What do empty toilet paper rolls, plastic shopping bags, old cordoroy pants have in common with a call to ban PVC?  They are all part of the second Carnival of Green Crafts. This new carnival is alternately hosted at Crafting a Green World and other blogs. Submissions right now will be part of the  August 21st carnival at CAGW then the party moves over to Whip Up.

It's been a while since I've done written about the refashionistas, those creative, frugal fashion crafters who take older, unworn clothes and thrift-store finds, cut, paint, sew, style, and design great new functional items from them.  A gold-mine of ideas for used jeans can be found at WiseBread's post: Twenty-five Things to Do With Old Jeans by Myscha Theriault. Let's examine some of her ideas:

This year, when you talk to a knitter with any kind of online presence, they mention Ravelry. I can't remember a time when an online community developed such strength and following as quickly. I've talked with a number of crafters who speak wistfully about the hope of building a similar community that might include other activities. A site like Ravelry for quilters, jewelry makers or all those paper crafts.

I missed the Craft and DIY Bird of a Feather session at BlogHer '08, or I'd be highlighting the many people who came to share their passion during that session. Instead, let's look at what's been happening in the rest of the blogosphere: Dyeabolical spent the week sewing pencil cases (can the start of school be far behind?). ARTJuNK girl believes we should Do What You Love~

One of the best things about finding a good craft blog, whether it's someone using yarn, fabric, paper, tin, or plastic, is seeing the photographs of a person's work. When an item is well-photographed, the hand of the creator can be seen in the work. It's almost like touching the product. However, taking a great photograph is not the easiest thing to do.

I was going to write about sewing today. That was my plan. I've spent the weekend sewing on a purse I've been designing - ripping and redo-ing as each little problem with my no-pattern-all-in-my-head piece became apparent. It seemed logical to simply search for fellow bloggers doing the same thing. Right? Right? And it's not that folks aren't sewing and blogging about it.

There has been a bit a good news breaking that involves the crafty-blog scene.  A new craft carnival has been announced, a knitter is named one of the most influential women bloggers, and the crafty chica pairs beach-reading lit with crafting fun!  Let's look closer:

Are you an artist, crafter, writer, DIY-er (or many of the above) looking to sell your BlogHerrific wares? Come sign up for the BlogHer '08 Swap Meet! Interested in purchasing some homemade goodies? Please stop by.If you're not sure what the Swap Meet is all about, read Jen's fabulous Call for Artists here. Then get the details below... When: Saturday, July 19

I am an admitted Twitter addict along with so many others. It's a great place to vent, to brag, to make new friends. What surprised me several months ago was how many folk identify themselves with nicknames based upon their crafty addiction. Knitters, quilters, crafters are abundant on the site. Getting to know them in short 140 character bursts then encouraged to find them again on their blogs, on Ravelry and other places on the nets. So who are the twittering crafters?

Maybe it's just summertime, I think. Posting on craft blogs always slows way down in the summertime. That's the likely explanation. Except the slowdown began way before summertime. Except the slowdown includes blogs just going away. Except the slowdown includes bloggers lowering blog posts because of book deals. Except the slowdown includes a lack of interesting posts on the blogs that are there. Which makes some wonder, is the craft blog dead?

Saturday was World Wide Knit in Public Day: it appears that some people made a BIG deal about it!  When the first WWKIP Day occurred two years ago, there were about 20 official gatherings.  This year, there were over 200 formal groups meeting in parks, farmer's markets and coffee shops around the world.  According to the website:

After spending part of last week updating my wardrobe for summer (what will I wear to Blogher next month?), I ended up with a pile of clothing to be refitted, refashioned and repurposed.  I still need "items" to make this a stylin' summer, but my free-time is almost as limited as my budget.  No Fear.  I found a handful of great How-Tos to make all our summer looks special.  None of these appear that they will take much in the way of time or money.