#70 of 365 - Going Green

Going green isn't just for Saint Patrick's Day. I try to be as green as one can be.

I usually carry my own coffee cup, to quilt guild, church and stitch and bitch. It's funny that this picture doesn't show my green travel coffee cup, but I did have it with me, even so. I also recycle water bottles, either by refilling them from my Pur pitcher or as ice for my cooler in the summer (pop in the freezer with 1.5 inch of headroom for ice expansion). I also keep my own chopsticks (coloured green, even) to hand, in case of eating out at a Japanese or Chinese restaurant. No splinters for me...

I also use fabric shopping bags, many of which are recycled from other things. I have used jeans, UFO (unfinished objects) quilts and those give-away bags you get at certain events.

Tea bags and coffee grounds get used as dye for fabrics that need it or into the garden pots to amend the soil.

Tins and cans get made into containers for knitting stuff, scissors, pencils and such. Either painted or covered in fabric or poly-clay.




Sweaters can get unraveled, if not felted. The yarn is soaked and hung out to dry (TIC) to get the kinks out. If they are felted, they are cut up and made into various types of bags.

Still trying to figure out how to convince our complex get us at least one recycling station for papers and such.

Today is Earth Day - Creative Every Day

Or
Why I Put a Cozy on a Tree



I have been reading about the guerrilla knitters who have been decorating stationary items with knitted pieces. Basically, the knitters attach a piece of knitting to anything and everything that isn't nailed down. The knitting community in Houston, TX is quite notorious for doing this.

I've been thinking, how fun is this idea and how neat it is to come upon a piece of knitting somewhere unexpectedly. I suppose though, that you have to be a knitter or crocheter to really appreciate it.

My friend Kimi from Ravelry and I got to talking about this the other day and we challenged each other to "JUST DO IT."



So, I just did it. Here are the craptastic pictures to prove it.

As a point of interest, I went to the Philadelphia, PA first Earth Day celebration in Fairmount Park, WAY back in the day. I cannot believe that it's been SO many years and we are still having to educate and reiterate the same ideas and suggestions and continue to hope that even a small bit filters in.

REUSE, RECYCLE, everyone. Now, if I could just get the HOA to amend their rules to let me have a clothes line to dry my clothes, that would be a small victory.

Here are some links to information about guerilla knitting in the USofA:
http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2358.en.html
http://www.instructables.com/community/Guerilla-Knitting/

and in the UK:
http://www.glittyknittykitty.co.uk/

Edited at 9:00 pm to include Kimi's Images.

Kimi went all out and even did her car! I love the idea and am going to appropriate it for my truck. I bow to her greatness. This has been a fun experience. Long distance guerrilla art.

Throw Away 50 Things - Redux, Part Deux

So about today.

One would think I had done nothing at all, as I sat on the couch knitting on a sock and watching DVDs for most of the day. We finished up Alias, Season 1, watched MI-3, Elizabeth 2, now we're onto Battlestar Galactica, Season 1. I did read the Sunday paper and do 2 crosswords as well. The paper basket was full so out it went (item 1).

I did, however, get off my duff and made yam/acorn squash waffles with pecans to our breakfast. You can find the recipe for these in the Joy of Cooking. Including canned pumpkin, any squash, but for spaghetti works just great for these waffles. I also amended the recipe to use 3/4 to 1 cup of squash. I have also added 1 tsp. real vanilla and 1/2 cup of pecans pieces to the basic recipe (finely chopped candied ginger makes a great addition as well). These waffles are a staple in our house.

I also threw away a coffee mug that had a chipping design (2nd item), sorted out more clothes (3rd thru 10th items) for the charity shop and decided to get rid of even more books (11th thru 17th items today) to the 1/2 price store.

Books are my greatest pleasure and my greatest source of pain. I love to read and collect them but I hate to move them and I never have enough shelf space for them either... I really cannot see tho how a real book can ever be replaced by an e-book? Never mind, I can't find the right prescription for my glasses to read them from a screen.

Waited til the Glue Dried - Folio

I do apologize for the crappy photos.
I couldn't find my tripod this afternoon.


I decided that I would make my daughter, Erin a folio in an effort to corral her collection of recipes she has been gathering. I keep finding a recipe here, a recipe there and sometimes I pick up a stack of papers thinking they are mine and need to go into the knitting book and instead find a receipt for a Truffle Cake or some such. It's an adventure sometimes trying to find the piece of paper that I am in search of. However, I am as guilty as she is in printing off stuff for future use, so my solution for both of us is something to contain them in.
Folio: a case or folder for loose papers
I had a basic idea of what a folio should/could be. Two hard covers, generally hinged and held together somehow usually with ribbon ties or an elastic strap.

To get started I pulled out what supplies I thought I might need. For this project these supplies included: mat board(s), ribbons, fabrics, clear plastic, glue and general sewing supplies.

As I do papers crafts as well as quilt, I had my choice of what to cover the mat board with. If using papers to cover, gather paper crafting supplies.

I had a stack of mat board leftover from another project and use a piece of it cut in half for the covers. Since I was making black and white tote/storage/gift bags for Erin anyway, I just grabbed one of those prints to cover the outsides with.

First I cut the fabric to size and then wrapped it over each cover and glued down on the back side.
Waited til the glue dried.
I next took a piece of wide French gros-grain ribbon in black and cut in thirds to make hinges spaced evenly along a long edge and glued them down. I then cut picot edged ribbon in turquoise for two sets of ties and glue them down on the opposite long edges.
Waited til the glue dried.
I then covered the insides of the mats with a turquoise print fabric. Glued them in.
Waited til the glue dried.
Front of Cover: I made a card slot out out of a black and white Celtic creature ribbon stitched as a frame onto a clear plastic insert. Glued it to the front. (It's kinda wonky, as I didn't get one of the corners to cooperate, but the folio can have any label the DD would care to insert and I decided to add this after the covers were glue on, so I couldn't stitch it on.)
Waited for the glue to dry.

From start to finish, it took about 24 hours to make this silly thing, most of it was spent, you guessed it, waiting for the glue to dry. Maybe I should use a spray adhesive next time. For safety's sake, I would, of course have to spray outside. With our Colorado cold winter temps and the nearly constant wind, I would not try to make one with spray adhesive at this time. In all, it would have taken less time and energy to go to an art supply store and buy one, but now it's off my someday, maybe Bucket List. It's funky, kewl and I used stuff I had laying around to make it with... This project sorta of fell into my throw 50 things away drive, if using 5 things up can count?

Throw Away 50 Things - Redux

In an effort to continue on my quest to throw away at least fifty things this month. Here's a list of what has gone:
1. Useless Coffee Maker (got's me a French press, way better coffee)
2. Cat Scratch Post cat doesn't use (likes one of my wicker baskets much better)
3. 6" thick stack of papers after sorting
4. Plastic canister pretzels came in I thought I would do something with
5. 2 Yellow Pages books we never even opened as we Ask Dex
6. Another bag of clothes to the charity shop (2 skirts, five shirts, fleece jacket)
7. Another bag of books to the trade shop (30 or so)
8. Bag o' Yarn to charity knitters