Recycled Yarn Scarves

I was at Kohl's with a friend a few weeks ago and saw a display of knitted scarves made of all kinds of crazy colors and fibers. I wanted them all! Then I looked at the price: $24, on sale. I decided to make one instead. I posted an ad on CraigsList seeking free or cheap yarn of all colors and fibers so I could make some multi-colored scarves. I just wanted to make one for myself, and the rest I planned to donate to women's or homeless shelters in the Bay Area in anticipation of the cold weather.

A wonderful lady met up with me and happily donated 3 HUGE garbage bags of yarn and unfinished projects. She was so happy to get them out of her garage, and I was happy to have more than enough yarn for my holiday crafting. We both benefitted. When I got home to look at the yarn, I realized that many of the skeins were vintage. Cool!

I originally wanted to make a scarf with alternating sections of color, but decided that for the sake instant gratification I would find something less time-consuming. I want to make a lot of scarves to donate, and we had our first rain of the Fall yesterday. I did a Google search for "easy crochet scarf" and after a few clicks I stumbled upon a blog called Laughing Purple Goldfish. One of the entries was a pattern (click here to see it) for exactly what I had in mind: a chunky, crocheted scarf that takes less than an hour to make. Here's how I made mine:

I used a size Q (really, really big) crochet hook my mom had. I chose 3 skeins of yarn in complementary colors and wound them into balls. I gathered all 3 strands of yarn and tied a loop at the end, then I single crocheted 80 stitches to create the length of the scarf. (You could do more or less depending on your style preference.) Then, I double crocheted 4 more rows, working into the single chains. When the scarf reached my desired width, i tied it off and added some tassles to the ends. I'd say it took me about an hour and a half; I'm still a little slow at crocheting.

Tah dahhh! Check out the photo above to see what it looks like. I'm really pleased with how fast and easy it was to make, and I think it looks pretty awesome too. I can't wait to try out some more color combinations!

Book Review: Organic, Inc.

I read this book about a month ago and need to blog about it, now that I am onto my next personal reading assignment. It's by Samuel Fromartz, who has a background in business journalism, mainly writing about start-up companies. His background in this area provides a great jumping-off point for the book in general, because Organic, Inc. is essentially about the business aspect of the organic foods movement.

One thing I enjoyed most about this book was that it often describes farms and companies that started right here in California. (We were, after all, where the organic movement first took off.) It was really cool knowing that just a couple hours' drive south of where I live, I could go see organic farms that have been around for decades, and have paved the way for many other back-to-the-land entrepreneurs. Woven in with all of the business aspects of organic agriculture is a critical study of the use of pesticides, and a comparison between pesticide-based agricultural systems and their organic nemeses.

When I finished reading this book there were tons of sticky notes protruding from the edges of the pages, marking excerpts that I wanted to think about further. The one statement that has stuck with me though is this: In West Oakland, there is ONE supermarket for 25,000 people, and 36 liquor stores—only 3 of which sell fresh produce. This is absolutely insane to me, and is so disgusting in its racial, class, and economic inequality that I find myself getting angry about it every time this fact pops into my mind. (I will write about this issue more in the next post, when I'll tell you about the plans I've hatched to combat this very damning, close-to-home problem.)

I would highly recommend this book to those who are interested in organic gardening, the organic food movement, or sustainable agriculture. Additionally, if you've been curious about the business aspects behind organic agriculture, Organic, Inc. is a must-read.

Please try looking at your local library first. If they don't have it, you can buy it used from a local bookstore or online:

Buy it from Alibris.
Buy it on Amazon.

Quick Hit: Some Prisons are Going Green

I found this article through Yahoo!'s main page about several prisons in the U. S. that are embracing alternative energy, composting, and gardening to reduce their consumption and save money. Really interesting stuff. It just goes to show that the fight against global warming, and participating in the green movement in general, is something everyone can do.

Read the article here.