Wine Bottle Recycling

This weekend some friends, myself, and my husband tackled a really fun project - making drinking glasses out of wine bottles! They turned out gorgeous and we figured out some ways to make them even better next time!

You start with empty wine bottles and soak them so scraping the labels off is is easier.

Once the labels were scraped off we put a glass cutter in a vice and scored a circle around the bottles at whatever height we wanted the glass to be. David's strength proved to be helpful for this part, he could score them deeper than I could.

Next we lit some candles (note: you need candles stronger than tea-lites) and rotated the cut of the bottle over the heat of the flame then spun the bottle in a bucket of snow (ice water would probably work too). After a couple heatings and coolings - SNAP! You have a glass! (or you have a cracked glass, they won't all work out just right as you can see in the photo on the left)

Then David used a dremel and sanded down the edges, the rest of us helped by using emery paper. This is the part that we think we'll do differently next time. A friend of ours has a lamp work torch and we think the edges of the glasses would look nicer finished with the torch then with the dremel. Although the dremel and emery paper give them a cool rugged look.

For your own notes, we found that thicker glass snapped best. Oh and the bottle tops can be used as a really cool look for a mantle - put little votives under them! I'll have to get a photo of that too so you can see the coolness.


We are going to try it again soon and maybe make some sets for wedding gifts. The left one (green) is one of the super large bottles so I am going to put stones in the bottom and use those for planters.

FYI: I also have a few new things up in my shop. Two French Press Cozies, and a funky hat!

That'll be "To Go"

So I have been making these to-go cup sleeves for awhile now and every time I make a different one I like them more. Somehow it give a homemade feel to your purchased cup of coffee.

Recently a friend of mine purchased a to- go cup sleeve for the super cool new cup he purchased. It is so true that somehow the look of those coffee shop paper cups and lids is endearing. Anyhow, I was just thinking what a wonderful and environmentally friendly gift this cup and a hand knit to-go sleeve would be for a good friend so I thought I'd share it with you all. Enjoy!

Etsy Work

My Etsy shop was very ignored through the months of June and July. Other than a few sales I pretty much didn't do a thing with it, no relisting or new listings. But now August is here and I have about ten new items to list and I'm ready to gear up for the fall. I think that it is probably okay for a shop full if knit items and yarn to take a little sabbatical in the summer months.

This morning I listed my latest French Press cozy that I made with my own hand spun blend. I used a Turkish spindle, which I was borrowing and now covet, to spin the blend of silk and wool for that cozy.

Also this morning I listed a modern yellow scarf that I knit from an upcycled sweater. The sweater was originally white and I dyed it this pale yellow. As I was knitting this with what I thought might end up a woven pattern it turned out to be a double knit, which is way cooler for this chunky yarn. It is a very snuggly scarf.

So that is what's going on today in my lil' shop, but I'll be adding lots of goodies this week!

Spring and Fall

While up here in the northern hemisphere it is Spring (well in most places) down in the southern hemisphere is it autumn approaching winter. For those reasons thought it would be the perfect time to feature the items in my shop made from this upcycled hand dyed Alpaca.

My first project with this yarn was these cute mittens. The mittens are wonderfully snuggly and what makes me most excited about them is that they are 100% my own design. Also they are the fitted type so they don't slide all over your hand!

Also this headband is unique because it has a lattice type pattern knit into it. These knit headbands are really great, I know some folks are leery of trying new headbands but these are worth it! I model mine for you in my Etsy listings of headbands.

Hope you enjoyed seeing these fall/spring items and feel free to come have a look around my shop at other items too! Have a great day!

The World of Cozies

Well, I haven't been blogging much and I won't bore you with excuses, but today I decided to focus on the cozy section of my shop. This section in my shop is growing bit by bit and I'm excited about some of the recent and coming additions.

This photo on the left is of my newest to go cup sleeve (cozy) added to my shop just today. I really like this stitch pattern because it rather exemplifies how folks feel before their first cup of coffee- a bit discombobulated.

