Stopping the rubbish

In the last 6 months or so I have become more conscious of what I buy, use and throw away. I was truly astonished at the money I spent and the waste I produced.

I made the conscious decision to do more. That is take the time to make things from scratch using natural products and limit the rubbish I produce. I now make my own bread, I use fabric wraps or reuseable containers to take my lunch to work, I have a vegetable garden, I compost my food scraps and I use all natural beauty products and cleaners.

I do realise that some of you may think that I am a bit (or a lot) late to this party, but at least I have arrived! Don't get me wrong, I have not given up chocolate and starting eating cacao nibs (that is sacrilegious to me) or using crystals as deodorant (not that there is anything wrong with that - who am I to judge), but I have made a few changes to my life which I am happy with.

Now you all know my love of crochet so I decided to make my own dishcloths and pot scrubbies. I purchased a cotton microfibre yarn from Blacksheep Wool n' Wares and decided to fancy it up with a fan and post design crochet pattern. I followed this pattern from YouTube and I was really happy with the results.

For my scrubbies I just used some leftover Zpagetti yarn I had around and crocheted some small circles.

Dishcloths and scrubbies are a great way to start learning to crochet, you get fast results and something that you can use time and time again.

If really hope this post has inspired you to think about the money you spend, the rubbish you produce and the chemicals you put on your body. If you are interested in getting more information head to Rhonda Hetzel's Down to Earth blog or visit the Biome website for inspiration. I am sure there are many other useful links but these are both local sites which I have enjoyed.

Just changing one thing in your home can make a difference, I swear!

Macrame magic

My friend Summer and I decided that we wanted to learn macrame after seeing this amazing post from A Beautiful Mess.

I must admit that I had been thinking about trying to learn macrame for a little while now. Probably since I was lucky enough to win an Ouch Flower macrame plant holder made from Zpagetti a few months back.

I just love the copper beads on this plant holder

We were lucky enough to time our desire to macrame with a class being held at Reverse Garbage. I go a wee bit crazy every time I am at Reverse Garbage and this time was no exception (I made sure we arrived early). Fabric and terracotta pots for my soon to arrive bulbs were the order for this day.

Everyone at the class was lovely and really willing to help each other. We decided to keep it simple and use jute twine with recycled wooden beads to make a tea light candle holder and this was the result. Not too shabby and just what my deck needed.

Now I do realise that my efforts pale in comparison to that produced on a Beautiful Mess but I am well on my way...I think so anyway

After this class I now feel confident in applying my skills to other macrame projects. Summer is away and flying. She had the idea to make a bird feeder out of an old coconut shell. I haven't seen it yet but I am imagining something like this below from Poppytalk.

I do realise that this is not technically macrame but I couldn't resist

If you ever get a chance to attend a macrame class or any class at Reverse Garbage give it a go, it was good fun with a few laughs and clumsy moments from me as always.

Crochet floor rug

Something that I probably haven't written about before is that I love to crochet. Crochet is no longer the domain of our grandmothers with new and different types of yarn becoming available. One yarn that I absolutely adore is Zpagetti yarn.

Zpagetti yarn is made of stretch cotton fabric offcuts and comes in so many beautiful colours and designs. Their website offers some inspiration for different projects you can complete with zpagetti. Also you can ogle the beautiful macrame items that Ouchflower makes with this fabulous yarn. Ouchflower also has an amazing blog with helpful hints on the various knots that you can use when making macrame. So head to her knot school and get crafting.

One project that I tried with zpagetti that turned out amazingly was a crochet doily rug. I used the pattern from a blog called Dandelion Days. I must admit though that I did not include Round 4 mentioned in the pattern as I could not get this to work, otherwise though this pattern was easy to follow and turned out beautifully (well I think so anyway).

One little tip though for working with this yarn is that you will need to take regular breaks. The yarn is very thick and you will need to use your muscles to work with it. Also the biggest crochet hook I have ever seen is essential to getting the right look.

My next project is to use the same pattern mentioned before to make myself a couple of very stylish bath mats and with Christmas now fast approaching I am sure that they would also make very personal gifts for friends and family. I know that I would love to receive something that someone has spent their precious time and energy creating.

So put some time aside in your calendar to get crafting, you won't regret it.