Window Panes & Wool (Finished!)

Just the other day I bought some new yarn. Last night I used it all up in one sitting. Good times, indeed.
This wool was as wooly as you can imagine. It was 2 ply, quite coarse- but not itchy, and smelled a touch like sheep and hay. Genuine, for sure. I even picked out a couple specks of grass. I immediately dispensed with any notion of turning this skein into a garment.

Being a lovely, undyed ecru-white I decided to create something from it that would show off its simplicity. Make that 2 somethings.

A 9 flower garland.

5 triangle Granny Bunting

 It's such a murky day out today. Why do I always want to photograph finished items when the sun is hid beneath waterlogged clouds?

I noticed, while focusing my camera on this granny triangle, that the void areas create a flower petal of sorts. A charming detail. :)

The destiny of the Triangle Granny Bunting is unknown (I'm smitten, I may keep it), but the Flower Garland I plan to list in my Etsy shop. I want to dig through my buttons first to see if I have a little bronze bee leftover from another flower garland. It needs a little something extra. But only 1 something, this time.

Have a LoVeLy day! :)

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www.purplechaircrochet.etsy.com

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An Easy Choice (Yarn)

New Yarn! 

(happy dance!)

This is the easiest skein of yarn I have *ever* purchased.

Why, you may ask? Well, I'll tell you.

I went (for the first time) to our local foods market and the first thing I see (besides a little girl who wants to be our best friends... my 3 year old turned into Bambi and suddenly retreated right beneath my feet) is a basket with 5 or 6 skeins of yarn. 

This shop is all local, so of course I was going to buy local yarn. $10 a skein, not cheap, but hey, it's not about the price. 

They offered 2 (undyed) colors: Ecru or Khaki.

Duh, ecru! 

And here it is, it's internet debut...

I'm goober laughing at these pictures.
I just threw it atop a blanket,
but it looks like this yarn is from a professional photo shoot in the 80s.

Yards per Skein unknown, but it's quite a bit, as you see. 

I like the twisted parts. :)

Now what to make of it? Uhh...

The funny thing is, I wouldn't have picked this skein in a million years in a yarn shop. It's not very soft, it's "just" ecru, et cetera go the strikes against it. But because I had very limited choice and I wanted to get it (for various reasons), it was an easy choice and one that I'm immensely happy with.

Funny, less is still more, even when it comes to choice.

So "Yay!" for new yarn! And "Yay!" for an easy choice! And "Yay!" for local goods!

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www.purplechaircrochet.etsy.com

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Organic Cotton Yarn (Fantastic Find)

No pictures now. First, a story. Then pictures. Good ones, too.

Before my son was born in 2008, I never really cared about organics. Even after he was born, I didn't give it much thought... until he started solid foods. And, suddenly, the idea of my little boy ingesting a chemical coated anything was reprehensible! I could not, in good conscience, continue to turn a blind eye to this issue.

So our family moved towards organic foods (thank you, Food Inc!), and gradually cleaning products, personal hygiene products, and so on. We (try) to ditch the plastic bags and bring our own. We prefer to eat local (read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle). We can't wait to start out garden. We have chickens -- no eggs yet. (Any day now, right?)

You see then, we've set off on a path. And naturally there would be talk - especially after watching the documentary Tapped - of us going plastic-free.

I suspect some are having an "ah-ha" moment and know where I'm going with this. The other half thought they were in a crochet blog, but must have been mistaken...?

Perhaps you're familiar with "acrylic" yarn? Know that that is? Of course! It's cheap, it's consistent, it lasts forever! Oh. It lasts forever. It's plastic. It's *not* biodegradable.

Initially I fought this reality. No, not my cheap yarn! But I loves it. *sigh*. This can't continue.

I've moved on. Well, am moving on. This responsible living is a process- it surely doesn't happen over night. I still have a bit of acrylic blend left in the stash upstairs. And that's okay, what can you do? But I wanted to move towards pure wools, bamboos, silks and organic cottons. Especially cotton, because: Cotton is the most heavily sprayed crop on the the planet. Yuck.

Fortunately, I'm not the first to realize this. Below are some Fantastic Finds: Organic Cotton Yarn! Who knew responsible living could be so much fun? =)

Image courtesy of quovadishandspun

Image courtesy of ScarecrowOrganics

Image courtesy of ThoughtfulGemsCrafts

Image courtesy of Blue Sky Alpacas

Image courtesy of Knit Picks

Image courtesy of Lion Brand

Hope you've been inspired!

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