The plastic grocery sack tote

            I have had several people ask for the pattern for my plastic grocery sack totes, so I’ve tried to recreate the patterns here. But first, a few words about plarn and color.
            The plastic yarn I make from plastic grocery bags really reflects the stores I frequent. In central Ohio, brown sacks come from Kroger, blue from Giant Eagle, gray from Walmart, yellow from Dollar General, and white from Walmart, Meijer, Joann's, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, Big Lots and many others.
            I’ve mixed the colors in several different ways. Sometimes, I’ll cut up the different bags (see the previous blog entry on how to do this) and throw all the different colors together in the same bag and connect them together randomly. I just stick my hand in the bag and whatever color comes out next is the next color in the ball of plarn.
            Now, the OCD way of doing things is to separate the bags into colors, cut them each up keeping the colors separated. This way, you can string together balls of plarn that are the same color.
            It really doesn’t matter which way you do it. Choose what makes you happy.
            Now on to the patterns for the totes.
            I basically use two different types of patterns and whatever size crochet hook feels the best. You can’t use a really small hook because you won’t be able to grab the plarn to make individual stitches. A really big hook means you’ll have large holes that “stuff” might fall through once you start using your tote. Just experiment until you find something that feels right.

Pattern One
     Crochet the bottom of the bag. Do this by chaining however many stitches that will make a bag the length you’d like it to be. Then start single crocheting every row until the rectangle you get is the size of the bottom of the bag.


This is the bottom rectangle.

     Then start crocheting in the round by picking up stitches on the ends (make sure you get roughly the same number of stitches on each end) and picking up stitches on the chain edge of the bottom rectangle.

This is what the bag will look like after you continue crocheting in the round for awhile.

     Sometimes, I find it necessary to reduce stitches in the four corners to make them more pronounced. Single crochet in the round until your tote is the height you’d like it to be. When you get to your last round, do one round of reverse single crochet to make a nice ridge at the top of the tote.

One round of reverse single crochet puts a nice edge on the top of the bag.

Pattern Two
            Again, crochet a chain that’s as long as you want the bag to be, Then start single crocheting each row until you get a large rectangle that is the size of one side of your tote.

It looks a little wonky, but this is the size square I'll use as the basic size of this bag.

            After I finish the last row of the side of your tote, do NOT turn to go back; instead, turn your work clockwise 90 degrees and pick up stitches along the end of the rows (I usually do one single crochet in each row), until you get to the bottom chain row.

           Again turn your work clockwise 90 degrees and pick up stitches in each chain along the bottom edge. When you get to the end, again turn your work clockwise 90 degrees and single crochet in each row until you reach the top. Don’t put extra stitches in the corners as you turn the tote to pick up stitches. You want this “U” shape to start forming the sides and bottom of the tote.

 

           When you get to the end, chain one and turn. Continue to single crochet each row until your edge piece makes the tote as wide as you’d like it to be.

           When you finish the last row of the sides, chain one and turn. Single crochet down the side until you reach the bottom. Now it’s time to start crocheting the other main side of the tote. You’ll complete rows of single crochet and crochet the last stitch in the row together with a stitch in the side.

 

This is what the bag will look like as you crochet up the last side of the bag.

           Please refer to the photos as I try to explain how I do this. (I’m sure there’s a better way. I’ve tried several different methods and this seems to work the best for me. If you’ve got another method, stick with what works for you.)

Crochet to the last stitch in the row.

Single crochet in the last stitch but don't pull the plarn through to
make the last stitch. Instead, pick up the stitch in the side.

 

Then pull the plarn through all three loops on the hook.
This is kind of like a single crochet decrease.

The slip stitch in the stitch on the side
above the row you've just completed.

After you slip stitch turn your work and
continue in single crochet across the row.

          Complete the fourth side when you've used all the side stitches and then fasten off.

This is the final tote using Pattern Two.

