Shopping baggage

Late last year I read about a study that made me start to think a lot more about our use of shopping bags. We’ve been using the ubiquitous (in Australia, at any rate) green polypropylene shopping bags for our grocery shopping for years now, but the Woolworths Shopping Bag study, by RMIT’s Centre for Design, made me start thinking about all the bags we consume when we buy or receive goods.  The study looked at the whole life cycle environmental cost of a number of different types of retail shopping bags (paper and several different plastics), taking into account the production of the raw materials and manufacturing of bags from those raw materials, transport, use and ultimate disposal of the bags.

The study concluded that reusable bags had lower impacts than single use bags, but these benefits were highly sensitive to the number of times a bag was re-used. Not a surprising discovery, but more surprising was the fact that despite having the lowest impact on litter, and being made of renewable resources, paper bags had the highest environmental impact due to the energy embodied in their production. You can read more about the study and conclusions here and here. Since reading that, I’ve been carefully hoarding any bags (especially paper) we receive for re-use, and giving a bit more thought to the kind of bags we do use, or perhaps could use.

The shopping bags we use are polypropylene, which is recyclable when they reach the end of their useful life. In theory that is. In practice, I was surprised to learn here that because the thread used to make them isn’t recyclable they have to be unpicked by hand, they need to be shipped from Australia to China, where labor is cheaper, to make recycling economically viable. This is a great example of the fact that even though something may be recyclable, the process of recycling (if and when it is disposed of in a way that enables recycling) is not without environmental cost (and may well have some ethical issues too).

Perhaps I’m a tad cynical, but I do feel that recyclability is increasingly becoming an easy green-washing feature for advertisers, with a whole heap of ifs and maybes being swept under the carpet, out of the consumer’s sight. I guess it’s up to each one of us to consider why we choose the purchases we choose, and to be satisfied in our own minds that they are worthy justifications based on the best information we could access.

But back to bags- there are certainly some opportunities in the shopping bag arena for some environmentally beneficial creativity. First up, if you are lacking reusable shopping bags, make yourself some shopping totes that suit your needs- perhaps something that folds up nice and compact, a big roomy bag, a retro crochet bag (link to .pdf), or whichever size and shape you might need, perhaps re-purposing materials you have on hand (ideally natural materials such as cotton that will decompose at the end of their useful life). Second up, make sure you have them on hand when you go shopping, and use and re-use them for as long as possible.


Our household already has a useful stash of shopping bags, and are in the routine of using them, but I realized we could do with some reusable produce bags. Although we re-use them a lot of the time, I found that we were always coming home with a few more plastic produce bags every time we bought our fruit and veg. Inspired by some handmade mesh produce bags I saw on flickr, and this tutorial from Wisdom of the Moon, I hit our local second hand shops and found a sheer mesh curtain to re-purpose. One evening with my overlocker (aka serger) later I had a set of 10 mesh bags.

I sized them to minimize wastage from the materials I had, and to keep them similar to the plastic produce bags I’m used to, using some cotton yarn for drawstrings. I’ve been trialling them for a couple of weeks now and am really pleased. Responses from cashiers has varied, from the ditzy supermarket checkout chick who wondered if I wanted her to take the produce out to weigh it (Umm, no- that’s fine, they weigh next to nothing), to the ladies at our regular market vendor who remarked how nice they were (Oh thank you!). The only drawback is that we are now dependant on plastic containers to keep our veggies fresh in the fridge. At least they're re-usable, but I do wonder if there is a bag I could make for this purpose... Any suggestions?

Meatless Monday

While I have flirted with vegetarianism all my life I admit I enjoy eating meat. In university, I worked my way through Linda McCartney's Home Cooking, but by graduate school, and after being diagnosed with anemia, I started to eat meat again. I hoped with a more thoughtful approach.

