Lady Sheherazahde's Journal

I'm currently involved in two craft projects.

I'm learning to make Pop-Ups from the book mom got me. I need to clear off a space to work in, find some card stock to work with, and dig out my X-acto knives. Right now I'm practicing with regular paper and a pair of gold scissors. I'm pretty good at making the Dove.

The second project is making boxes out of clementine peels. Basically, I cut the top off a clementine, scoop out the fruit, put the peel back together and let it dry. I have made four so far. But I only started yesterday so they have not had time to dry properly. I have no idea if this will work. The ones I see on the internet are turned inside-out and dried over molds. Some people are doing fancy stuff with citrus peels.

Citrus peel boxes
Orange Peel Creations
Carved Orange Peel Boxes By Regina Nunes

I have started a new project.

I got a bag of old neckties (mostly silk) from a nice woman on Freecycle and I'm going to make a Necktie Skirt

I've already opened up a bunch of them. Tomorrow I start ironing.

For Yule phoenixmedusa gave me a box of chocolates. The box was a clear hard plastic cube. It was so nice I couldn't throw it away when I finished the chocolates. I have been keeping hard candies in it. But having hard candies around really isn't good for me. So the other day I filled it with sea shells that I had been keeping in a cardboard box. There are a lot of strange and interesting things on my bookshelves . . . I mean aside from the books themselves.

I'm working on making a Book of Shadows for Alex. Yesterday I had him get a bunch of books on bookbinding out of the library. I'm going to have make myself a book press. Bookbinding is complicated. But I still think it is worth a try.

Oh I have so many projects I'm working on. I'm making progress on organizing my day planner. I still want to work on my "Treasure Map". I want to put more art and signs in the Temple. I want to make more progress on my bag bag. I want to make some shirts. I want to make Faux Chenille scented pillows out of my old ripped shirts.

Alex and I went shopping yesterday. Yay for fresh fruit and vegetables! I feel so much better. I'm going to post some recipes on the recipe blog.

And I was productive today!

I did a lot of cooking and then got started on my recycled grocery bag project. Well, I say "started" but I got started a long time ago when I taught myself how to crochet and strated collecting plastic grocery bags. What I did today was start cutting up the bags and making grocery bag "yarn".

I found their instructions wasteful. Really I'm going this because I can't stand waste and they are throwing away parts of the bag. Their method gets about 7 identical loops of plastic out of each bag. My method only get 3 loops, and one of them is thiner than the others making an uneven "yarn". But hey, people pay a lot for uneven yarns.

My method is to flatten the bag and make two cuts, cutting the middle out from between the two handles. The middle part is not a closed loop but that is easily solved with a simple granny knot.

Another step that I use in yarn production is to twist the thread. Traditionally all thread is twisted because it strengthen the finished strand. I see no reason not to use this method here. I got a nice spool of clear white Wegman's bags started tonight :-D.

I just put up a gallery of my Crochet Projects

Such as my new neck wallet


And a rag rug made out of old pants

This is a picture Shadow took of me at Imbolc wearing the shirt I made out of a skirt my mom gave me.

Well, I finally finished the last little bits needed to turn that skirt my mom gave me into a shirt.

And I crocheted a round hot pad out of jute twine. It sort of crude compared to what real crochet people do. But it is only my second project (my first turned out to be a square jute twine pot holder).

I have already started on my third crochet project, it is a replacement for the wallet I wear around my neck. The new one will have a pocket for my cell phone. I'm making it out of the pretty wool yarns that came in the kit Bu bought me.

chezelliott sent me a pattern for making a tote bag from plastic grocery bags, or a Round Plastic Bag Tote

Check out Marlo's Free Form Crochet She does amazing things with yarn.

And, remember, all of this is just so I can make Round Crochet Rag Rugs out of my old clothes.

I managed about a 3x5 rectangle of crochet with heavey Jute twine, before I snapped the plastic crochet hook that came with the kit. I will try to pick up a metal hook to replace it.

I think I was pulling the stiches too tight. I was using the jute twine because the wool yarn that came with the kit broke when I pulled too hard.

But at least I'm learning how to crochet.

But Buddha came through for me.

I had decided to turn my old pants into crochet rag rugs. I even purchased the biggest crochet hook I could find. But I couldn't find any instructions on the internet on how to crochet. Well, none that I could understand.

Yesterday Buddha gave me a "Discover Crochet Kit" from Harrisville Designs So I can learn how to crochet. it is harder than I thought, But I'm getting the hang of it. Buddha had shown me how to make a chain stitch but last night I finally did a second row of single crochet.