Handles
            It seems to me that a really cool plastic grocery sack tote can be ruined if the handles aren’t strong enough. Believe it or not, the handles will give way before the rest of the bag does. Again, I’ve tried several different types of handles, and these are the ones that work best for me. But if you’ve got a different way of doing it, go for it! These are, after all, totes made from plastic grocery sacks. We’re not talking life or death here! J Use your own creativity!
           I chain 11, turn and single crochet in the second chain from the hook and single crochet across. Continue until the handle is as long as you want it. Then I fold the handles in half lengthwise and crochet along the open edge to create a double thickness handle. Leave a long tale when you get to the end and fasten off and use the long tail to whip stitch the handle where you want it. I whip stitch around all four edges. This creates a very firm and secure attachment.

Place the handles wherever you think they'll be the strongest.

These are the handles whip-stitched in place.

           For one of these totes, I used a single thickness of the plarn and a size K crochet hook. The other is made using a double thickness of plarn and a size M crochet hook. I used the same thickness and crochet hook size for the handles of each bag. You can attach the handles to the outside or inside of the bag. It's your preference.

The bag on the left is crocheted with a double thickness and used Pattern Two.
The bag on the right is single thickness and Pattern One.

The two bags on the ends are made using Pattern Two
and the bag in the middle used Pattern One.

          I really enjoy making these and it's always fun to take them to the store and use these to bag my groceries. The folks at checkout are enthralled with them. I've become a good "recycling center" for my friends who want to get rid of their grocery sacks. My kids make fun of me all the time. They tease that I could figure out how to make a formal dress out of old pieces of garden hose. I'm not that thrifty, but if I could figure out a way to do it, I'd probably try.     

Enjoy and keep on creating!

Susie

How to make mats from plastic grocery sacks

     I understand the purpose behind a blog is to write somewhat regularly about your thoughts and such. I have done anything but that. But, some new revelations (which I'll pass along in another post) have me excited and primed to write much more regularly.
     Our family took our annual trip to Camp Hebron near Halifax, Pa., for Family Camp I. I usually take some sort of knitting or crocheting project with me. It's not unusual for me to be sitting in the lobby of Sylvan View (the lodge) and have several people stop to ask what I'm working on. This year was no different, however, it was somewhat comical at the number of people who stopped and the fact that nearly every person had the same questions. Several fellow campers and a camp counselor and I started counting the number of people who stopped. I think we got up to 12 on one particular afternoon. I had several people wanting to know more about the process. I promised I'd post pictures, so here it goes!
     I make "plarn," plastic "yarn" from recycled grocery sacks. I've usually made tote bags, so I've cut the plastic bags into narrow (about half-inch) strips. Here's a picture of some of the bags I've made:

 

      Here's a picture of a tote full of balls of plarn:

 

     I made these from all the grocery sacks I found at my brother's house in Jacksonville, Fla. Yes, I packed them into boxes and mailed them to myself in West Jefferson, Ohio, and sat on my loveseat in the Mom Cave and cut them up and rolled them into balls. I need a life!
     But, lately, my focus has changed a bit. Our family has been volunteering with a homeless ministry in Columbus, Ohio, called Light of Salvation. I started making mats for the homeless so their sleeping bags don't get wet. The plastic mat is somewhat durable, and it provides a layer away from the ground and some padding. To make the plarn for the mats, the strips need to be wider. Here are some step-by-step photos:


First you have some plastic grocery sacks.

Which you flatten

Fold in half

Fold in half again.

Cut off the bottom seam

Cut off the handles.

To crochet totes, I cut the bags into one-half-inch pieces

For thicker mats, I cut the bags into 3-4-inch slices.

You end up with all these loops of cut up plastic bags

Loop the bags together

Start to pull them tight

Link all the strips together to form a longer piece of plarn.

      Once you have several balls of plarn (it's been estimated that it takes about 500 bags to make one mat. It really does take longer to make the plarn than it does to crochet the mat), you use a size Q crochet hook, chain 41 stitches (this should be about 3 feet long). Turn and single crochet into the second chain from the hook and single crochet across the rest of the chain. You'll have 40 stitches. At the end of each row, chain one, and turn and start your next row in the second stitch from the hook. Crochet 96 rows or until your mat is 6-feet long. Fasten off. You can weave in the end or let it be, whatever strikes your fancy.