Where does this come from? Did it live a "good life" before coming to my plate. I am trying to instill these same ideas in my girls. I am also working to reduce the meat we do eat. We try to mix it up. Fish, poultry and red meat are not strangers at our table. I am fully aware of the horrors of factory farming. I want to eat more meatless meals and slide a little away from our routine. My goal this year has been two meatless meals added to our weekly repertoire.

My catalyst is three-fold, really: compassion for living things; impact on our health; and the impact meat consumption has on the environment.

In my quest for ideas, I learned of Meatless Monday:
Meatless Monday, along with Wheatless Wednesday, were initiated as a World War I effort by the U.S. Food Administration to encourage Americans to "do their part" in aiding the war effort by reducing the consumption of key food staples. In 2003 the effort was recreated by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for a Livable Future to help Americans adapt to a healthier lifestyle. With an endorsement in 2009 by Sir Paul McCartney - and in turn Gwenyth Paltrow at GOOP - a movement is being built. (Check out the Meatless Monday website for lots of great ideas.) We have added to that "Soup Saturday" (a vegetarian soup) - which I can see morphing into "Salad Saturday" come summer (hopefully inspired by our own garden).

My family - mostly my husband and youngest daughter have made a few groans - but no real complaints. My challenge is two in the house with soy allergies - that makes it tough - and keeping it varied. Lots of lentils in the cupboard!



So, what vegetarian fare scores high on your table?

end junk mail + usda letter by this wednesday

two actions for you

1. if you want to stop getting credit card offers (for 5 years or forever!), check this out from the FTC. there's also a lot of info about stopping other kinds of junk mail here, but i don't know who sponsors this info. seems good though.

2. the usda is accepting public comment about GM alfalfa until this wednesday. here is the USDA email page. here is some wording from credo:

I am writing in regard to Docket APHIS-2007-0044, and I demand that the USDA reject Monsanto's application to market genetically engineered alfalfa. The USDA may not believe it matters if GE alfalfa contaminates organic and other non-GE crops, but I certainly do.

Consumers must be able to avoid genetically engineered products. Farmers must be free of the threat of contamination and the USDA must not put organic farmers' livelihoods at risk. The USDA admits that approval of GE alfalfa will make transgenic contamination inevitable. This is unacceptable.

Therefore, I urge you to reject Monsanto's application to sell genetically engineered alfalfa.

here is more info from credo on the matter. (you can also send your email through the credo site, but then you get added to email lists.)

spring napkins

in the few warm days we had last week, i started daydreaming about outdoor fika and picnics, complete with china and cloth napkins.

for the ridiculously longest time, i've been meaning to use cloth napkins at home. i'm usually just cooking for myself, and i often don't use any napkins, so i've put off buying/making napkins.

a couple of times i have almost bought these beautiful hand printed napkins from linea carta. my friend jen has these cute ones from wonder thunder. but i figured i should use some of the fabric i already have. from my stash i sewed these napkins for my parents for christmas. it's fun to give something useful that will also hopefully lead to less paper towel usage.

finally this weekend i made these pinkies for myself. the floral side is cut from a thrifted pillowcase. the other side(s) from left-over quilting fabric. i like to mix floral and geometric patterns.




although i have made quite a few quilts, i am a terrible sewer. i don't know the names of stitches, and i pretty much only sew (somewhat) straight lines with the default stitch. (occasionally i'll go crazy and zigzag). my point is that you don't need to be a seamstress to make these.

1. cut two squares (or rectangles) of fabric.
2. pin the sides that you want to eventually be on the outside against each other (right side facing in).
3. sew a line around the edges of all four sides (about a quarter inch in from edge), leaving a space at the end of one line so that you can turn the square inside out.
4. turn it inside out.
5. iron it. (i often skip this step, because as you can see, i'm not a perfectionist when it comes to sewing.)
6. sew four more straight lines around the edges (tucking in the open parts—no hand sewing required!).
voila.

i am sure there are more elegant ways to make napkins, but this is a pretty easy option.



did you see stephanie of 3191's simple, yet classy indigo napkins?

cheers and happy fika-ing with cloth napkins!

