Mother Earth doll designed and woven by Noreen Crone-Findlay (copyright)

Green and eco projects are always a good idea.

I wanted to celebrate Earth day by coming up with some fun ‘eco-upcycling’ projects that would be quick, easy and oh so friendly to the Earth.

I’ve made a few notes about a couple of them, and will be sharing them this week.

Today, a very very easy one  popped into my mind.

I was rummaging through a drawer and

I found a bit of  inkle weaving that had been left over from another project.

I thought… hmmm…. this would make a great bookmark!

Bookmarks are great.

They are a fun way to experiment with needlework techniques and take ideas for trial runs.  You can make a small sample or a swatch and then modify it a little and use it to keep your place when you’re reading…. that’s great… multi-tasking!

Besides… I can never have enough bookmarks. I often mark several places in the same book, so a spare bookmark is always welcome.

And… another thing…. bookmarks make great little gifts. You can pop them in an envelope and mail them of to a friend to make them feel extra appreciated. Yup…. bookmarks are fine things!

Anyhow. Back to this particular bit of upcycling.

I liked the idea of using this scrap of inkle weaving as a bookmark -

But, it needed something….. hmmmm…

Then, I noticed the corner of an out of date business card.

Aha! I could use the pic off the business card to ‘top’ the bookmark!

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I grabbed a pair of scissors and some extra thick glue.

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I snipped the pic off the business card, then cut a back the same size, and glued them to the weaving.

Voila! an instant upcycled bookmark!

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

Hmmm… the cut out is kind of wonky…. so

I thought…. let’s try this again!

This time, I used a fragment of tatting that I had tossed in the drawer after ’sampling’ some crochet cotton to see if it would be okay for tatting.

And, I decided to use a punch to cut out the shapes from the business cards to make the cutout top more regular:

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

I added a small tassel to the end of the tatting and then glued it all together:

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

There… I like that better… using a punch to cut out the pic for the top of the bookmark makes it cleaner. I’m happy with it….

Hurrah for upcycling!

What if you don’t have old business cards? Cut or punch out a front and matching back from a photograph or use a postage stamp or even a bit of a pic from junk mail!

What if you don’t have a scrap of weaving or lace? Use a bit of ribbon, or spool knitting, or part of a broken tape measure….

what  do you have ? Upcycle it!

Post from: Hankering for Yarn

She decided to make her a hankie with simple tatted edging, and asked for input.

I thought…. ooooooooh how neat…. I have a collection of vintage lace trimmed hankies that I love,

so it seems to me to be the perfect timeless and heartfelt gift.

I looked on the net to see if I could find some entry level tatted edgings,

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

but didn’t find any.

But, I did find 2 sources for linen hankies to add the lovely lace to:

mielkes farm

and

lacis

I looked at a heap of sites, and decided that it was easier to just do a quick tute here,

since the request had been for an entry level edging,

and all I saw were somewhat more advanced ones.

I also decided, that since I didn’t have any blank hankies, that I would

make  a bookmark instead.

I decided that I’d show 3 different quick and easy edgings.

I wove 3 little squares with crochet cotton

and my  little old Weave It

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

2 inch square loom.

And stitched them together.

For the first short edge, which is the edge at the bottom of the bookmark,

I decided to use a version of the same simple pattern that Itopped my socks with:

Starting at the lower short edge of the bookmark:

Tie the shuttle and ball of thread to a corner stitch,

ch 7 ds;

make a ring of: 3 ds, p, 3 ds, p, 3 ds, p,3 ds, p,3 ds, p,3 ds, close.

Turn, ch 7 ds. Join to next stitch on bookmark or hanky.

Repeat the  green colored pattern along the first short edge.

Working along the long edge: Still working with shuttle and ball:

Ch 3 ds, p, 3ds, join to next space or stitch on bookmark or hanky.

Repeat purple instructions along the long edge.

Second short edge: This is the top of the bookmark: Rings worked with shuttle only:

(I took the ball thread across the end, joining it to each loop of the bookmark,

photo by Noreen Crone-Findlay copyright

but it could have been cut and rejoined for the second long side)

First Ring: 5 ds, p, 5 ds, p, 5 ds, p,5 ds, close.  Leave a space of about 1/8 inch,

join to next space.

Second and remaining rings: 5 ds, join to last  p of previous ring, 5 ds, p, 5 ds, p,5 ds, close.

Leave a space of about 1/8 inch, join to next space.

Repeat orange instructions across second short edge.

Repeat purple instructions along the second long edge.

Weave in any loose ends and trim.

I stitched bits of sample tatting and a tatted butterfly onto the bookmark to finish it.

I used a ball of really old mercerized tatting cotton size 100 for the edging.

I bought it in a second hand store in my youth, long ago and far away….

It is such a pleasure to use old tools and threads, and to give them new life.

Who knows? Maybe someday, someone will open a book and this little bookmark will fall out……

Post from: Hankering for Yarn