     Now you need a strap to keep the mat rolled and to help with transporting it. Using your Q crochet hook, chain until you have a chain about 6-8-feet long. Join in a circle by slip-stitching into the first chain (try not to twist the chain, but if you do, that's OK because it's just plarn and it isn't like you're creating something for the runway in Paris). Chain one and keep single crocheting into the chain until you've completed one completed circle. Slip stitch into the first stitch of the round. Chain one and turn and complete another row, slip stitching into the first stitch of that round. You can stop here or complete another round. When you're done, fasten off and weave in the end if you want.

     Fold the mat in half lengthwise and roll up like a sleeping bag. Use the strap to keep the mat rolled and you're ready to give the mat to someone who needs it!
     I have used the thinner strips of plarn to make the mat, but I've crocheted with four or five strips together at the same time to make something that's the same thickness as the thicker strips. You may be wondering if you can knit with plarn. I have tried knitting, but I don't think it works as well as it does with crocheting.
     And there you have a mat made with recycled plastic grocery sacks. So start keeping all those bags and ask your friends to keep theirs. You're going to need quite a few if you plan to make more than one mat!
     Now, back to the questions that people asked while I was sitting in the lodge at camp. Nearly everyone asked these same questions almost word-for-word:

Camper: What are you doing?
Me: Making plarn.
Camper: Plarn?
Me: Yeah. Plastic yarn from recycled grocery sacks.
Camper: How do you do it?
Me: I flatten the bags, fold them up, cut the bottom and the handles off and cut them into strips. Then
        I string the strips together until I've got a long strand and can roll it up into a ball.
Camper: Then what do you do.
Me: I use the plarn just like regular yarn and crochet mats for the homeless.
Camper: That's cool!

     Imagine answering the same questions from about 12 different people within a 30-minute period. It was comical! And fun. Until next time, keep on Knitting and Needling!

Long time ... no post!

OK. So it's been more than a year since the last time I posted anything. Hey, life gets away from me sometimes. Well, most of the time. Just because I haven't posted doesn't mean I haven't been working on my knitting, crocheting and other craft skills. I've taken up beading -- thanks to my sister Amy and her wonderful bead store: Busy Beaders. (www.busybeaders.biz)

I have completed many projects -- cowboy hats, backpacks, purses, market bags, socks, blankets, scarves -- a little bit of everything. I also finished a jacket I was making for my sister-in-law. Took me more than a year, but I finally got it done in time to give it to her for Christmas. Not too shabby, if I say so myself!

I am now working about 20 hours a week at Busy Beaders (www.busybeaders.biz). So I'm getting kids ready for school right now as well as myself ready for work. It's fun and I get to play with shiny things, so that's always fun. I've learned some new skills, too. Micro macrame, for one. I'm even going to teach a class for it at the store -- if anyone signs up for it. I've also been doing some bead weaving and wire weaving. The bead weaving is pretty standrad stuff, but the wire weaving is leaving me with sore hands. I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep up with that. I wove a necklace last night and am now having trouble typing because my thumb is so sore.

I've also been doing a lot of work for church. We had to let our secretary go because we just didn't have the money to pay her, so I'm trying to do what I can to help out in the office. Another congregation member and I take turns doing the weekly worship bulletin. That has been fun, even if it can be tedious sometimes. I'm still designing our church's monthly newsletter and am now trying to kleep the Web site up to date (www.zionlutheranwj.org). We're in the process of looking for a new pastor. That can be difficult, but I think we'll do fine.

I did write an article for the Ohio State Alumni Magazine. I'll reproduce it here sometime soon and post the picture that accompanied it -- One of the best family pictures we've had taken in awhile.

That's it for now -- keep stitching!

Are you going to finish that?

I have trouble finishing things. About one-third of one of my storage cabinets is filled with projects that I've started, but just haven't found the right umph to finish.

You know what I mean, don't you? The cross-stitch kits that are done but frameless, purses that are knitted but lining-less, ornaments that just need the hangers attached, partially-painted paint-by-the-numbers canvases. You name it, I've probably got a project in my cabinet that fits the bill.

I decided that I need to have something that I've finished, so I've rooted out three purses and put the linings in them. They look really cool.

Not necessarily a professional job, but good-enough for hand-made and a first try at lining a purse.