ps. check out how seattle rocks with their big urban gardening plans!

brown bagging / bento

one of the things i've been thinking about lately is how to pack food economically and safely and in a more environmentally friendly way. it's no secret that packing a lunch is a great way to make sure you know what you are eating and to save money. with my little girl it's also becoming increasingly important to have snacks available at all times ! [nothing like being able to pull out a healthy cracker when she signs eat in line at the drugstore].

i'm trying to avoid using plastic bags of any kind - even ones like evolve - ziplock's "environmentally friendly" bags. i do use recycled content kitchen trash bags - which i feel guilty enough about.

anyway - above is a wrap-n-mat which you can use to wrap a sandwich or snack.



granted, you could make one of these yourself [i was thinking maybe oilcloth would be a good thing to try it out of - double sided] - but i spied these in a store and couldn't resist the ease of purchasing them. i do like how they disclose that some of their product is made in china, and that they have versions that are made in the USA. they also use a plastic for the lining that is BPA, lead, and phthalate free. [more info here ]

they work really well - keep leaky peanut butter and jelly from getting on anything else and are easy to clean up. they also double as a place mat - which can come in handy. if i end up actually trying to make any i'll try and post a tutorial.



i also really like boon's snackballs. they are stylish, hold a lot for their size, and double as a distraction toy with the little if need be.

my husband and i are also just a little bit into japanese bento boxes. we've collected quite a few and my husband actually uses them quite often to take leftovers to work. i wonder if i'll be able to make great bentos for my daughter when she goes to school [i have a few years to practice]. if you just want to be inspired by bentos - try just bento . or if you want all the gear - lunch in a box has a great online store list .

anyone out there have any great brown bagging tips?? [minus the brown bag of course]

Eco-VDay

Valentine's Day giving typically consists of cards, chocolate, roses, & jewelry. While nice, those items can have a pretty serious environmental impact when done en masse. Here are some environmentally friendly and socially conscious alternate suggestions to make your Vday non- corporate and meaningful.

Cards:

"The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, behind Christmas." [source ] That's an enormous amount of paper used, and subsequent trash created. So instead of sending a card, plant a tree. Tree Greetings has an ecard that plants a tree per sale [link has sound]. Arbor Day also plants a tree for cards, even though it does offer a paper card.

Or go to your local nursery and pick up a tree to plant.
On my parent’s first anniversary, my dad gave my mom a baby tree to plant in the yard; when they moved, 25 years later, it was the tallest tree in the neighbourhood. That tree represented their relationship and growing love. How's that for a love metaphor? Advice on how to plant a tree can be found at Tree People.

100% post-consumer waste paper is also an option if you want to send a card, but a lot of that paper is bleached using chlorine. So look for cards labeled PCW [post-consumer waste] and PCF [processed chlorine free].

Chocolate:

Unfortunately for chocolate lovers, according to Tree Hugger, "most chocolate sold in the U.S. comes from cocoa farms where farmers work in unsafe conditions, receive below poverty wages, many of them children under 14 years old who are forced to work and denied education". Typically, any factory that does not respect workers, does not respect the environment. Make sure any chocolate you buy is certified fair trade. Global Exchange has several fair trade boxes here and I have heard wonderful things about Equal Exchanges chocolate, but I am not a huge chocolate lover so I don't have any personal recommendations, so please leave yours in the comments.

Roses:

Flowers are tough- I love cut flowers and I love a good flower arrangement. Unfortunately flowers have 50-1,000 [In California!] times the pesticide use allowed in food. The Environmental Working Group reports "There are no regulations in the U.S. governing the use of pesticides on cut flowers, and therefore, importers are not required to monitor pesticide levels." Since flowers are not food [to humans], they are completely unregulated; flowers are expected to be "pretty" and bug-free making the use of pesticides rampant. Not a very rosy situation. What makes it worse is that "Studies show that women -- who represent 70 percent of all rose workers - - have more health problems since many sort the flowers without wearing masks or latex gloves. Children under 18, who make up more than a fifth of the workforce, display signs of neurological damage at 22 percent above average." From Organic Consumers. And that pesticide flows right into groundwater and air- spreading through ecological systems before it gets passed on to the consumer.

