Blanket for Bushfires

Imagine if everything you owned was reduced to ash. Summer is almost over, and there are some cold months ahead, particularly for the survivors of the Victorian bushfires, who have nothing but the clothes they were wearing when they fled.

So a mate of mine on Ravelry, Dawn, announced she'd organise to collect knitted and crochet squares, to sew into blankets, to be distributed to those in need. There is a blog if you want to find out more.

The address to send finished squares (30 cm x 30 cm or 12" x 12") to is Blankets of Friendship, PO Box 488 Traralgon, Vic 3844

I started out thinking I'll just do a few squares, then it was fun, so I did a few more, then I thought, well, I can do a few more and make a whole blanket!
So here it is, about to be posted to the lovely ladies in Traralgon distributing the "Blankets of Friendship".

Etsy bushfire shop

There's a great way to donate to the Red Cross Bushfire fund, and also enjoy some fabulous shopping at the same time. A dear friend, feliciafairy, at Etsy's Dust Team has set up a special Etsy shop, where 100% of proceeds go directly to the official Red Cross appeal. Red Cross has also promised that 100% of the appeal will go directly to the victims, so you know ALL your money will go straight where it is needed.

Here's the link:

http://OzBushfireAppeal.etsy.com

It's made almost $3000 in just a few days, and it's only just started. There are heaps of gorgeous items donated by Etsy sellers from Australia, and all over the world. They are also kindly donating postage, so that means free international postage anywhere in the world.

bright little treasures

Over the summer break, I've been making little medallions and joining them together, mixing up colours as I go. I sewed them up when I got home and photographed them today.

Hope you enjoy the bright colours! Some of these will be made into scarves, hair clasps and bags, and will be available in my etsy shop, so pop in and check to see what's new.

Ouch!

When we first moved into our house about 12 years ago, there were many tall gum trees (eucalypts) on the property. Since then, we've lost, um, let me see, one, two, three, four, ooooh about eight, plus a 60 metre liquidambar.
The latest branch/es, about 30m, fell off the tree at the front of the house, just before we left for our summer holiday. The power lines came down, and we had to replace a few tiles on the garage roof.

To Facebook or not to...

Maybe it's a girl thing, we just love networking and chatting and gossiping, but the men in my life HATE facebook. "Don't believe in it" says one. "Tragic" says another. "Get a life" says yet another. One friend, who has his own facebook page, replies via email instead of on the "wall", because he doesn't know how to use it.

I've had my facebook page for almost a year, and in the last few months I've finally had time to explore what it can do. I have been able to find old friends, and it's fun, lots of fun. I have found three girls I went to school with. Several friends from uni. Friends from old workplaces. Friends from mothers' groups. Many of these people, due to geography and name changes, I haven't spoken to for 20 or 30 years.

Unlike the kids who "have" Facebook, I only have a handful of "friends", meaning they are actual friends, people I know and like. The teenagers have hundreds of "friends" and to me, they are mere acquaintances, often enemies! It's very uncool for a parent or a middle-aged person to "have" Facebook, and one of my friends was admonished by her teen daughter, who said, "Mum, you're not cool enough to have Facebook".

But I have found people older than me. Even grandparents! What an easy way to keep in touch with family and friends, by posting photos and a brief diary entry whenever you like. Just don't tell the teenagers, or the men in our lives, that we're signing up...

My new favourite magazine

Ooh ooh ooh I do love a new magazine. It's VERY expensive ($28.50 Australian dollars) but supremely gorgeous and I really don't know what took me so long to find it. Maybe not enough quality time spent at the Borders magazine department? Because that's how I found it, by accident, browsing while waiting to meet a very dear certain young someone in my life.

It's Selvedge magazine.

(I can hear many of you saying, well, derrrr.... okay, so I'm a bit, make that very, slow sometimes LOL)

Visit selvedge right now and you'll see a delightful vintage (1924) film clip of Australian sheep being shorn and wool being processed.

Another great find, courtesy of Selvedge magazine, the gorgeous creations of a Parisian designer, Sophie Digard, in softest merino wools. Each of these scarves is about 11 inches wide (27 cm). They are so finely crocheted they must have been made by tiny, but very busy, fairies.

Seriously, she is a very clever gal, almost as talented as me! ;-) I do love a combination of assured colour mixing together with deft technique.




The one thing I would like to know, is where her pieces are made and by whom. They are carried by a few retailers worldwide, so she couldn't possibly make them all herself. I am crossing my fingers that they are not sweatshopped. The prices reflect the amount of work in each piece, about $US270 at the moment. Even so, considering the time and labour, even at that price, costs would barely cover the bottom line. Trust me, I know.

Knitting with Australian merino wool

Once again, the issue of animal rights and knitting with merino wool has come up in one of the many discussion groups I belong to. I'm sure PETA's heart is in the right place, but whether any of them have actually spent time on a sheep property, seems unlikely. There are no easy answers, to any industry which involves animals. However, I totally respect others', including the vegan, point of view, and I think it's wonderful that plant fibres and synthetic products are available.