Not finishing things isn't limited to my crafting. I realized this morning that I started a story here and never let all of you in on the end of it. Here's how things turned out with Evan at the hospital post-surgery.

He stayed at Nationwide Children's Hospital for three days to try to determine what was causing his belly pain. He started pooping and started feeling better, so we think he had some stool "caught" in one part of his intestines. Once it got moving, everything got better. He went back to school on Monday, Jan. 28, and is in heaven. He has been exhausted when he gets home, but that's OK. He'll build his stamina back within the next week or so.

Now we're dealing with Terry's dad being in the hospital after having a stroke on Jan. 26. He can't move his left side and is having some trouble with his sight, but he can talk and understands that he's had a stroke. He knows who people are when they visit, but he sleeps a lot. He's at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus and will probably be there for awhile. Then he'll be moved to a nursing facility for rehab. Terry described the next several weeks and months as a marathon and I think he's right!

With any luck, I've finished more than just a few purses today. Thanks for visiting!

Until next time ... Susie

In the hospital ... again

We're back in the hospital. Oh, I hate this place!

After all the trouble with the clogged g-tube and replacing it with the creaming, I thought we were doing well. But then Evan started having extreme abdominal pain late Saturday night that continued through Sunday. Then he got a low-grade fever.

So back to the ER we go. This time more x-rays, a high-contrast CT scan, and blood and urine tests. Everything was normal -- or at least normal for Evan. So he was admitted for observation.

Then, one of his blood tests during the night came back with high pancreatic enzymes -- a sign of pancreatitis. That's what he's being treated for unless they find something else.

This kid just can't seem to get a break.

I always carry my back full of "things to do" so I've got plenty to read and plenty of knitting to work on, I'm just too tired to do anythinn more than sit and stare into space.

Terry and the boys came to sit with Evan for awhile so I could walk around and get out of the room. But now it's time to go back. If you're of the praying sort, please keep Evan in yours. Thanks!
Susie

May I vent, please?

OK. This has absolutely nothing to do with knitting, but our family's last few weeks have been rotten and I need to vent. So stop reading now if you don't want to listen. I e-mailed this story to a friend last night and decided to basically use the entire e-mail as my blog entry for today, so here goes ...

Terry, my husband, and I have three boys. Derek is 10, Philip is 13 and Evan is 15. Evan was a 26-week preemie, has Cerebral Palsy, seizures, blindness, uses a feeding tube and wheelchair. He weighs about 80 pounds, which I can handle on my own, but it’s not easy or safe for either of us.

He saw his gastro surgeon, the one who placed his g-tube when he was a baby, several weeks ago and we learned we would need to schedule surgery to move his g-tube site down. He’s had the same site since he was a baby and as he’s grown it’s migrated up his stomach. It was up underneath his rib cage. So, not an emergency, but still something that needed to be done. We decided we’d do it ASAP, so he wouldn’t miss much outside. When it’s cold, he spends most of his time inside. Not so when it’s warmer.

So, Jan. 7 he went into Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, to have a PICC (periferal intravenous central catheter) line placed and he had his surgery Jan. 8. For some reason, he was the last kid on the surgeon’s schedule, so we waited around the hospital most of the day Monday and Tuesday. They finally took him back for this supposed one-hour procedure about 4:45 p.m. We waited and waited and waited. After about 1.5 hours, we asked what was going on. Oh, he’s just fine, getting ready to close now, just a few more minutes. Another half hour goes by. No Evan. Again, he’s fine just a few more minutes. Finally, after another 30 minutes, the surgeon comes out. He did fine, but they couldn’t find a needle. He’s sure it’s not in Evan, but they’re keeping him on the vent and sedated until all the x-rays can be read by several doctors to make sure the needle wasn’t left behind. (This is OK by us as we want them to make sure there's not a stray needle in him either!) It wasn’t, but I think that extra hour or so on the vent came back to haunt us later.

As it was, he missed his 1 p.m. Depakote and baclofen, his 5 p.m. carbatrol and his 7 p.m. depakote and baclofen (These are medications to control his seizures and help with the tightness of his muscles due to Cerebral Palsy). He didn’t get back to his hospital room until 9:15 p.m. Didn’t get most of his make-up seizure medications into him until midnight. So far, so good, right.

