small crafting tools. For example a knitter might appreciate a plastic tapestry needle, a few point protectors, or a special stitch marker.

At the end of the ball, finish with a few lovely objects that will show, and secure the yarn end. On Sophia’s, I added a ribbon rose that I bought at a stationery shop, which had a handy piece of floral wire in it to add to the yarn end’s security.

Now I want to make adult versions for other knitters and sewists. Anybody up for a swap?