Friday, July 23, 2010

More REUSABLE Bags!! Handmade! Eco!! This Time Small Ones in Thread!

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items In Fibers


I like making REUSABLE Bags!!

The ones I make are all Cotton, Washable, -- but most and best of all, REUSABLE -- in fact, from personal experience and use, bags like the ones I make last quite a while!!

This is about some small ones I have made - all hand-crocheted "fabric" in different sizes of Threads - in Seasonal or Occasional themes. They can all be found in my Etsy Shop (each picture links to the Etsy listing)!

You know, Handmade REUSABLE Bags are Eco for several reasons: Handmade is Low Carbon Emissions, most of my materials are washed/bleached cotton with non-toxic dyes -- and always made to be REUSABLE and replace disposable alternatives!!

Here they are:


In Red and Green and White -- usually associated with Christmas, but also a Nature theme year round:




In Blues - a popular color theme year round, but also associated with Judaica ... Hanukkah ... French Country ... Nautical ... Beach Themes ...




In White with Silver Accents in the form of blending filament crocheted in -- Made with Weddings and Graduations and Summer Evenings in mind ....



Eco Reusable Bags, such as these are popular with my fellow team-mates of Team EcoEtsy!!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

This Year's LOCAL HARVEST - Yummy!!

Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In Fiber - Internet Shop of Handmade Items In Fibers




Late June or early July is the start of the season for pick-your-own orchards - at least, where I live here in the Antelope Valley of Southern California!!

I've been there twice so far this month - it was for the Apricots!! They only have them for a few weeks early in the summer and they are absolutely one of my favorite fruits!! Picked 20 ibs of fruit both times -- and most of them were Apricots - 2 varieties. So delicious!!

Though I still have fresh ones in the fridge, I have a whole bunch of them halved in the freezer - hopefully, they will last for months!!

Also, picked a few peaches and plums!!

Boy-oh-boy!! Fresh fruit right off the tree -- nothing tastes as good!!

I HIGHLY recommend finding an orchard to go picking in, if you can find any where you live.
  • Better tasting.
  • Usually Better for You!
  • And definitely Better for the Environment - picking locally!! They call it "Low Carbon" - less packaging, less transportation, less carbon emissions for what you buy!
And the quality of the fruit is so much better - doesn't compare at all to store-bought fruit!!

I admit - at this point, I am a bit spoiled!!

The local orchrds in the Antelope Valley usally have fruit on the trees through sometime in October or early November - though the Apricots are only for a few weeks, they have different varieties of Peaches, Apples, Pears and Plums at various times through the months. If you don't want to pick yourself, they usually have some fresh-picked fruit in their cold-storage, which you can just buy.

There are a vsriety of orchards that either sell on-site or let you pick yourself in the Antelope Valley -- and east of us, I believe in what is known as Apple Valley.

Check http://www.localharvest.org for what they have listed, wherever you live -- or maybe the local Chambers of Commerce can help!!

It is really really worth the time and effort to go and pick your own fruit -- some of us even think it is FUN!!!!