Bring on the bags!

I received an article from a crochet newsletter a few months ago that mentioned using old milk bags to crochet sleeping mats for people in impoverished countries and I was really interested in the idea. I immediately started googling info and with the help of Rachel whose email I found on http://plasticisrubbish.wordpress.com/2008/09/11/knitting-with-plastic-bags/ I was able to find quite a bit of information about getting a recycled bags for beds project going. I even found out that this project originally started in my hometown in Canada, definitely something to be proud of!

I thought that this type of project had real potential here in Peru, and while we don't have milk bags we have pretty thick bags from Saga and Ripley, the two big department stores here. I've found that both stores give out bags like there's no tomorrow so it shouldn't be hard to find people with large stashes of bags to contribute to the project.

Now it's time to start collecting bags to start making bag "yarn", make a pattern and see exactly how many bags it's gonna take to make the first mat. My guess is probably about 100 bags per mat, so that's my immediate goal... 100 bags to start. Hopefully by next weekend I'll have the bags I need to get started.

Are you a lana luva?

Lana luva... I know it's kind of a strange name, so I guess I should explain.

First off, I have a great appreciation for the Spanglish language, especially colloquial Spanglish, as it comes in so useful in my day to day, living and teaching in Peru. I wanted to make my blog a place that can share my hobbies, passions, and all sorts of creative endeavors with likeminded folk from around the globe, but I couldn't imagine creating a blog without including a Spanglish element. Since I really love lana (Spanish for yarn/wool) I created the lanaluva blog.

I'll try to refrain from blogging in Spanglish on a regular basis... but no promises!

It's about time!

That's it! After a few years of following others' blogs and sites, I've set off to start my own blog full of all my little passions and obsessions. Knitting, crocheting, crafting... all things creative and hands-on.