green Archives - Tara Swiger

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

I've never really celebrated St. Patrick's Day, other than to forget to wear green and get pinched (ow!), but I love watching others celebrate it.

And since green's one of my most favorite colors, it isn't hard to find anytime-inspiration in the plethora of green-goodness across the web.

Here's the good green stuff I came across today:

Do you have a favorite craft or food you make at this time of the year?

Sometimes I think Earth Day (or Month or Hour) is silly…shouldn't we be working on these things everyday? But I'm starting to think that setting aside one day draws more attention to the issue and gives a reason to reflect or research on changes we may already know we need to make!

I write about these things pretty much all the time, so in celebration of Earth Day, let's go over a few way to make your crafting decisions a bit more green:

1. Be a locavore! (I know it's not technically crafty, but I think of cooking and baking as crafting!)

2. Spin with recyled fiber!

3. Use organic cotton. Why? Here's your answer!

4. Work with local, small-farm materials!

5. Rethink bamboo

What are your ideas for creating “geen”? Any topics I haven't covered that you'd like me to research?

The Meaning of Green

I might be a bit obsessive.
I wish I wasn't.
I wish I was smooth and casual and je ne sais quoi.
But I'm not. I'm excitable. And squeal-y. And a bit obsessive.
When I learned the new Yarn Forward was available in the States (it's UK-based), one that I had been interviewed for, I began stalking Barnes & Noble.
I've been 4 times in the last month, scouring the magazine racks, looking behind every title.

Yesterday, my mom and I had a bit of free time and we decided to pop into the bookstore for a cup of coffee and magazine perusal. I did my normal magazine-rack-hunting. The girl next to me set down one she had been flipping through and

Wow!
There it was, the April issue.

I called my mom over as I flipped through, and was shaking before I even landed on this page:

That's me, in the upper left corner!

The article is a discussion with several “ecological experts” (squee!) about what “green” means to them, in terms of yarn and fiber choices. It's a fabulous article with input from Lorna's Laces, a Rowan rep and other experts on the subject!

You can find buy Yarn Forward online, at your yarn store or at a bookstore!

Oh, and the geeking out doesn't end there. My mom and I both squealed, jumped around, hugged and celebrated! This little excitement-party happened again when I told my husband (who, for the record, does not squeal)