Plarn Club

Today was the beginning of Plarn Club. I made myself a plarn (plastic yarn) lunch bag which I take to work with me every day. Some of the kids at school have asked me to show them how to make them. One little boy in particular has asked me daily when the "club" is starting. Today, I spent lunch hour teaching him the technique for how to cut the bags into strips and join them together to create plarn. He is going to work on this project over spring break and then we'll get to work on his project - a back pack/messenger bag - when we come back to school. Quite ambitious and I suspect I will be doing the crocheting for this but I don't really mind.

It was quite interesting today how he opened up and really talked to me about what was on his mind while we were crafting together. The conversation really flowed. It just reminded me that as a teacher we connect with students in so many ways and on different levels and how important these connections are to students. It was kind of a "moment" for me today. It was nice to connect with a student through a shared interest. It also reinforces to me that students need to have many different experiences in their schooling - and that you never know how you are going to reach a student.

Crochet in Progress

I took a break from crochet to post up some pictures of my latest project. (I need to give my hands a little rest!) I saw this crochet bag pattern by Attic24 and loved the colors and the stripe design. I gathered some bright colors and was inspired to make this bag myself. I am using yarn that I picked up at Value Village - a second hand store. I can often find big lots of yarn there for $2-5. I decided to use up some of my yarn stash for this project.

I couldn't figure out why my bag kept getting bigger and not taller...until I realized that I was increasing one more stitch in each row (well after I was supposed to stop increasing!) In all I added about 2 extra inches in width to this bag. Oh well - there's no going back now. I'm just making the correction now and going with the flow. I guess I'll just have a really big beautiful bag to put my knitting/crochet projects in!

Crochet Flower

I tried out this little crochet flower pattern today with some odd scraps of yarn that I found in a grab bag at Value Village.

The three colors of yarn are all different weights of yarn. I think it would work better if I had used the same weight of yarn. I also plan to make some more of these using the bits of cotton yarn I have leftover after making cotton dishcloths.

I plan to turn some of these into brooches, maybe a bracelet or hair clip. I also saw them made into a flower garland which was really cute. I also plan on making a crochet bag from the same blog where I got the flower pattern. Attic24 embellished her bag with these flowers. Adorable! I can't wait to start this bag!

Two Feet of Snow Since Sunday

It is hard to believe that four days ago (Sunday) we were basking in the balmy spring weather, barbequeing burgers on our deck, and in general just breathing in the beautiful spring weather.

Today this is what our BBQ looks like.

All the snow that had melted and drained off has returned. Meh.

World Deaf Hockey Championships 2009

I will be a timekeeper at the first World Deaf Hockey Championships to be held April 10 - 18, 2009 in Winnipeg, MB.

Check out the site! This should be a very cool event to participate in. Teams from Slovakia, Russia, United States, Finland and Canada will be participating.

World Deaf Hockey Championships 2009

Plarn Clothes Pin Hanger Bag

I made this clothes pin hanger bag using 2 strands - 1 of Plarn and 1 of Phentex. I thought that the Phentex might make the bag more sturdy and give it a little bit of stiffness. I got the pattern here.

I used a mini hanger (like the ones for baby clothes) as the hook. I think this will work very well outdoors. The bag can get wet but should dry without rotting.

I think I will give this one to my mom. She likes to hang her clothes out to dry in the summer. Happy Laundering Mom!

Net Shopping Bag - Plarn

I just finished this plarn bag. I found the pattern on www.myrecycledbags.com

This bag was created using the plastic bags that my tupperware came in. Each piece was wrapped in a clear plastic bag and since I had such a successful tupperware party, I had plenty of material to work with.

The net pattern allows the bag to stretch to fit whatever is inside. It didn't take long to make as it had an open design.