It's a matter of choice - and for me, that choice is based on what I can learn about the production processes of any fibre. To me, there's no point saying "I won't knit with wool because the sheep are brutally mulesed" (which is what PETA is saying) when I will buy a ball of bamboo yarn that's harvested by animal-powered ploughs and processed by underage, underpaid kids, using toxic chemicals which are banned in most countries.

These are extreme exaggerations, but my point is to learn everything you can about the effect of your purchase on animal rights, human rights, and environmental impact so you can make an informed decision.

Here's my post I sent to the Etsy knitters list (warning, it's long!):

_______________________________________________________________________________



Re: Save the Sheep! etc

For those who wish to use wool products, and who do not have wool
allergies (I have many allergies but not to wool), I would like to
clarify some points from my personal experience. For those who don't use
wool, don't want to, and who have allergies, none of the following is
relevant so I preface this by saying I am not vegan and just as I
respect others' choices, please respect mine. It is very possible, even
likely, to knit ethically with Australian wool.

I live in Australia, and have worked as a shearer's cook and seen
many shearing sheds, and I have shorn sheep myself. Even though
thousands of sheep are shorn each day, I have never, ever seen a sheep
treated cruelly. Quite the opposite. Most shearers are expert at their
job, and to see a merino being shorn, and its magnificent, pure white
fleece, coming off cleanly and evenly, is quite amazing. The sheep seem
to be relieved that they've at last got rid of their heavy winter coat,
and skip off into the hot sunny paddocks. Bottom line, if a shearer
damages the fleece, or hurts the sheep, it loses money for the farmer
and that shearer won't be welcome in that shed again.

I come from a long line of wool-producers here in Australia, and I can
honestly say after almost 50 years with a lot of my time spent on
country properties, I have never seen a sheep treated cruelly. Quite
the opposite, as the more pampered the sheep are, the finer and softer
the merino wool is. My aunts and uncles still produce superfine merino
wool, and practice this philosophy, even on huge properties. Mulesing
was already being phased out before PETA launched their campaign.
Mulesing is a primitive practice, difficult and labor-intensive, but in
the past it was a necessary preventive measure to avoid the misery that
is fly-strike, which kills sheep in a horrible, painful manner. Mulesing
was the sheep's equivalent of human circumcision, a temporary pain for a
longterm gain. One of the best new techniques, including plastic clips
and injections, is to breed merinos with less wrinkly skin, thereby
eliminating the need to remove surplus folds of skin (see the link below
for more information on all these techniques).

That said, there will always be cruel producers who mistreat their
animals, in every industry. They are usually the ones who go out of
business quickly because they don't love their animals and they
certainly don't love the wool that is produced.

Also, a major concern for me is environmental, that much of the world
wool clip goes to China to be processed, where the use of toxic
chemicals and harmful processes is unregulated. We can't afford to
process all our wool in Australia, and as China is so cheap, it goes
there to be carded, and to make it machine washable (as that particular
chemical process is not permitted in Australia - hmmm I wonder why).
Then the wool often goes to Europe and Italy to be spun and woven. So,
if I buy an average ball of wool in Australia, it's already travelled
the world, a ridiculous waste of resources.

I am not qualified to comment on the live sheep exports, as those sheep
are produced for their meat. To be honest, it horrifies me. From my
limited understanding, they are sold to Middle East countries and
shipped live because the cultural traditions demand that the sheep be
slaughtered in their countries, and according to the practices of those
countries and their laws.

I love knitting with plant fibres too, particularly bamboo and cotton.
But I also worry whether animal labour is involved in their harvest, and
what chemicals and environmental effects are involved, especially if
they're produced overseas. In many cases, human rights questions are
also relevant, with child labor and fair pay being non-existent in many
fibre-producing countries.

My advice, if you concerned about any fibre you use, find out as much as
you can about it. Where it's grown, where it's processed, where it's spun.

The hand-knitting market is only a fraction of the wool product. So even
if we all stop using wool for knitting, it will not affect the
manufacturers of clothing and fabrics, who are the main buyers. e.g. the
makers of fine business suits, such as Hugo Boss, and Armani, use
Australian merino wool for their fabrics.

If we all stop using wool, unethical practices will be even more common.
More sheep will be sold for their meat, and shipped live to meet the
demand in Middle Eastern countries. My advice is, if you love wool as I
do, ask questions and demand to know the answers, and insist on the best
quality fibre, processing and production, with minimal environmental
impact. It's a long complex process, but if we want to keep using
quality wool, and know that it is ethically produced, that is what we
all have to do.

If you would like to know more about how the Australian wool industry is
working to improve conditions for sheep, visit:
http://wool.com.au

There is a link there to "Battling the Blowfly" which outlines some of
the anti-mulesing techniques being used.

Cheers

Deb
debproductions.etsy.com

PS I have no interest in any of these organisations, including PETA and
The Australian Wool Corporation. I am simply a knitter who lives in
Sydney. I have distant relatives who are wool producers in Australia.
__________________________________________________________________

That was my post.