I admit to being blown away by this spring’s Interweave Knits. I’m not talking about the new format either. I’m talking about the enormous number of patterns that feature earth friendly fibers. There are not two, not three, but four sweaters that call for Bamboo in IK!
I’d have to say it’s perfect timing for the swap I’ve been dreaming up since last fall. I’m setting up an Earth Day swap on Swap Bot in an effort to get people to try out new, environmentally friendly fibers.
Environmentally friendly fibers, for the purposes of this swap, consist of organically produced materials such as organically grown cotton, sheep fed with organic feed, handspun from organic materials, yarns created from recycled materials, or fibers created from renewable resources such as bamboo, corn or soy. There are also yarns made from hemp and seaweed! For the purposes of this swap, remnants from your stash are not recycled, unless you are making something like a bag for your partner.
Some examples of Bamboo yarns include: Eden from Cascade, BamBoo from Classic Elite, Royal Bamboo from Plymouth Yarns, Bali from Tahki, and Bamboo from Regia (sock yarn).
Examples of other yarns are: Blue Sky Alpacas Cotton, Karaoke, Vermont O-Wool, or any of the products made by the Southwest Trading Company (including Vicki Howell’s new collection).
Where can you get all this? Well for Cascade, Classic Elite, Plymouth, Blue Sky Alpacas, Regia or Trekking ProNatura, I’d head straight for my LYS. Otherwise you could try Earth Friendly Yarns on the internet. A good source for information is ecoyarns. Unfortunately, they’re based out of Australia, so it’s tough for me to order from there.
Use your own discretion as to what you want to get for your swap pal, but previously discussed recommendations have included environmentally friendly yarn, an ecofriendly product such as an energy efficient lightbulb, or a recycled paper notepad, a small item that you want to regift and an energy saver tip sheet.
On April 20th, I will hold a drawing for all swap participants. The winner will receive a copy of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth (either as a DVD or a book) and a skein of Trekking ProNatura, a bamboo sock yarn.
Instructions:
1. Sign up for the swap by March 17th.
2. You will receive a questionnaire on March 18.
3. Fill it out by March 23rd!
4. Swap bot will assign swap partners on the 15th. (I think. I’ve never used this before.)
5. If you do withdraw, please please let me know so I can try to get everyone matched up. Please don’t drop out without contacting me (MoiraeKnitting at gmail dot com). If you haven’t signed up by the deadline, I would love to have you sign up as a “backup” person. 6. Send out swap packages by April 15th - the idea is to get your package to your partner by Earth Day in the US (April 22nd).
7. Post about your swaps and enjoy your new fibers.
Rules:
1. Dropping out without letting anyone know will earn you bad kharma from Swap Bot.
2. The suggested spending limit is $45, not including shipping.
3. Include enough yarn for a small project - hat, small bag, mittens, gloves or socks. A pattern might be helpful. Please obey all copyright laws.
4. Have fun!
3 Comments
February 22, 2007 at 8:33 am
There’s a new book (maybe not out yet?) all about knitting with earth friendly fibers…
February 23, 2007 at 3:27 pm
I hope more people sign up for this swap. I already have.
March 16, 2007 at 8:44 am
[...] yarn swap and ?s Posted by moraie under socks Today is the last day to sign up for the Earth Day Yarn Swap. We have four participants (other than me) which is great, but none of them are the people who [...]
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