DIY Eco-Gifts For The Yoga Enthusiast On Your Holiday List

A regular yoga practice can be a welcome stress reliever. Yoga provides an opportunity for relaxation and quiet reflection that calms anxious holiday bodies and minds.

Whether the yoga enthusiast on your list practices slow-paced Hatha Yoga, or hot, hot Bikram Yoga, I bet they would love these 3 handmade yoga items:

1. The complementary practices of knitting and yoga make this Knitted Yoga Mat Bag an inspired gift.

2. Your yoga enthusiast will love these supportive, softly-sanded handmade Wooden Yoga Blocks.

3. I just love these Yoga Pose Cookies (hint, hint). Here's a healthy gingerbread cookie recipe that is sure to have a heart opening effect on your yogini.

For 8 more yoga gifts CLICK HERE.

Namaste.

Photos: Baked Ideas, Canadian Living, Yoga Direct

DIY Eco-Gifts For The Nature Lover on Your Holiday List

Do you know someone who needs to connect intimately with nature every day? Besides enjoying a healthy dose of the outdoors, what more could a nature lover need? While they are enjoying all of nature's beauty, they need to stay safe. Here are DIY gifts to keep your nature lover safe on the trail:

1. Create a walking map of the hikers destination with Google Earth and add a DIY compass to stay the course.

2. Knit a pair of hiking socks and fingerless gloves.

3. Put all your belongings in a DIY backpack. Here are instructions for making a cardboard backpack. It calls for a piece of folded cardboard, a few strips of wood, and a fabric strap.

4. Create a first-aid kit.

5. Everyone has their limitations, and it's good to have something to keep steady while walking. A good walking stick (or staff) can fend off an unstable disaster or maybe an unwanted critter. Did you know walking sticks have been proven to take a great deal of pressure off of the knees? Here's a tutorial to make one.

DIY Gifts For The Eco-Fashionista On Your Holiday List

As I continue to dive into this A-Z Holiday DIY Eco-Gift Guide, I am reminded once again, that I have yin/yang relationship with shopping. I love stylish clothes (reading Vogue since I was 12), and I have been known to love to shop. But, as I filter everything through a green lens and embrace a simpler lifestyle, I am consciously aware of my consumption.

I recently wrote about two exciting things to hit the fashion industry – Zero Waste Fashion and The Common Treads Initiative. It's uplifting to know that some conscientious clothing designers and companies are creating sustainable fashion.

What to get an eco-fashionista? Green is the new black. Her commitment to the environment is as strong as her love of a good sale, and she's got the style to back up her ethics. This is an easy gift type to DIY for because there are two things that eco-fashionista's can never have enough of...shopping totes and hangers. Recycled Sweater Shopping Totes Repurpose sweaters that are either old, torn or no longer fit. Wool sweaters from thrift and secondhand shops can be made into felted functional objects.

What you need:

wool sweaters

chalk for marking

ruler

scissors

What to do:

1. Here are the directions for felting a sweater.

2. Lay the felted sweater flat. With chalk and ruler, mark line from armhole to armhole, parallel to bottom edge, for top edge of tote.

3. Mark handles as shown above.

4. Cut along chalk lines as indicated, then set aside sleeve and neck sections. Turn right side out, then open and refold so side seams are at center front and back. Topstitch or machine-zigzag bottom edges together, approx ½ inch up from hem.

5. Topstitch single layer of top and handle edges. Fold each handle in half with wrong side together and cut edges even and stitch down.

6. If desired, cut patch pocket from neck section, so curved neck edge is top edge. Center on tote front; topstitch in place along side and bottom edges.

Natural Wire and Branch Hangers

Hangers are long overdo for a fashion makeover. One of my most popular posts addressed the issue of how many hangers end up in our landfills. Read HERE to find the answer to that, and how to make 3 types of natural hangers.

Here is the original Planet Green post.

Bag Photos: Canadian Living

Cuff Cup Cozy: The Easiest DIY Project Ever

Last year, a new laptop inspired me to transform an old sweater into a laptop case. The sweater I used had a complicated Fair Isle design and a gaping hole on the sleeve. It was too short to repair and wear.

It's magical the way a sweater will shrink up in the washer and dryer to create a thick piece of felted fabric. The fabric can be cut (just like store bought felt) and will never unravel like a handknitted item will. You can see the process and learn how to make a felted laptop sleeve from a sweater here.

When I wrote An Inspired DIY Idea: Recycled Sweater Sleeve Cozy, I retrieved the sweater from the pile of felt scraps. The sweater cuffs are getting repurposed to make cup cozies. I’m lovin’ these cup holders because you can cradle a hot beverage in a stylish heat-resistant cup without a handle.

Once the sweater is felted, this has to be the easiest DIY project ever:

To Make: Measure the cup you want to cover and cut sleeve cuff to size. I positioned the ribbing on the bottom because the cup I used tapered.

What do you think of this sweater cuff cup cozy?

Photo Credits: Jen Kiaba

Unraveled and Moving Forward

I know, I’ve already chewed your ear off about knitting, and I promise to get to the matter at hand – greening it up. But, it’s not everyday the circus comes to town and you get to jump into the ring with your buddies.

Knitted Rapture

While a bit overwhelming, The New York State Sheep and Wool Festival brings both pageantry and artistry to the creative craft of knitting. The sheer quantity and quality of yarn and wool-related items at this event is truly remarkable.

I generally don’t wear my love for knitting on my sleeve. Actually, most of my knit/purling goes directly to gift giving, but once a year at the Sheep and Wool Festival I'm in my element. In my yarn rapture, I feel connected to this creative community. Each year, I bring home one special skein (ok, maybe two) that reflect the moment.

Socks made from last year's blue/green gem:

Poking through the bins today, I found this beauty:

Greening up

As I continue to examine the eco-friendliness of….well, everything, I’ve got to say that knitting is not the greenest of crafts. It’s expensive, and much of the yarn is dyed with nasty chemicals. The manufacturing process is not energy-efficient, and a large chunk of yarn comes from faraway places, and that stomps on our carbon footprint.

What about organic yarn? Yes, organic yarn exists and it adheres to the same rigorous requirements as organic meat. The sheep must be fed organic food and be free of injected growth hormones. Their fleeces cannot be washed in chemicals. Even managing organic livestock is more sustainable than mass farming because the overgrazing of sheep is limited.

The yarn industry as a whole may have a way to go, but it’s encouraging to see that more and more small yarn producers are greening up their wares as they move forward in favor of a more sustainable future…like these folks:

Unraveled

I’ll leave you with a pearl of wisdom that my friend, Eric once noted while watching me (during a faculty meeting) rip out two hours of complicated knitting. He said that if you want to really get to the heart of a problem, you’re going to have to unravel your knitting and follow the situation back to the place where you made the mistake. Then move forward.

Photo Credit: Socks - Jen Kiaba