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!

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.