Solution? Buy organic flowers. I found a few venders here, here and here. You can also go to your local nursery and pick up seeds to plant your own organic flowers that can be enjoyed all year.
Or you can you join a CSA and enjoy edible plants all year long. That is a delicious & healthy gift that keeps on giving.

Jewelry:

Diamonds are extremely controversial. From Amnesty International: "Some diamonds have helped fund devastating civil wars in Africa, destroying the lives of millions. Conflict diamonds are those sold in order to fund armed conflict and civil war. ...Wars that have cost an estimated 3.7 million lives." Right now there is no safe way to guarantee that a new diamond is not a conflict diamond. Here are some alternative suggestions:
Vintage jewelry- Vintage pieces are gorgeous and have a history [hopefully unlike the conflict diamond]. If you can keep it in the family even better. Not only green & sentimental- but the vintage styles are classic and gorgeous. Try your local thrift or antique store to find the perfect piece.

Etsy has tons of handmade jewelry- and a lot that use recycled materials. I started searching and got lost in a web of awesomeness. Again, leave any specific recommendations in the comments. To do:

Now that gifts are covered, here are some suggestions for you and you loved one [inlcudes pets & children] to do:

Donate your bras. Instead of buying new lingerie clean out your bra drawer and send them off to be donated and repurpurposed with The Bosom Buddy Program. I have always been wary of donated bras to thrift stores since I feel that they will get tossed and not sold. With this program you are sure that your ill-fitting, or nursing bras will go to someone in need.

Give Blood. You can save a life by donating blood. Make this an annual v-day tradition, and replenish with some fair-trade chocolate afterwards.

Find a local V-Day theater performance. The proceeds from your ticket supports local anti-domestic violence organization. "V-Day is a global movement to stop violence against women and girls. Through V-Day campaigns, local volunteers and college students produce annual benefit performances of The Vagina Monologues, A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer, and screenings of V-Day's documentary Until The Violence Stops, to raise awareness and funds for anti-violence groups within their own communities." Visit the website for performances in your area, or start your own.

And finally, volunteer or donate money that would have been spent on flowers or gifts. Domestic violence is the opposite of love and this is a perfect time to volunteer at a local shelter or donate. From the American Bar Association, "Approximately 1.3 million women and 835,000 men are physically assaulted by an intimate partner annually in the United States." The National Domestic Violence Hotline offers a Valentine's Card for a donation; you can always donate and skip the card. Find a local shelter in your area and see if they need volunteers. You can also volunteer for a local V-Day performance [see above].

So that was an exhaustive list but I hope you are inspired to make this Valentine's day more green & sustainable.


*Images of hearts cut from my daughter's drawings.

make a sock monster draft-blocker

{cross posted from f.pea}

Many days on end of cold, wet, icy weather have led to short bursts of creativity around here with the materials we have on hand.



Dyrrwurm is now guarding our back door, keeping out the nasty, cold draft that was coming in under our vintage 1952 door (which really ought to be replaced with a more insulated model). He was made from two pairs of identical socks that HWWLLB gave me recently for the purposes of sock monster making. Before his reincarnation as two pairs of men's socks, Dyrrwurm lived at the back door of the land of the giants, in the far, far north, where his hobbies included writing epic poetry, collecting pictures of his idol, the Earth Serpent, keeping out the cold draft, and doing pedicures for his dragon friends.

You can make your own door dragon - it's quite easy, even for sloppy, inexpert sewers like me. This project was done in two bursts - it took me one naptime, and one visit from the Little Pea's favorite Auntie to complete. You will need:

- 2 pairs of heavy socks in a dragoney color
- matching thread
- sewing machine
- a few pins
- polyester fiberfill or some other stuffing (rags are fine too)
- something heavy for inside - I used sand, but you could use dry beans, rice or pebbles
- four or five repurposed plastic bags to hold the heavy stuff

My door dragon is only three socks long, since my door is narrow. But for a standard-width door, you will need to make the dragon four socks long.



