Recycled plastic carton plant pot

I've talked alot about the trouble the environment is having with plastic.The hyperbolic coral crochet workshop taught me about the plight of our seas that are slowly suffocating .I'm still amazed at how thoughtless some people are.

.How can we all just go on day after day buying more and more products wrapped in plastic. I'm not perfect but I do have a bag at the door for plastic stuff and newspapers.When you start to do this is seems like a big task but I can say it really isn't.We all have to do our bit .

I have noticed there are lots of blogs, websites that offer ideas for being frugal. I have been frugal way before it became fashionable, it's over 21 years. Having children has meant that I have had to make every penny count.I suppose that's where my love of crafting began, it was born out of necessity.I made my curtains , sofa cushions, Lots of clothes .

It was while I was sorting my recycling that I had a 'eureka 'moment . I decided to make something useful with my milk cartons. I'm very pleased with the results .It is a great sized vase for my pot of basil .It is so versatile it has many uses, in the kitchen, it can hold cutlery, in the bathroom toothbrush holder, craft room holding your crochet hooks. Once you have made one you'll find you don't know how you managed without it for so long.

This is scarcely a pattern just what I did. You can use any type of stitch you like, any yarn type , any colour be it one block of colour, or stripes of different colours it can be as vivid or as muted.. use up those yarn scraps.Co ordinate your rooms with matching accessories.

Have fun!!!!!

You will need;

plastic milk carton, cut in half (you should have a square container.)

Crochet hook

Parcel string.

Note; The yarn and the hook size depends on what you are working with.

Gauge is not necessary.

Chain as many stitches needed to fit snugly around the bottle. All you now have to do is dc/tr in every stitch to end .Do not crochet the base as it will make the vase unstable. Continue making rows until you are at the top of the bottle Sew the side seam together . That's it , quick easy pattern..

Have fun

Permission is given to use this pattern for personal use.Please do not use this pattern for commercial use.

I have to show you something , his highness has been very busy helping me decorate.This is his handy work.We decided to have a feature wall with wallpaper and the others in magnolia .We wallpapered together but he has put up all those pictures and they are dead straight.

For those of you who has a man that can do all those jobs men like to think they are good at, lucky you. However , the point of blogging this, is they improve. His highness, was one of those fellows that broke things when trying to fix it, completely convinced it was the fault of the manufactures not him. I cant tell you how I despaired whenever he said he'd ' fix' it. However he has now somehow become the man who can and its lovely.The only downside to this is he has now got quite a few tools and great big toolboxes and we cant seem to go pass tools in any store. I think at last he understands why I cant pass a bookshop, wool shop, shoe shop, cake shop.

Baking again.My family are suckers for a piece of banana bread.It is very surprising just how many recipe there are. This recipe is my own recipe its so quick and easy .Incidentally, you can freeze bananas, just let them thaw before you add them to the mix.

185g self raising flour

1 teaspoon round cinnamon

20g butter

110g brown sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

60ml milk

230g mashed banana

handful of walnuts,

Sift flour and cinnamon into a bowl, rub in the butter.stir in sugar,egg, milk and banana, don't over mix, it should have lumps, like a muffin mix. Spoon into cake tin. I used a loaf tin.

Bake at 180 for 30 minutes. This cake freezes very well for up to three months.It also stores for two days in a cake tin.

Enjoy

I've been so busy these last couple of weeks

Crochet Flowered embellishments

I Love white linen, towels, tablecloths, does any one out there ,apart from me, still use table cloths?, I guess I'm showing my age .Anyway, i love white towels. Colours will come and go but for me I love wrapping myself in a lovely white fluffy bath sheet.
I've been decorating and wanted to add some new colour to the bathroom, , without spending lots of cash.The bathroom colour is white accented with sexy pink. Instead of buying matching towels I crocheted these little flowers to "refresh" the stuff I already have. You can add as many flowers as you like .I have made mine with thin thread but you could of course, use whatever thickness you like.


Pattern could not be simpler, add as many flowers as you like, any size you like .
Crochet flower.



Gauge; Not important .

1.75mm crochet hook

2 shades of crochet thread , the same amount in both .I used dmc.

The crochet abbreviations are UK terms.




