Potatoes To Eat

Pretty special.

This woman.

She's been welcomed in our home since her tiny, crawling, cherubic beginnings.

And her donation for the potato bag push our total past the $25,000 mark.

Last fall, Brian and I travelled to Morris, Mb to check out the MCC relief sale. Viewing the produce for sale, my eye was drawn to the sack that the potatoes had come in.

And I asked if I could buy one.

I'm so glad that I did.

We kept the bag out of the landfill and turned it into a different sort of bag entirely!

Which kind of turns it into a lunch bag for someone in another part of the world.

Kind of neat.

With Thoughts of Somalia

"Famine is officially defined as when two adults or four children per 10,000 people die of hunger each day and a third of children are acutely malnourished. Earlier this week, the UN declared an official famine in regions of Somalia.

The global body says tens of thousands of people have already starved to death in Somalia and thousands are streaming across the borders to Ethiopia and Kenya daily." (WFP website)

Recently the media has been full of stories about the famine in Somalia. Numbers like "Eleven million" can make it can feel pretty hopeless.

It seems futile to imagine making any difference in the face of such impossible odds.

Since 2007, the Darfur project has sent thousands of dollars in hopes of helping the Sudanese people suffering in whole or in part due to the political unrest in the Darfur region. Although it is impossible to guarantee that it is the Darfuri people who have been sheltered and fed in part through this fundraiser, it must be assumed that somebody, somewhere, has eaten because a bag was purchased through this website. I'm aware that it's a "drop in the bucket", but I'll bet it was worth it to the people who got food they might not otherwise have eaten.

It's hard to read the news and watch the images of people who are dying for lack of food, while we live here with problems of excess. And, although we'll never fix big problems with a couple of dollars and some good intentions, we must do what we can.

It is with this in mind that I am posting four tote bags for sale.

The money will be forwarded to the United Nations World Food Program, under the category; "where most needed".



#1:Squiggle Garden
(now sold)

Interested in purchasing? Click here!
#2: Sunday Meeting!
Sold! To Chelsea for $45.00-- Thank you!

Like it? Love it? Click here!

#3: Rik on the Rak! (sold) To purchase this bag or check on the action, please click here.

#4: Sitting Pretty : sold to Lori!
Interested in Sitting Pretty? (literally and bag-it-ively). Click here to purchase said bag.

Sunday Goin' Ta Meetin' (Now Sold)

Want to show your support in a quiet, dignified way? Here's your bag.
Soothing grey and taupe textiles designed to outlive most household pets, this bag will hold up in tough times. All the materials were donated by my local furniture store, so these upholstery pieces aren't likely to fray any time soon.

Two reclaimed buttons give it a certain respectable, "Sunday morning" kind of feel.



This bag is not lined, and sells for your choice of price typically between $15.00 and $50.00 Cdn.

If you'd like to do your toting in style, leave a comment below.

Let me know if you'd like to pay via cheque or paypal and we'll exchange info through my e-mail address re-joyce@live.ca

Please leave something akin to a name, and the amount you are willing to pay. Please keep in mind a $10.00 shipping fee.

Thanks for looking!

Squiggle Garden: now sold to Robyn for $40-!

Colouring is fun! And when you bypass the crayons altogether, you can scribble to your hearts content with a sewing machine and a few colours of reclaimed rik rak.

Since I"m terrible at drawing, it's always a pleasure to see my twisting at the sewing machine actually develop into something closely resembling something of the floral variety!

A vintage apron provides the playful design that composes the bag's handle.

This bag is fully lined, with two interior pockets.

One used to be a hankie, and the other is a pocket from the same apron that's now a couple of handles.

Every season is the perfect season for a tote bag.
The beach.

The library.

The grocery store.

Work.

Kids.....

If you are interested in purchasing Squiggle Garden, please leave a comment below, then send me an e-mail indicating your mailing address and preferred method of payment. (paypal, send me a cheque, or arrange to meet me at twilight in an abandoned park) This bag sells for between $20.00 and $50.00. When determining your payment amount, please keep in mind that shipping through Canada post costs an additional $10.00 CDN.

You can comment under the identity "anonymous" if you are new to the blog world.

Thanks for your interest!

Rik on the Rack (now sold)

If you asked me to explain my bizarre and persistent love affair with that squiggly trim from ?long ago.... I'd have to explore the warm and lovely feeling I always had when I snooped through the drawers of my mother's sewing cabinet. I'd find rik rak, trim, buttons, and all kinds of lovely things. And I've never stopped loving them.

It's one of the items I tend to search for in thrift shops and yard sales- never seeming to lose my joy in finding some more.

I also love finding wildly coloured geometric prints that make me think of happy, uninhibited home fashions of the past.

This bag4darfur is fully lined with a playful, reclaimed paisley piece of fabric. A twice-used linen forms two pockets on her interior.

Interested in a playful way to do a little something for Africa?

Name your price in the comment section below.

Sitting Pretty: now sold!

There's something wonderful about combining old drapery with linens of another era.

And it's no wonder no one actually used these pretty pieces on their noses.

Lucky for us.

Some of the embroidered tablecloths that I find on my travels are just perfect for a reincarnation as pockets on a Darfur bag.

And all that embroidery! What did women in "used-to-be" do-- stitchery instead of reality shows? What a good idea.

Here's the tote bag all turned inside out to show her pockets.

One used to be a sleeve, and the other a table cloth.

I kind of like them as bag parts-- do you?

If so, leave me a comment with your name and offer. This bag typically sells for between $20.00 and $50.00 Cdn. Please be mindful that shipping tends to cost another $10.00.

Thanks for stopping by!