Also I'm excited to share that this cozy not only is eco friendly because it keeps you from using a cardboard sleeve, but also because it is upcycled yarn.

Here are a few other of my cozies, enjoy browsing...

the new Hand Bag

It is here! You asked for it - tah dah. I have completed the recycled silk purse. You may remember awhile back I shared the lack of motivation to complete this bag (and another, which I haven't touched), well on Sunday afternoon I bunkered down and said I couldn't leave the couch till it was finished.

I am very happy with the result, though I don't think I will make another one of these bags. I realize that means I could list it as OOAK, but I always want to leave myself the option to make it again down the road. The bag isn't lined, but it isn't an extremely loose knit so purse items won't be poking out all over the place.

So do you like it? You can find it here in my shop.

To Dye For

I know, crappy title, but sometimes you just have to make a pun. So this is the last of the H&M sweater (70% acrylic, 30% wool) that I have been recycling. Now to decided what to make. Last night I got about three inches into a chunky lace hat with the lavender, and realized I had not near enough. So I am thinking the lavender may become to-go cup and mug cozies. The yellow will become a chunky lace hat for spring/summer, and maybe you'll see it around the cozies as well. What other ideas do you have... what would you like to see from these colors? I'd love to hear it. Happy reading and browsing!

Today's New Listing

I am excited to share that from your poll answers I have listed my first to-go cup sleeve! Not only is it super cute it is made from wool that I dyed and spun as well. I also used a stitch that makes the sleeve a bit thicker to provide extra insulation for the hot beverage inside.

I was thinking a little bit about folks using these and I think it is a great way to promote handmade in a public place. As your slipping this sleeve on at your local Starbucks someone is bound to notice and possibly inquire about it. Just a thought.

As always, please cast your vote on the poll! I do pay attention to the results, hence the new cozy with more to come.

You asked for them and here they are....

...Recycled Silk Fingerless gloves! I have been taking various polls on this blog. One of which was what type of yarn do you prefer, the result was recycled silk. Another poll, which you can still vote on, says that fingerless gloves are what you hope to buy this month. Combining those two results I have knit these beautiful fingerless gloves!

I found it interesting that in the end these gloves didn't have as much give to them as my knit hats, and previous recycled silk gloves. Because of that it does take a little tug to get them on, but I made the specially for spring. The colors include a great bit of yellow with some green accent and I made the fingers a bit shorter so that they will be comfortable to wear as it gets warmer.

They were posted in my shop just this morning so head over there to check them out and see some more views of them being modeled and at different angles. Enjoy shopping!

CRAFTY beautiful recycled yarns

That's right folks the picture on the right is the original sweater and the left is the beautiful yarn that you have the opportunity purchase! How many unwanted and ugly sweaters have you seen in the thrift store? Well, craftyyarn takes those high quality sweaters, unravels them, washes them up, and offers them to you and your creativeness in her shop CRAFTY - beautiful recycled yarns.

Here is a little bit about craftyyarn from her bio: "I live in Leucadia, California and am an architect by day. I'm a knitter and am fascinated with anything recycled, reclaimed, salvaged or found. To me, being crafty means taking second-hand stuff and making something out of it that only a small-scale, low-tech crafter could. When I finish recycling a sweater, I've had fun creating something and have made something that another crafter can enjoy working with too."

Enjoy shopping AND recycling!

Oh for the love of Recycled Silk

This is my most recently posted recycled silk item. The silk comes from the manufacturing of saris as the ends are cut. Those end are then spun into yarn by woman throughout the Himalayan mountains. What an amazing thing! The yarn itself already has a history when it arrives.

I'm excited about this particular hat because it is a thicker and fuzzier silk than I have worked with before. Also the colors are deep and rich. I look forward to it finding a great home. On to my knitting, have a fabulous day, and don't forget to take my poll!