Method;
Make five chain and join with a slip stitch.
1ch .(*1dc ,1tr, 1dc**) in first ch, repeat from*to ** in the remaining 4ch.
1ss in the first dc of the round, fasten off.





You will have noticed that the center of the flower you have made does not look like mine, all you have to do is thread a needle with the a lighter shade you want double thickness put a knot at the end. I think the stitch im about to explain is called satin stitch. To work satin stitch embroidery carry the thread across the shape to be filled, then return it underneath the fabric close to the point where it emerged. Work the stitches closely together . Imagine you have a compass in front of you , sew from east to west, or west to east.I hope you get the idea ,make sure you are only sewing in the center, not the petals.

Im no pattern expert if you spot any mistakes ,please let me know. This is a free pattern please feel free to use for personal use


Hope you enjoy this.

I love autumn,apart from the gorgeous changes in nature I love knitting/crocheting with all my woollen fibres, as well as all that I love baking .The top two photos are two cakes one baked on Monday packed with pureed fruit and cherries .The second a banana cake with flaked almonds,delicious I'm told .They look very similar but the texture of the fruit filled one was so dense and very cakey.The banana cake much lighter,soft. The colours are very similar I used dark muscovado sugar, you can always ring changes by changing sugar.

I have been baking lots of cakes and not eating them. Not sure, if i should write that but it isn't because I don't like them but its more about making the family feel so happy when I put a slice on cake next to them while they do whatever it is we all do in the evenings. Ahh Autumn, its so wonderful .I'm off to check todays dinner smoked mackerel dauphinose and a side of spinach.

Despite the lack of completed projects I have been very busy crocheting.Ravelry seems to have taken away my time to block, read, knit,crochet I have 6 items that need washing and blocking. I have learnt that blocking is not one of my favourites things to do.

I have been desperate to get hold of blocking wires, Ravelry had a thread that suggested quite a few alternative products to use .One of those was a set of foam puzzle.Its a big foam jigsaw that once you joined the jigsaw it is a great blocking surface. I managed to get hold of one at a car boot .They were boxed used two or three times.Guess how much I paid...... 1.00 yes one pound. In between crochet Ive been making these cute brooches when I ought to be finishing stuff . Aren't they cute?

Im off out its so busy here

Iknit weekender

My creation
Originally uploaded by heldasland.

Last friday and saturday was the iknit weekender. A weekender to beat all show, two days of workshops, fashion shows , and of course the highlight of it all is you can shop till you drop.

I attended last years show it was absolutely packed and we queued for along time in the rain.This year my friend and I decided to leave home early to try and avoid the queues.We neednot have bothered we sailed in.My initial reaction was the shopping area was much smaller . A few of my fave shops loop, socktopus, and all the fun of the fair, plus purlescence were not there.

Having said that there wasn't any shortage of yarn. I am a very happy bunny as I managed to finally get hold of the much coveted mini mochi yarn some 16 balls of assorted colours. It is incredibly soft and the colourways are simply stunning.

We had not booked any of the shows on offer choosing instead to shop and say hello to friends .I stroked and squeezed so many skeins of yarn. Fabulous colours and so soft. I met the world holder of fastest knitter in the world and yes, she is incredibly fast.. Everyone was so friendly and happy all of us high on yarn fumes.

It was very quiet ,people were a bit thin on the ground, but it made perfect shopping conditions .Ample space to shop, the queue to pay was never long and you could really talk to the vendors ,which was a complete contrast to last year's event.

The Iknit team deserve a big pat on the shoulders for organising the event .All in all I had a great time and the best is yet to come as I have so many delightful yarn., to play with. It should keep me going, that is ,until Alexander Palace.

Lovely day

Woke up this morning to a lovely shiny silver package from socktopus. As ever Alice selects the most beautiful skeins of yarn . It's so soft. I paid extra for a bells and whistle package and a gift is added. In today's parcel sits a lovely sock bag ,it's such a lovely colour and so cute.Its cube shaped, so pretty it could double as a little handbag.

I have to confess that in the two years I've been in the sock club I have only made one pair of socks ,yes I know that's ridiculous , I never seem to find the time to make socks. I always find something else to do,besides I get so much pleasure from squeezing, sniffing and dreaming .Sometimes there are skeins of yarn that are only there to be looked at. Only another yarn lover will understand why I have to have yarn just to look at it. Yarn is my god.