Ugh, winter.

Normally it's not so bad, and I am doing my best to have a positive attitude, but flu season has not been kind to me, and I am just about fed up with being sick! On the plus side, I have had more time and inspiration for frugal ideas. On the minus side, I have not had the energy to carry anything out effectively. Every time I try to complete a project, I end up flopping on the couch in frustration because I don't have enough...oomph..to complete it to any sort of satisfaction. So I have to be satisfied with what I can accomplish, and that will have to be enough for now. I made an attempt at a wardrobe refashion; a shrug which I made out of sweater sleeves. My husband received a cheap acrylic sweater for Christmas a couple of years ago and the colour is just all wrong for him. It was way to big and baggy for me, so finally I asked permission to cut it up. It has a nice argyle pattern on the sleeves which really is the only redeeming quality of the sweater. I paired it up with some of the burgundy trim from my Freecycle stash and got it all pinned together. I have yet to drag out the sewing machine. Somehow, in my mind, the machine weighs 1000 lbs right now. I got the idea from Wardrobe Refashion, a girl did it with a cabled sweater sleeves. Too cool. I'd find the link for you, but meh, I don't feel like it right now. I also knitted my husband an ear warmer headband. Well, it was going to be a tuque but let's just say the tension was off a little and rather than frog the whole project, I bound it off and called it a headband. He dutifully wore it all around the house and didn't once laugh at me, even though he looked ridiculous and we all knew it :) Now, that is a good man. The final thing I have been dinkying around with is Plarn. Yes, Plarn.It is yarn made from recycling plastic carrier bags. When I told my mum, she said, "That's nice, dear," in the tone that says she thinks it's the medication talking. Well maybe it was, come to think of it. Still, I have visions of reclaiming the world's plastic bags one at a time and knitting them into, well, plastic bags. Strong, sturdy bags, which could carry home, say, a watermelon, or your beach toys. Maybe a rug, where you could scrape the mud off your boots. Or a built in scrubbie in your washcloth. No more hideous bags in the landfill. Plarn for everyone!

Oh, Plarn, you give a sick girl hope.