Orange is the New Black

Sweaters from thrift stores---washed in hot water in the washing machine, then dried in a hot dyer--PRESTO! wool felt! which I then cut up and sew into handbags. This one is orange and green in honor of FALL season---plus, I love orange. I lined this, and added pockets inside for your keys and cell phone. The handle is braided sweater strips, just the right length for a comfortable shoulder bag.

This shows the lovely lining fabric--the handbag flap is lined with a brown sweater.

This is a back view of the handbag---just slightly different than the green striped front---with an orange horizontal side strip.

Blog Action Day

Today is BLOG ACTION DAY !

On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. Our aim is to get everyone talking towards a better future.

If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you know --although I write primarily an art and crafting blog---I care passionately about our Mother Earth and how we treat Her. You may even know that I spent the first 6 months of this year following my pledge to "buy nothing new for 6 months" which impacted my habits and thinking about cultural consumerism--and my own consumerism.

You may also have seen my posts here on creating my own grocery bags (BYOB = Bring Your Own Bag) and using recycled sweaters to create handbags. I love to see the creative ways artists and crafters use recycled materials.

Here are some of my favorite online Earth loving and environmental blogs, artists concerned with the environment, and resources ---do check them out today.

Astronomy Picture of the Day (just a daily reminder of how beautiful the universe is)

Art For Housewives (great links to many artists using recycling in their art)

Ideal Bite : "Ideas for Green Living"

Quaker Earthcare Witness

The Compact : Buy Nothing New

The Garbage Day Project

Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping (great humor!)

Step It UP!

Treehugger

Grist (environmental humor and news)

David Suzuki Foundation

There are--of course many more--and over at the Blog Action Day blog I see that they have tracked more than 5000 blogs participating and writing about the environment today--so far--(and it is only 9:30 am where I live)--POWER to the internet!

Sweaters "Repurposed" into handbag

I buy wool sweaters at thrift stores or garage sales--throw them in the washing machine and dryer---shrink them to the max--and then have nice, heavy wool felt to create handbags with. This bag is large--I wanted a bag I could carry all my usual purse detritus and a knitting project and a small sketchbook and maybe even a paperback book to read. Seems I'm spending quite a bit of time lately on the bus or BART, and since I like to knit or read while I travel, and needed a roomy bag that would carry everything. On this bag I also created a large closing flap on the front---and sewed on crocheted granny square (from another unfinished project.) I used the buttonholes from the sweater on the lower flap edge as a closure. The handle I made out of strips I cut from the sleeves of the sweater--then I braided the strips---this makes a nice sturdy handle.



And I lined the bag--isn't this fun lining material? I thought this fabric complimented the greenish tweedy wool nicely---and I also made some functional pockets inside for keys and cellphone---the two items I am always digging around in the bottom of my bag for. Took this bag out for a spin today and she got her first compliment!

Yet Another BYOB

In keeping with my penchant to be a multi-crafter artist, I continue to create BYOBs (Bring Your Own Bag)--despite how many of these we have around the house--I still find myself without one some days when I want to stop and just pick up a few bits of nice looking produce on the way home--I am still working on cultivating a habit of not leaving the house with a cloth bag in my purse or backpack.

I already had the lovely pink mola, and was pleased to see this polka dotted fabric (purchased on sale at a wonderful local fabric store--which is --sadly--going out of business) matched the pink mola so nicely. The mola is a traditional textile art form made by the Kuna People of Panama. Molas are hand made using a reverse applique technique. Several layers (usually two to seven) of different-coloured cloth (usually cotton) are sewn together; the design is then formed by cutting parts of each layer away. The edges of the layers are then sewn down; the finest molas have extremely fine stitching and are made using tiny needles.


and here is the back of the bag--which is lined with a nice bright green---all the fabric is heavy cottons, so the bag is washable.



TODAY'S QUOTE :
"Art will never be able to exist without nature." ---Pierre Bonnard

Repurposed Vintage Tablecloth or BYOB

Still into sewing---this grocery/tote bag (BYOB= bring your own bag!) is made from a '50's vintage flea market table cloth---the table cloth had some holes, so I salvaged the good parts, and viola! a bag. It is lined with a lovely blue and yellow cotton print with bows...our household requested I create a larger grocery bag with two handles, (instead of one* see the bag below), so here it is.

This takes care of the proliferation of those large plastic grocery bags...but what to do about the clear plastic produce bags? we save them and stock our cloth bags with used ones...but they still seem to breed and multiply in the pantry---and washing them can be a pain--so here is a neat device for helping you wash out your used plastic bags in the dishwasher (assuming you have a dishwasher;-)--a Bag-e-wash! and a nice kitchen gadget for drying them ---a plastic bag dryer from reusablebags.com which is a great resource for all sorts of reusable bags, resuable water bottles and more. If anyone has any great ideas for something else to use in place of the clear plastic produce bags--do let me know!

Bit by the Sewing Bug

Home again and caught the sewing bug! so here is my first effort---a new grocery bag! I printed the text on my computer using jacquard inkjet fabric (you can get this ----or a similar product---at any art supply store), and the bag is lined with some vintage fabric. I think I will make a few more of these--using my fabric stash---for gifts....