Psychedelic Squares Blanket!

Psychedelic Dude!  I finally finished this blanket!  Here's a picture of it tossed over my couch, complete with a kitty who is grumpy with the flash from my camera!  Noella made, kitty approved.

This blanket consists of squares knit from the pattern found here: http://www.knitting-and.com/knitting/patterns/afghans/garter.htm The squares themselves are easy to knit, you just need bunches of them to make a blanket.  I took four and sewed them together to make a big square.  I then crocheted around the edge of each square, and finally crocheted them all together.  It was a big project, but I finally used up some cheap yarn that I've been dragging around with me since high school.  In addition, I used some scraps from recent projects, and scraps stolen from friends stashes.  I used all different kinds of yarn, but all about worsted weight.  I like the feel of the different kinds of yarn next to each other, some are very soft, some are more coarse; it makes an interesting blanket!  Best of all, my yarn stash is many skeins smaller now, having been replaced with a snuggly blanket.  I'm still finding ways to use up the bits and ends that I have left, and I suspect that more softies (like the dino) are coming.

Denim Bag

This morning I made this denim bag using the directions found here: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=177482.0

This bag is styled after a plastic shopping bag, but made with cloth.  I used the legs of a worn out pair of jeans for the outside, and some denim leftovers for the inside. The bag turned out really nice, except that the opening is a bit small.  Otherwise, I really liked this pattern, especially because all the seams come out nicely finished with no ratty edges.  I think this patter could make a cute handbag if you picked some nice fabric!

Cute as it is, though, I plan to put this bag in the car to use as a garbage bag.  Since I'm trying not to bring new plastic bags into my house there has been a lack of garbage bags for the car.  I made this bag out of two layers of denim so that it will be both heavy duty and washable.  We'll see how it works!

Happy Scrappy Knitted Dino!

I just knitted this dinosaur.  I mostly followed the pattern found here http://www.xtreme-knitting.com/photos-dinosaurs.htm I had a little trouble with his head, which wants to droop down.  I made several supporting stitches at the base of his neck to encourage the head to stay back.  I also think his neck should be a little thicker at the base, but overall, he's pretty happy.  The reason he is a scrappy dino is the yarn.  This skein of yarn was originally purchased by a friend to make a dragon.  The rest was given to me to incorporate into a blanket (almost done!).  I had a medium ball left over, and this is the result!  I think I still have enough to make another dino, maybe a stegosaurus? 

Hello World

Hello world!  With this, my first foray into the blog-o-sphere, I'd like to write about what I'd like to write about. 

I'd like to write about things in my life that others might find useful.   As a 20-something I'm just getting started managing so many details in my life--my kitchen, my laundry, my shopping, etc.  Lately I've been concerned with trying to live more simply, using less stuff, and finding eco-friendly ways to live.  I figure that other people are also learning to manage life, so maybe someone will find my discoveries useful. I get a lot of good advice from people on the internet, so I hope I can add some of my ideas to the mix, and just collect things that work for me in one place for others to check out.

Of course, I have lots of other interests--crafting, reading web comics, thinking, using up scraps, misusing punctuation for interesting effect--all of which will probably turn up here eventually.  I'm sure to write about lots of projects for using scraps, and that's why I'm calling this blog Happy Scrappies.  Thanks to my office mates for coming up with that term for the pile of one sided paper we use for mathematical scratch work!

Mostly, I want a place to put collected thoughts that I want to share.  About living simply, about crafting, about philosophy.  Along the way, I hope that I manage to put something out into the big wide world web that someone finds helpful!