What the Heck is Plarn?!?

Waste not, want not... 

Great words of wisdom we should heed in times of plenty as well as in times of  need. America has a long way to go before we can declare ourselves a truly "green" nation, but the movement is underway. Just consider plarn... it's yarn made from plastic grocery bags. The little suckers won't break down in landfills, so we need to do something with them. Why not knit them up into cute hats, bags, bracelets and other stuff. The Recycled Jeans Company gives plarn two thumbs up!

If you want to get knitting with plarn, you can make your own. There's a great tutorial at well as many patterns for using plarn at www.myrecycledbags.com. If you'd rather buy some ready-made plarn, there are several Etsy shops selling it, including yarndeb.etsy.com and jesspins.etsy.com. 

You may be asking yourself, "Stuff made from plastic grocery bags - how great can that be?" That's what I thought when I first heard about plarn. But I've got to tell you, you can make some pretty amazing things out of Target bags. 

I shopped around on Etsy and here are a few of my favorite finds:

1. The Cloudy Day Ruffle Plarn Cuff from The Green Sea Queen

2. Recycled Plastic Nesting Baskets from reVisionDesign

3. Remarkably Colorful Creation from Arnym

I've been having a wonderful time trying to guess where the bags came from. There are tons of other great items made from plarn on Etsy, so get on over there and check it out for yourself. Or better yet, make your own. But remember to take reusable shopping bags to the store with you whenever feasible. It's better to reduce than reuse. 

A Mystery in the Making

I'm really pleased with how my latest project is turning out. The only problem is... I have NO IDEA what it's going to end up being. 

I've thought maybe a purse, a pillow, a backpack, but I don't know... It started with the center applique. I purchased a really cool set from BunnyCup Designs and wanted to try it out, so I dug through my scrap basket, picked out a few small pieces and stuck them on a piece of old denim.

Well, hello! For several weeks I had a square of black denim with a peace symbol applique sitting on my cutting table, mocking me. "I'm so pretty! Finish me," it seemed to be saying. Then today I was working with the rockin' zebra print and when I saw it next to my old peace square, I had a Eureka moment. So I did a little cutting and sewing and now I have a 13" x 7.5" rectangle that will probably haunt me for a bit longer. I have some black corduroy that will surely make it into the mix and a lovely solid red moire that's represented in the applique. Beyond that, it's a mystery. 

Do YOU have any thoughts on my mystery project? What would you do with it? And am I the only person who just starts sewing with no particular destination in mind? Please tell me I'm not the only one...

Drinks Are on Us!

Come on over to 1000 Markets and see our latest product offering - drink coasters. These indispensable delicacies are a fun, inexpensive way to jazz up your home decor and protect your pricey furniture at the same time.

We have several styles to fit any personality: there's the prim/country Stars N Stripes; the edgier, indie Raspberry Zebras; and the elegant Floral Fantasy. New colors and styles are being added every week.

We had a lot of fun delving into the scrap basket, sorting through our stash of old clothes and coordinating new fabrics for this new project. So let the Recycled Jeans Company show you how recycled and discarded fabrics can be turned into something fabulous, something amazing, a little something we like to call "Eco-Chic!"