Apologies in advance

Yes, apologies. Both for the crappy photos, which were taken at sleepy hour, and also if this post is somewhat disconnected. It's been a busy week, this is the first evening I've had a few moments to sit and read a book. The tiredness of the week is catching up on me, but that's ok. I'll have a lovely sleep tonight, dabble with some chemicals tomorrow (it's my job, after all) then get a bus to Donegal, on which I can snooze and knit by turns, before having my lovely mammy pick me up and drive me home to a hot dinner. Huzzah!
But let's get to what you're here for - the crafts. The major craft of this week was actually made last Thursday night, but as it was after I'd posted, I think it's fair game, don't you? It's the first bit of anyway proper sewing I've done in a while, and I'm really happy with it as it's exactly what the recipient wanted. True, I had the recipient there with me while I was making it, so we figured it out together as we went. My neighbour Jen had cut a pair of her jeans up and wanted to use the spare legs to make a bag suitable for a small knitting project. We used a hank of yarn I had lying around (one of many) to estimate the perfect size. We left the top open, so that'd it'd be easy to stuff the project away when, for example, you'd reached your bus stop. They're not visible in the picture (sorry) but sewn inside there are ribbons to tie the bag loosely closed. The ribbons are black and qhite polka dotted, just like on the brooch, which you may recognize?

(I'll get to what's on top of the bag in just a moment)

It was only when I'd started sewing that I'd realized the top thread in my machine was black whereas the bobbin was loaded with white thread (as a result of me finishing something while running out the door the week beforehand, and not wanting to load up another black bobbin). The consqeunce of this is that your stiches are one colour on one side of the fabric and the alternative on the other - pretty cool, huh? Yeah, we thought so, so we designated this as a design feature (rather than a bit of an accident) and emphasized it by using a zig-zag stitch rather than a straight. Again, you can't see the ribbon, but the choice of ribbon color was also decided by this random colour mismatch we'd stumbled upon.

After all that, the brooch I'd made a week or two ago seemed like an obvious finishing touch. The long, thin object on top of the bag in the first picture was a spork holder whipped up in just a couple of minutes. Jen's friend needs protecting from her lunch utensils! In keeping with the theme, the velcro closing had black velcro on one side and white on the other - again, sorry about no pictures.

My other item this week wasn't really "made", more "adapted". Do you ever find yourself in need of a stretchy little hairband, such as that shown below?

An abundance of these hairbands can be yours in but a few easy steps.

1. Buy tights in Penneys.
2. Wear tights to death, until they're kinda bobbly and gross and you don't wanna wear them anymore.
3. But a strip of about 2 inches or so out of the leg.
4. Pull strip over head - and there you go!

I can't claim credit for this waste avoiding idea myself. I'm interested in frugality, self-sufficiency and repurposing materials which would otherwise be thrown out. As an avid skirt wearer who works in a laboratory (no bare legs allowed) I have an excess of black tights, both plain and patterned. These only last so long though, and eventually become too worn to wear or even give to a charity shop. With some internet trawlage, I found this thread on the ever excellent Craftster. If you've never visited Craftster, I cannot recommend it enough. There are forums dedicated to each and every craft under the sun, so you're guaranteed to find something for you. Or if you're like me - everything!

Have a lovely weekend everyone. I'm off to put some of my clutter for sale on my favourite website, possibly ever.