of the Anya Hindmarch I'm Not a Plastic Bag cotton shopping bags at Whole Foods. The bags have sparked riots in some places; roundabout Exit 151, even with a purchase limit of three per customer, the entire stock was gone within minutes, leaving long lines of disappointed eco-fashionistas. Perhaps unsurprisingly, when the designer spoke to the NY Times, it was not about sustainable agriculture nor about Fair Trade, but about the value of created scarcity.I could use a new market bag, but wasn't about to stand in line in the rain. So I re-purposed a UFO from last summer, Meta Thompson's Crocheted Bag for Holding Yarn, in Spin-Off Summer 2006. Although the chili pepper colorway still has great appeal, I lost interest in the somewhat tortuous pattern some time ago.
The medallion is now the bottom of a string bag in progress that's sorta based on Judy Gibson's Turkish Stitch String Bag. I adjusted the stitch count to accommodate the medallion and modified the version of Turkish Stitch given in the pattern to k2tog in Row 1 and ssk in Row 2 to emphasize the pretty faggoting (hard to see when the bag is in the formless blob stage).
Given the gross mismatch between needle (U.S. 11 or 8 mm) and yarn (crochet cotton), I'm having a little trouble keeping the tension as even as I prefer. I'm trying not to obsess – it's a string bag, fergoshsakes.
6 comments:
I had the same idea when i saw the popularity of that "ego friendly" bag. i figure i have miles of sugar and cream, might as well knit up some marketbags. as a side note, i'd like to see whole food's plastic bag numbers before i say "good for the people". Mostly it's another way to make eco-consciousness trendy. Have you seen this bag?
http://www.ekmpowershop4.com/ekmps/shops/frommarissav/index.asp?function=DISPLAYPRODUCT&productid=24" target="_blank
(sorry for the giant url, i couldn't link it)
Looking good! You should post directions when you finish!
Pretty yarn/string. I find the whole, "we'll sell you a bag" thing a bit commercial for my taste. Really. Are they charging for plastic bags? No? Then what they are doing is selling yet another product in their store. Yes they trumpet about it being good for the environment, but until stores start charging for the plastic, that's what most people will use.
That will be so fab for holding plastic bags. I'm amazed at the hoopla over that "i'm not a plastic bag" bag. If I won't stand on a huge line for a t-shirt at MDSW, I won't for that bag either.
Oh I've got big ideas FOR a plastic bag. This is a good reminder that I need to cast on!
Whole Foods's normal plastic bags were thicker than the Shoprite plastic bags. Is that worse/better/same for the environment?
Does WF give you a monetary kickback for using those "not a plastic bag" bags like Shoprite does? (2 cents a bag is 2 cents a bag when you're cheap!)
I remember hearing about something similar on Quirky Nomads. You can hear it here: http://quirkynomads.com/wp/2007/05/17/podcast-im-not-a-plastic-bag/
You might not want to listen if you're easily offended though. I like your version much better! :)
Jessica
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