Cut the toes off all the socks except one - this will be the head. Sew the socks together cuff-to-toe, right sides together. Try to keep them lined up so that all the heels are basically running in one line down the dragon's back. Turn right-side out and admire your long, wiggly new friend.



Starting at the head end, put a small amount of stuffing inside each heel, flatten and pin down. Then sew the heel shut to make a fin. You can add some decorative stitching as I did to make it more fin-like. Repeat for each heel.



Use one of your cut-off toes to make front flippers if you like. Lay the toe flat and cut it in half up the middle. Turn inside-out and sew it into a triangle, leaving an open gap for stuffing. Turn the flipper right-side-out and stuff with a small amount of stuffing. Smoosh flat and sew shut. Add some decorative stitching to flatten the flipper and make it fancier.



Turn the dragon inside-out again. Cut a hole on each side of the foremost sock. Stick the flipper through so that the flipper is now "inside" the dragon and the sewn-shut edge is facing towards you. Sew the flipper into place. Once you have the flippers in place, turn right-side-out again.



Stuff the head firmly with stuffing, but leave the body un-stuffed. Isn't he cute?

Get out your heavy stuff - sand, dry beans or rice, pebbles, whatever you have on hand - and put a bit inside four plastic bags (repurposed bread bags worked nicely for me). Tie them each tightly. Pull one into your dragon, all the way up to the head, and secure in place (you can sew it or be lazy like me and use a safety pin). Use your stuffing to lightly stuff and shape the dragon around that heavy bit. Repeat with each bag of heavy stuff until your dragon is fully stuffed (and heavy). Leave the heavy stuff out of the very end of the tail if you can. Now your dragon will lay heavily in place on the floor.



Stuff the tail end very lightly with stuffing. Sew the tail shut across the final sock cuff. Add some fancy stitching to make the tail flatter and more tail-like. Embroider on a face if you like. Enjoy the new absence of a draft under your back door!


honey, you need a pedicure!

d.i.y. valentine's robot

wont you be mine?

i never cared
much
for
valentines day.
just another one
of those holidays
to
convince you
that you
need
to buy
something
for
someone.

those long lines
at the drugstore
of men buying
last minute
stuffed animals
and candy
on valentines day
depress me.
but then again
how sweet
is it to
get
a handmade card
or
homemade edibles
from a
friend
unexpectedly...

bears
and bunnies
are nice
but robots
are so much better,
don't you think?



wouldn't it
be nice
to make
a robot pillow
for someone you love?

this robot
is made completely
out of felted
sweaters.
thin cashmere
sweaters
work the best
but any old sweater
will do...
it's a good time
of year to
get rid of
that favorite sweater
with moth holes
or that doesn't fit
right.
or hit your
local thrift store
and get a couple.
my advice is
to get men's sweaters-
they always are cheaper
and bigger.
bigger means
more felt- woohoo!
remember that
the sweater has
to be 100% wool or
cashmere, or
other
animal fiber.



so here we go!



first,
put on this song
to get you in the robot mood.

then,
felt all your sweaters
(read instructions here).



make sure to cut
the arms & legs
out of
the sleeves:


now you are
ready for these
easy steps:



remember,
you can use
a machine
or sew by hand.
i did mine
by hand using
mostly
blanket stitch.







stuffing/pillow:
arms & legs:
stuff after
sewing bottom
and sides.
then seam top and attach.
body:
after i was
all done
sewing,
i stuffed
the bejesus
out of his head
and then put
the pillow in.
you can resize
the pillow
to fit the body
(i had to).
or just make
a robot-shaped
pillow insert.

here's
what the back
looks like:



decorate:
decorate your
robot
any way you'd
like...
use real buttons
i used a small
fabric button maker.
i got at
the sewing store
for $3.
you can make
your own fabric
buttons
using
this guide.

i got
some ideas
from
jes hutch's knitted robots.



let me know
if you
have any
questions!



try not
to fall
in love
with your
new robot.

i did.

it's breaking
my heart
to mail
him off
to his
new
sweetheart.



xo

{cross-posted
on my blog}

welcome new contributors!

