Doing my part

I'm trying to add sustainable practices to my everyday life.  I ride my bike to work, I live in place where I can walk to buy most of my things and therefore rely on my car less.  We're listening to David Suzuki and are using compact fluorescents where we can (does anyone know if there is a good alternative to gu10 halogen bulbs?  That's the main light source in our house).  I also try to use reusable containers for my lunch and avoid plastic bags.  I have a stash of unbleached cotton tote bags and they're very handy, but knitting something is more fun.

Bring on Amy's Everlasting bagstopper:

I'm using the called-for Lana Knits Allhemp 6 (from Red Bird Knits) and I'm really liking it.  The bag is easy and the hemp is just fine to work with.  I'm awaiting the much touted "it gets softer with use" part, but I'm also planning ahead to some hemp garments later. 

And the orange matches my bike.

Comments

[Cyndi in BC]

Hi, have you joined David Suzuki's Nature Challenge yet? I put the link on my blog just yesterday. I just started making a bag from cut up plastic bags, hope it works out. I have so many plastic bags and I hate to throw them out and I keep forgetting to take them back to the grocery store for recycling. So I thought if I actually knitted up the bags myself I might remember?? We'll see...

[Emilee]

I'm about that far along on a Bagstopper in Lily Sugar n Cream. It's such an easy pattern that I'll probably make a bunch. I love the orange!

[Gudrun]

Love the colour on the bag...I plan to make one too..actually to give them as gifts this year...better get started soon...you have inspired me!

[Carol]

What a nice colour for a string bag. And that would make it easier to find in the bottomless pit I call a purse too!

[Laurel]

Cute bag! And I swear, you won't believe how much softer it gets after a single good washing.

[Sydney]

Nice bag, and such a cheerful color too. It reminds me that I wanted to make one and forgot.

[Martha Mihaly]

You know, I keep 3 plastic bags (the heavier ones from 'better' stores) folded up in my purse for when I forget the cloth one, or just don't think ahead. The plastic ones fold down to nothing and fit nicely. I figure that now they've been made I may as well keep using them until they tear. Then off to the recycling.

[Chris]

Oh, fun bag!!

[Leslie]

When I carry my handknit shopper to the market, I get loads of compliments. With that groovy orange baby, you're likely to get mobbed!

[vanessa]

orange=happy

[claudia]

BTW, I still covet your bike. Jealousy is not pretty.

[Bettina]

Well, looking purely at the environmentel impact, hemp is performing pretty well, though there is naturally still an amount of fertilizer used in the production, and afterwards energy used in the transportation. But with regards to the working environment, hemp and the likes are real culprits: The treshing of the plant fibres in e.g. barns produces dust, and endotoxins in the air, and the dust probably contains both gram negative and gram positive bacteria, along with fungi. The inhalation of organic fibre can cause occupational lung disease, "cotton worker's lung". Modern processing plants can deminish the impact on the workers, but will probably add to the popularly described "carbon foot-print"... So, as always, there is a catch here too. I'll get off the soap box now ;-)

[ldpaulson]

Great bag! Who doesn't need one or more for shopping? And that means MORE KNITTING! Yay. And the orange is ta die for ... thanks!

[ldpaulson]

Great bag! Who doesn't need one or more for shopping? And that means MORE KNITTING! Yay. And the orange is ta die for ... thanks!

[ldpaulson]

Great bag! Who doesn't need one or more for shopping? And that means MORE KNITTING! Yay. And the orange is ta die for ... thanks!