
This is the 16th Thanksgiving that this blog is celebrating. I can’t believe it’s been that many years since I first started My Recycled Bags back in 2007. But time flies as they say and even faster now that I am older.
Wishing everyone a wonderful, blessed Thanksgiving!

I picked up a few of the Halloween kitchen towels at Dollar Tree to add towel toppers to them. These themed towels are a fun and quick project that I am using for a upcoming fundraiser.
The towel topper is added to the towel by simply folding it in half and crocheting along the top edge. No cutting or sewing is needed. The first row is challenging but using a fine point steel crochet hook really helps. Once that first row is complete, the rest of the pattern works up very quickly. The free crochet pattern is found

Here are some new mini Christmas stockings I crocheted using the waistcoat stitch. This stitch is very challenging for me and hard on my hands. So I have found that if I just work the waistcoat stitching on the chart area, it is much easier. So here are some Christmas stockings I designed where I added crosses and other images to the stocking front.
Here is my free waistcoat stocking pattern. This pattern is the bases for my cross stockings but I only work the waistcoat stitches on the front of the stocking for the cross. The rest of the stocking is worked in regular single crochet (SC) stitches. When you switch from waistcoat to SC, it does create a gap so you have to adjust your stitches by skipping a stitch here and there. It is better to do it on the side of the stocking to hide the change over.
Here are some other 6 inch mini Christmas stockings I crocheted. These are all for the Warmth for Warriors stocking drive.

It’s July 4th today so I am sending everyone best wishes for a wonderful and safe holiday. We are doing another Christmas in July this month at the group Good Things Together over at Ravelry. We are promoting the annual Christmas stockings for our soldiers through Warmth for Warriors.
Each year thousands of little stockings are made and filled with goodies for our troops. These little gifts are just a small way we can bring some Christmas spirit to our troops serving during the holidays.
Here is my special little 6 inch red, white, and blue patrotic stocking in honor of our Nation’s birthday today. This pattern is free as well and many others found here,

As we honor those who gave all, I created this post to showcase some patriotic craft ideas. First let us never forgot our Veterans this Memorial Day weekend. Remember and honor them not just this weekend but every day.
I wanted to share some of my patriotic projects that I have created over the years. Maybe you are looking for something in red, white and blue to make this weekend. Here are a few ideas to spur you on.
Here is a simple but easy crocheted flag dishcloth or washcloth project. It also makes a cool hotpad for any table or outdoor BBQ. The free crochet pattern is found here.
How about a patriotic crocheted wheelchair tote.

I am kicking off my first post for the 2022 mini Christmas stocking drive for Warmth for Warriors. Warmth for Warriors (W4W) organization is again requesting help to crochet, knit, or sew mini Christmas stockings for the troops. Stockings should be 6 inches long and any pattern style or color is accepted. Stockings that are a little smaller or larger are okay too.
The miniature stockings will be filled at W4W Headquarters with soaps, toiletries, and candies for overseas to our troops as a little Christmas gifts. The little stockings filled with goodies are a wonderful way to say thank you to our troops and give them a little Christmas cheer during the holidays.
These stockings were all crocheted using my free BLO mini Christmas stocking pattern.
Last year the W4W Christmas stocking drive received 4072 in stockings! We are hoping at least to reach the mark again or better in 2022. Below is my first full batch of stockings for the 2022 drive.
If you are interested in helping with our drive this year, please come join us over at

I hope you enjoy seeing and reading about crocheted towel toppers as much as I love crocheting them. Here are a few more towel toppers I completed for Christmas gifts.
This poinsettia towel is a Dollar store special and looks so pretty with a red crocheted towel topper. A jingle bell is added for the button closure.
Here is a close up of the crocheted topper. Here is the link to the free towel topper pattern.
Next is another one of my free double layered towel topper patterns.

I picked up this pretty holiday towel at Family Dollar for just $2 dollars. It’s a nice thick towel that was just calling to me for a Christmas towel topper.
I crocheted this towel topper using the waffle towel topper pattern. I had some light weight misc yarn that was just the right shade of red. As the yarn was thin, I held two strands together to crochet the topper.
This towel topper is double-layered and requires no cutting or sewing to start the project. You simply fold over the towel and begin the towel topper along the top edge of the towel. I love these towels as they are sturdy kitchen towels and make for a lovely Christmas gift.
Here is a closeup of the crocheted towel topper which features a jingle bell for the button closure.

Halloween is just around the corner but there is still time to do some recycled crafting. I like to share patterns and crafting ideas using recycled materials such as plastic bags / plarn here at My Recycled Bags.
Here is a favorite recycled plastic Halloween trick or treat basket. The free crochet pattern is found here.
Not only is this a reusable basket, it features a sturdy recycled microwave tray for the base. So this project is a double recycled crafting project with two different types of recycled materials. Plus it’s a cool-looking trick or trick basket to hold lots of Halloween goodies.
You can find all the different Halloween posts and projects that I have shared over the years
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