Well, Jan. 9 he stopped peeing. His bladder was overfull. They think the anesthesia slowed down his ability to pee and now that his bladder was full, it can’t contract to get rid of the urine. So at 2 p.m. they (nurses and doctors on the floor) started trying to insert a catheter. No go. After about five hours of trying several different kinds of catheters and having this kid scream because, of course, they don’t use anything to numb the pain or discomfort (they did but only after about the fourth or fifth time of trying and that involved pushing some lidocaine gel into his penis, which I wouldn't think would feel too good to begin with), they decide he’s in distress and needs to have a super-pubic catheter placed which goes directly through his abdomen into the bladder. SO now he has another surgery scheduled to place a catheter through the penis and find out why they couldn’t get one in the day before.

He came home from the hospital Jan. 12 with the new g-tube and a urine bag. We went back to the urologist Friday to get the catheter removed and he peed fine the rest of the day, YEAH!

But, then his g-tube started running slow and at 5 p.m. it gets totally clogged. We can’t do anything to get it unclogged. So off we go to the ER to see what they can do. We left home about 6:15 and got to the ER about 7, got back to a room about 8, saw our first doc about 9, x-rays at 10, lots of confusion about what to try. Finally decide to take him to surgery Friday night to replace the tube with a new one. Get to the OR and find out, oh no, we’re supposed to go to radiology for them to try first. Go back to radiology, they do their thing – of course with no anesthesia or anything to ease the pain of discomfort. He’s screaming the whole time. It was awful. Then we go to a room to spend the night – oh, no, they’re going to release him so he can go home. So we got home about 1:15 a.m.

Not fun. I’m too old for this and I’m tired of docs and nurses assuming that a procedure is just uncomfortable and not painful. Part of me believes they think since he's not "normal" they don't need to worry about the pain. That he won't remember it so why control it. I really hope that's not the case, but I can't believe they'd allow a typically developing 15-year-old to experience that kind of pain without doing something to ease it. I’m seriously thinking about writing a letter to the hospital to suggest extra training for docs and nurses on how to deal with patient’s discomfort. But I’m too tired now.

He was awake and in discomfort most of last night. Now I'm dead-tired, not just too-old tired. Terry took Derek and Philip to Sunday School and I handed off my Sunday School class to another teacher. Instead of napping, I'm cleaning the kitchen, cleaning the living room from the mess the kids made last night and making lunch. It never ends!

Ahh, the life of a mother. Most of the time, it's great, but there are those few times when it just sucks. Time for a nap.
Susie

How much is too much?

Why is it that spouses just don't understand the concept of a "stash"?
For those of you out there who are crafters, the idea of a stash is perfectly normal and acceptable. But for someone who doesn't have the crafting gene, a stash is wasteful and unnecessary.
Lately, I've been wondering if one woman really needs 31 storage tubs of yarn.
Yes, I counted. It's hard to avoid them as I have them stacked throughout my corner of the basement. And that doesn't count the three storage cabinets eight feet tall and four feet wide that are full of fabric, cross stitch materials and other assorted "necessary" items.
This is the time of year that my husband starts getting ready for the annual trek to the CPA to prepare our tax returns. This time every year I get the cold shoulder for a few days because of all the money I've spent on unnecessary things -- like yarn, pattern books and the like. Some years, it gets awfully quiet in our house. This year is one of those years.
But the dreaded has happened. My husband says he's taking over the monitoring of all our accounts and has laid down the law to cancel several credit cards. I've done this, with a little trepidation, but in the full realization that it was necessary.
I've decided I have a disease and I need his help to cure me of it. Now, whenever I have the urge to order something from Smiley's Yarns or Discount Yarn Sale just because it's only $1 a skein, I'll remember that I'll need to justify the expense within the next week instead of several months down the road. This will be good for me, I think. And even better for our bank account.
It has been pointed out to me that I have more yarn than what I could possibly use before I die. When you add in the applique kits, cross stitch kits, polymer clay kits and quilting kits, my kids will have enough to pass on to their grandchildren.
In the end, it sure would be nice if my spouse understood the concept of a stash. In the absence of understanding, I guess I'll need to settle for tolerance.
Until next time ...
Susie