Time for an exciting announcement: we have five new bloggers joining Sew Green!

This call for contributors has been a wonderful experience for me, and for the other Sew Greenies as well. It wasn't easy to choose from among all the fabulous people who threw their hats into the ring, but it was a great opportunity to get to read a whole bunch of blogs and emails from people that I really admire and appreciate. Although we couldn't sign up all of the wonderful green crafty people who contacted us, we absolutely loved the chance to get to know some of our lovely readers a bit better.

However, after a highly scientific analysis, we selected five diverse and inspiring writers to join the Sew Green cohort. I think that these five bloggers will bring some different perspectives and topics to the blog, and I for one am delighted that four of the five are from outside the U.S. In no particular order, here they are:

Julie is a parent of 2 college-aged kids, works full-time, and is in graduate school full-time, and attempts to live as sustainably as possible. She lives in Rochester, New York, has an urban garden and backyard chickens, cooks mostly from scratch, does some knitting and sewing, and is a big proponent of bike commuting. Julie also writes for rocbike.com, and she'll be sharing her ideas about biking, commuting and transportation here on Sew Green.

Maimy is a 21-year-old designer-maker based in north-east England. She sews, knits, crochets, embroiders and batiks. She does ceramics, primarily pinch potting, and also has experience in metal and, to a lesser extent, woodwork. Maimy plans to write about environmental issues in terms of crafts, sustainable and repurposed materials, as well as the simple, everyday things like "what to do with awkward scraps of fabric that you don't want to throw away."

Catherine is a gardener since age 2, who, at age 39 is finally making it official by taking the Master Gardener course through University of Saskatchewan's Horticulture Department. She's a prairie girl, which means her garden is currently under 3 feet of snow. And she has a soap box which she's not afraid to use. Catherine lives in Manitoba, Canada.

Jennifer is a writer in Ottawa, Canada whose blog emphasizes local, seasonal produce and lots of stories about her own adventures in gardening. She is also really passionate about sewing and about living sustainably. Jennifer is interested in writing about gardening techniques, local food, recipes, community involvement, and pet ownership for Sew Green.

Di is a creative crafter type in Australia who is keen to learn about (and attempting to) lead a more sustainable life. She is an architect, and is particularly interested in sustainable building design, backyard veggie gardening, waste minimisation (using everything that you have to it's fullest, and making use of things that others might consider waste), and sustainable crafting.

A very warm welcome to all five! Stay tuned for their posts on Thursdays as the year unfolds.

contributor update #2

a quick note to let you know that we're running a bit behind on the selection process for our new contributors. we'll be announcing them very soon!

thank you for your patience (especially those of you who emailed us—we'll be in touch shortly).

monday poetry

And now for something completely different...

My partner has just been at a conference on state and local governments' response to climate change and sea level rise. He did not leave there encouraged; however he did find the time and inspiration to write a little poetry about what he was hearing. Please enjoy a poem this Monday, courtesy of HWWLLB.

hierarchy of desirability

He said, We've all been working very hard
To make a hierarchy of desirability,
Along with a decision tree.
It's kind of like homecoming and the prom,
All rolled into a single scientific craft -
The jock is at the top, the princess chooses first,
And you don't get to pick until a lower bough.
You've probably never thought of your sweet self
As a low-hanging fruit - but don't feel bad.
This kind of public policy may be hard
to take, but it has wide support,
from academics
and especially graduate students,
Who know all there is to know of human love.

my green library

I found it very difficult to post today. My head is swirling with images from Haiti of the devastation that has taken place. Things here seem quite trivial. Thoughts and prayers and hope and aid are needed there. For a list of reputable agencies to donate through visit here. Also DWR is matching donations made to UNICEF and donations to Mercy Corp may be made directly through the amazon.com website.

