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Month: September 2008

Recycled Round Plarn Rug

Cindy33 Comments

Click to supersize photo

For all you rug lovers out there, I have a new recycled plarn rug pattern to share. It’s crocheted in the round and I used several different shades of creme, tan, and brown bags to create an earth tone look. These plastic rugs crocheted from recycled plastic bags make great boot or doormat rugs as you can just hose them off and hang to dry. Remember do not put these in the dryer as it will melt the plastic.

So grab those plastic bags, a big N crochet hook and lets do some recycled green plarn crafting!
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Free Crocheted Round Plarn Rug Pattern

Materials needed:
Several balls of plastic bag yarn or plarn in creme, tan, and browns
Hook: N (9 mm) U.S. size metal hook

Description: Earth tone round rug measures 19 inches wide

Directions:
Using Creme colored plastic bags (plarn) Ch 4, join to form ring.

Recycled Mini Shoulder Bag

Cindy16 Comments

I create this mini shoulder bag quite awhile ago and just never wrote up the pattern. Well I recently sold a few of these and decided I should write up the crochet pattern to share it here. It’s a quick little project and it only takes about 12-15 plastic bags to complete.

This cute little shoulder bag measures 6.5 inches wide by 5.5 inches long with 36 inch strap. It is of course crocheted from recycled plastic bags or plarn. It makes a wonderful little girl’s purse or a handy little shoulder bag to hold your ID along with a few small items.

As always here is the free recycled bag pattern and please enjoy this green crafting project!

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Crocheted Mini Recycled Plastic Shoulder Bag Pattern

Purse measures 6-1/2 inches wide and 5-1/2 inches long.
Strap length is 36 inches when not tied.

Material:
One ball of plastic bags cut into 1 inch strips.
One button 3/4 inch button shown on bag.

Hook: Metal N (9 mm) crochet hook

Chain 16

MUGA Scan & Rads

Cindy10 Comments

Sometimes I am just amazed at all the new words and cancer lingo that I have picked up in this pink journey of mine. If you are not familiar with a MUGA (MUltiple Gated Acquisition) scan, it is a nuclear medicine test to evaluate the function of the heart ventricles. Specifically it is used to test my left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) rate of blood. This test is used to monitor my heart’s overall function while taking the cancer drug Herceptin. While Herceptin is an excellent drug to fight the HER2+ cancer cells, it can affect ones heart function and in some cases cause serious heart damage.

In May, I had a baseline MUGA scan done before I started Herceptin. My baseline score was 55. A normal score is between 50-80. My treatment plan has me scheduled to take Herceptin for a full year. So having a beginning score of only 55 made me very nervous. Many people’s scores are reduced as they continue on Herceptin and if you have too low of a score, you may have to stop Herceptin or cut back on your treatments. Because it is a wonder drug for breast cancer patients who are HER2 positive like me, I was really anxious to have my first MUGA done since I started Herceptin.

I am thrilled to share that my recent MUGA score was 61.9. I am so happy and relieved to know that my heart is functioning well and that my score was actually higher than the baseline one. So that means for now, I am tolerating the Herceptin well and it’s not causing any damage to my heart.

One other update to share is that my radiation or rads as we call it in the cancer lingo world, is going well. On Thursday, I will be halfway done with my treatments. My skin has just a mild pink look which is similar to a sunburn. I am using my gel cream twice daily and so far my skin is holding up.

Anyway that’s all the MUGA and rads news I have to share. Now I’m off to work on a new recycled tote bag project that I’m trying to get done. I’ll be back to share it soon, until then — Happy Green Crafting to all!

Recycled Mega Tote Bag

Cindy8 Comments

Recently I was asked for a pattern for a wide tote bag. Surprisingly I have been working on this bag which I am calling my mega tote bag. My mega tote is crocheted from recycled plastic bags made into plarn. The tote features an open mesh styling and handy wide strap. It measures a generous 18 inches wide so you can carry those long items in it. It would also make a wonderful market bag as it has a sling type strap that fits comfortably over your shoulder.

Here is a closeup of the mesh stitching made by crocheting a triple crochet stitch. Click on photo to supersize it.

So for those crocheters out there looking for a free pattern to crochet yourself a recycled mega-wide tote, look no further. Here is your free pattern to crochet a plarn mega tote bag!

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Free Recycled Mega Tote Bag Pattern

Tote bag measures 18 inches wide and 12 inches long.
Strap length is 20 inches long

Material: One large ball of plastic bags cut into 1 inch strips. (Approx. 45-50 bags)

Hook: Metal N (9 mm) crochet hook

Chain 28

My Recycled Purseability Purse

Cindy3 Comments

My blog friend Nan, owner of Nannybird.blogspot.com, created this great purse design and which I finally was able to crochet using her pattern. The purse is crocheted using recycled plastic bags or plarn. In case you are new to the term plarn, here is the link to my picture tutorial on how to create yarn from recycled plastic bags.

Here is Nannybird’s Recycled Purseability Purse Pattern. Nan offers her pattern free for personal use and is very helpful should you have any questions as your crochet this cute purse. While you are over visiting Nannybird’s Blog, I hope you’ll take a moment to checkout all of her recycled bags. She has made purses not only from plastic bags but also from candy wrappers. She has quite an assortment of purses that she has displayed on a cool slideshow at her blog.

Enjoy the remainder of your Labor Day weekend. And to everyone getting ready for back to school or off to college, take care and happy green crafting!