I am excited to feature Etsy member, SuzeesJubileeZ, in today’s post. She is a member of the Maine Etsy Team and creates hats, mittens, and other felted gifts out of sweaters donated to Goodwill! She was kind enough to share some pictures and simple directions on how you can make your own pair of mitts (wrist warmers) at home.

From Susan:

Here is a hat that I made from a sweater.

I made this little pouch from an upper sleeve of a sweater.

Here are some larger bags made from the bodies of sweaters.

Here is a cute little bag made from a sweater vest!

The mitts are gone at this time but I do have some waiting to be made. Lately I have been working on needlefelted ornaments.

Here is a pair that I sold:

How to Make Your Own Mitts!

Mitts are very easy to make . First I wash the sweater in very hot water. It has to be 100 percent wool (dry clean only) and some “wool” sweaters made abroad don’t seem to work (it is unclear why). Figure out how long you want them to be and cut the sleeve right before the elbow ( after the first wash). You want the original sleeve cuff to ride the hand around the first knuckle of your index finger so measure the distance between that and your thumbjoint and cut a hole big enough for your thumb to go through. Make sure to blanket stitch this cut and the end of the cuff ( I generally stitch with 100% non washable wool yarn). I also add beads sometimes and tassles near the elbow.

Embellish as you wish but some sort of finishing stitch with wool is a must at the thumb hole and near the elbow.

November 8-15 is Maine Recycles Week. While recycling may seem like the basics of conservation, it is a great opportunity for a refresher on the do’s and don’ts of what we can recycle in our curbside bins and what we should compost or trash.

Before we begin, and because I seem to be such a big fan of quizzes lately, we must answer that daunting question: How “trashy” are you? Maine Recycles asks this very question and I am proud to say Goodwill scored in the top ranks.

In 2007, Goodwill recycled:

128,000 pounds of paper & cardboard
290,000 pounds of metal
196,000 pounds of glass & ceramic
9,676,525 pounds of textiles.
295,000 pounds of this was made into Good Wipes.

Ok, that is it for shameless self-promotion, I promise! Back to curbside recycling. As far as I know, the majority of towns and cities in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont have curbside recycling for cans & bottles and paper. The difficulty lies in the fact that every town accepts different materials for recycling. Not very convenient when trying to write about recycling in three different states! Don’t worry, I did some digging.

Maine offers a great directory of towns and their recycling guidelines. It is updated every two years (this is from 2006), so keep an eye out for an updated guide. If you live in Vermont, this directory will get you off to a great start. I had trouble locating a listing for New Hampshire, but I spoke to someone at the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services. Generally, you can recycle the following in New Hampshire:

All paper and cardboard
Plastics #1-7
Aluminum and tin cans

Every town is different, however, so be sure to check with your local city or town hall–most towns have a handy list you tack right on your refrigerator.

And don’t forget about composting! Did you know that 24% of our trash can be composted? Imagine how much space food scraps and yard waste is taking up in our landfills. Even if you live in the city or do not have a garden, it is easy to compost. All you really need is 2′x2′ space and there are plenty of local gardeners, farmers, and community gardens that would be happy for free compost. Many towns offer discounts on compost bins and you can also try craigslist or freecycle for a great deal on a bin. Feel ambitious? Check out this site that offers easy-to-follow instructions on how to build your own compost bin.

If you have recycling or reuse tips you would like to share with other readers, by all means, pass them along!

Happy Recycling!