Happy New Year! I love a new year - and the fresh start it brings. And as a list lover, I am always excited by the prospect of committing resolutions to paper. This year, I think I have made things pretty doable (my list can be found here). The hardest one may be number 10 ("Read the books I have"). I am also a book lover. To the point where our postal carrier recently asked me if I owned a library for the number of books that come to our door. I do, I guess. It is my weakness. And I have made a wager with my husband that I can spend 2010 with the books I have, and not purchase any new.



And so I thought I would share with you my top 10 favourite "Green Reads" from my library (in no particular order). Some I have mentioned before, and some are regional, but I think it is a good cross-section of interests. I would love to hear your favourites ... which I can visit our public library for!

1. The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It, by John Seymour
Dubbed the "Father of Self-Sufficiency" John Seymour first published this tome in 1976, it has just been reissued and updated by Dorling Kindersley. It covers everything - from laying out your backyard garden (or acre or 5 acres...) to basketry to saving energy to making butter and cream. Oh, and it has great illustrations. I would love to someday take a class at the school named in his honor.

2. In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan
There are so many books of this genre (what is this genre called?) that I have enjoyed - The Omnivore's Dilemma (also by Pollan); Animal, Vegetable, Miracle; Plenty: One Man, One Woman and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally; Coming Home to Eat... It was hard to pick just one. So I just picked one. And I'll add that the "rules" Pollan puts forth in this book are good ones that I carry with me: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants". I have Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer on hold at our library and am looking forward to it as well.

3. Alabama Stitch Book, by Natalie Chanin
Carrying the byline "Projects and Stories Celebrating Hand-Sewing, Quilting, and Embroidery for Contemporary Sustainable Style" this book is not only a visual feast - but also has clear directions on recycling cotton tees into objects and garments of beauty. From simple (tea towels) to more intricate (reverse-applique corset). An interview over at the Burda site with Natalie Chanin sheds more light on her ideals of "slow design" and "sustainability".

4. Pat Welsh's Southern California Organic Gardening, by Pat Welsh
This is also a new edition. The earlier edition was on my frequent flier list from the library. I was very happy to receive this new edition as a holiday present. Growing up in central Canada I felt pretty comfortable with a spring to fall growing season - but winter is really prime garden time in Southern California, and I have learned a lot from this month-by-month guide.

5. Care and Maintenance of Southern California Native Plant Gardens, by Bart O'Brien, Betsey Landis, and Ellen Mackey.
I met Betsey Landis in 2006 at a California Native Plant Society meeting and immediately purchased this book, along with her Southern California Native Plants for School Gardens. When we purchased our home it was all lawn and rosebushes - not a tree to be found. That is all gone now - and we have a drought-tolerant garden I am very proud of. It is mostly California natives, and this book is full of valuable information on their care. (Hmm... this seems to be out of print - with crazy prices being asked for used copies over at amazon. I would suspect a new edition is likely in the works.)

6.The Urban Homestead, by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen
This is another a go-to book for me. After following Kelly and Erik on their blog I was excited to see much of the information discussed there in one place. It's material isn't that different from what is found in the Seymour book, but with the focus on the urban. I like their idea of what they deem "Five Essential Projects" - and their clear instructions on bringing them to fruition.

7. Natural Learning: The Life History of an Environmental Schoolyard, by Robin C. Moore and Herb H. Wong
I am obsessed with ridding our 9 acre elementary school campus of all that asphalt. So far we have taken out over 100 tons - but still have a long way to go. This book, published in 1997, was one of the first I read on the concept of green schoolyards and the notion that our kids need to connect with nature now more than ever. I love Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods - but when I am feeling dreamy I pick this up. It chronicles the transformation of a Berkeley California elementary school in the 1970s. The story doesn't have a happy ending -but it still fills me with inspiration.

