Remembering Rebekah

Well, I am not sure if I had mentioned it on this blog before, but I have a younger sister named Rebekah who lost her battle with cancer about a year and a half ago. Her husband is finally parting with some of her things, so I went to his house to pick out what I wanted before the yard sale starts tomorrow. I came home with 2 large totes full of yarn and fabric. As I went through all of those things, I realized again how much alike she and I are.

She had loads of fabric that had been picked up at yardsales (still had the masking tape and price on it), and several things it looked like she was planning to repurpose...like an old bedsheet and some curtains. She loved making handmade gifts for everyone, and she was great at it! I wish I could have shared with her when I found out how to make t-shirt yarn, and plarn...I know she would have loved reusing old things and making them new again. (Another thing I found was about 10 crochet needles in only 2-3 sizes...like me, she would misplace one and go buy another).

The other great thing about getting those boxes of her stuff, was finding her half-finished projects (she was working on several things). I feel like there is still a part of her wrapped up in that yarn (the part-finished things) because it is something she put work and love into. I am still deciding what to do with those projects though. I certainly will never unravel them, but should I try to finish them out?...(I don't even know specifically what she was making). Or should I just tie them off as they are and give them to her closest friends and family?

I have thoroughly enjoyed my evening of reminising and the glimpse of my Bekah that I miss so much. She was my best friend in the world, and I will never feel that I did enough to show her that when she was alive.

Project Pictures

I finally got some pictures to upload, so I am going to try to post pictures I promised last week of some of my projects. These projects are all made from recycled materials.

Rag Rug that I finished a few days ago. It measures about 21 inches.

Closeup

New rug I am working on.

Aly's Dora handbag...made from shorts (and a shirt).

Pocket.

Inside pockets...mismatched socks.

Cute handbag-Recycled placemat, mens shirt, button, scrap quilt material.

Liner is a recycled pillowcase, pockets made from the mens shirt.

Cloth napkins. Purchased fabric remnant with chickens, reverse side from mens shirt.

Purse crocheted with T-yarn.

Crocheted plarn purse.

I'm so happy to finally be able to upload these pics! Now I just need to get started on some new projects...right after I finish my homework lol. 

http://www.castleink.com/  (this link is for a scholarship I am applying for--feel free to check them out!)

Making Plarn

Well, for some reason, I still can't get my post to the top of the page and pictures at the bottom, so here it is anyway...just scroll down for the post.

Braided Rug (made from old scrubs)

Crocheted Rug ("Yarn" made out of old t-shirts)

Aly's Plarn Purse (Recycled grocery bags)

Caprisun Lunchbox (Umm...recycled Caprisun pouches)

Yesterday morning I found myself eating cheerios for breakfast while making "Plarn" (plastic bag yarn...out of recycled grocery bags). I felt a little like a child again...making something from something else (remember macaroni necklaces) or just pretending it was something else. I have made only one thing so far from plarn...a small purse for my daughter to put her things in (it holds 3 or so My Little Ponys...her current favorite). I have plenty of raw material for more now though! I had about 3 grocery bags full of bags which I have now condensed down into a few balls. I used some different types of bags too that were a little thicker, so hopefully they will work as well.

Dave always teases me about repurposing and recycling to make yarn out of strange things, but I know he is happy I am not spending money on real yarn anymore lol...or atleast very rarely. Dave may think I'm crazy, but I recently learned that my dad thinks its neat to repurpose! He came to visit and I was showing him all of my recent creations and he was impressed. I will post some pictures below. He also told me when we move back to KY (next month) he has several bags of grocery bags for me. YAY free material!