8. EcoKids, by Dan Chiras
This is an inspiring read for practical advice on raising children who are aware and thoughtful. I especially like the chapter on combating the media's influence as well as the overarching idea that the best way to teach our kids is through our own actions.

9. A Slice of Organic Life, edited by Sheherazade Goldsmith with an introduction by Alice Waters
This one really falls under the same category as The Self-Sufficient Life and The Urban Homestead. It is nicely designed and very concise in its presentation.

10. Frog Girl, by Paul Owen Lewis
We have quite a few of the 'usual suspects' when it comes to "green kid lit" (The Giving Tree, The Lorax etc.) but this one is by far my favourite. Written and beautifully illustrated by Paul Owen Lewis it is filled with images of the Pacific Northwest and drawing from Haida and Tlingit mythology it reminds us that we are all - the people, the animals, and the earth - connected and it is our responsibility to care for all.

runner up...

The Great Neighborhood Book: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Placemaking, by Jay Walljasper
I kept adding this, then deleting it. But I can't leave it out. Shash's recent post made me pull it out again. I am strong believer in the power of community - and our basic need to connect to ensure our wellbeing. It is full of inspiring case studies and a great list (which I have referred to before).

Oh there were so many more... I wanted to include a cookbook - but will leave that up to you!

A reminder too that Saturday, January 16 is the deadline to send us an email if you are interested in contributing to sewgreen! Details below...

update

Thanks to those of you who are emailing us about contributing!

Just wanted to let you all know that we will accept emails from potential new contributors through midday Saturday, January 16.

We'll announce the new Sew Green folks here on Thursday, January 21.

Cheers!

Happy Sew Green 2010!

Welcome new readers, and welcome back to the rest of you!

This year we at Sew Green plan to continue to post on (at least) Thursdays, covering a variety of topics of interest to us and related to all things green. If you have followed Sew Green for a while, you know we post on a wide range of topics, from knitting green, to cosmetic info, to DIY laundry soap and pads, to sustainable agriculture book reviews, to green building/architecture, to tales of chicken keeping, to responsible and fun gift ideas, to cloth diapers. As none of us are necessarily experts on all things green, we aim to share here what we are learning and what we are doing in our own lives to live more responsibly. We are a crafty-artist-designer bunch, hence the name of our blog.

We are looking for a few more contributors to join us in our Sew Green pursuits.

We alternate posting, so depending on how many of you join us, you'd be posting somewhere around once every two or three months (give or take a couple of weeks).

If you are interested in contributing, please email a little bit about yourself to sewgreenblog[at]gmail.com, and let us know if there are certain topics in particular about which you'd like to write. Send us a link to your blog too if you have one.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Thank you also to our wonderful past contributors (now listed beneath our archive).

recycling holiday lights

hope everyone had a nice holiday season and is gearing up to greet 2010 tonight !

i just wanted to post a link. a place where you can recycle your broken/old/no longer needed or used holiday lights. i tried to find multiple places, but it's really a small venture. some states like Washington and Minnesota have programs in certain areas, but I couldn't find very many national or statewide things.

holiday LED's has a program where you can mail your lights in. YES you have to mail them - but as their website suggests - gather all the lights you can - yours, your neighbors, your co-workers - it will then seem more worthwhile. Be sure and read their website - they don't want ANYTHING other than the lights.

in return you get a coupon for 15% lights from their site [if you are in the market for new lights]. but hurry the program will close in Feb. 2010.

thanks for your continued readership/participation of sew green. we'll see you next year!

Do More Good

Wishing you all a merry & meaningful christmas, and end of December.

As the New Year approaches folks start the resolution process- "next year I will be....". This year I simplified my resolution down to 3 words: Do More Good; focusing outward instead of inward, focusing on doing instead of being while knowing that I will be better for doing better. To me that encompasses all that is charitable, kind, environmental, civil and worldly. It is a simple mantra that I will keep on repeat and let define the choices I make. So here is to 2010, the year of doing more good.

Cheers!