Monthly Archives: July 2014

Sew Long to Poverty

If we want a new sewing machine, most of us can either save up the funds, or use a credit card maybe, to purchase it. But for the women in Malabar Memsahib, a small co-operative set up by Kerala Crafts in southern India, that’s not an option. The ladies in this co-operative make clothes to sell locally, and also make Fair Trade pants for Kerala Crafts, which are then sold in the UK, with all profits going back to community projects in southern India.

The Fair Trade pants have been so popular, that the current sewing machines they have, are struggling to keep up with the demand, so Kerala Crafts wants to purchase an industrial sewing machine for them, which would in turn mean more funds heading back to community projects in southern India, through increased sales of these pants.

But, without our help, these ladies will be stuck with their current machines, unable to get the industrial one they so desperately need, to keep up with the demand! There’s just 7 days remaining on the  Sew Long to Poverty crowdfunder, and they need just £110 more, to get to 100%! If they can’t get to a hundred percent, then they get nothing, so it’s really important that we can help them get that remaining amount!

If you can’t, or would rather not donate, then that’s perfectly fine – but please consider spreading the word to people, so that they might donate

Thank you 🙂

 

Knickers again!

With two weeks to go, Kerala Crafts have just £455 to go, to reach their target of £1,200, to purchase an industrial sewing machine for one of their projects in Southern India – a small co-operative of women, who sew clothes to sell locally, and also create Fair Trade knickers that are sold in the UK, with all profits going back to India, helping to fund various community projects.

That’s just £32.50 a day that Kerala Crafts need now, to reach their target…. but if they don’t get to 100%, then they get absolutely nothing 🙁

So, lets see if we can raise enough money to get these ladies the sewing machine that will enable them to meet the demand for these Fair Trade pants, which in turn will bring more funding to community projects as well!

Even a donation of £1 helps, and if you can’t afford that, or don’t want to, then a mention on your blog, or a post on twitter will help!

Kerala Crafts

Knickers to charity …. well kind of 😛

A small charity called Kerala Crafts works with a small co-operative of women in Southern India – one of their projects is selling the co-operative’s fair trade knickers in the UK. These pants have proved so popular, that the charity is now trying to fundraise to purchase an industrial sewing machine so the co-operative can keep up with the demand!

Can we help them raise the remaining 74% of their target in 27 days?

Wedding Knits

I’ve finally finished the knitting project for a friend’s wedding….

Wedding Mice

….meet the Wedding Mice! The bride and groom have chosen a green colour-scheme for their wedding, so I thought I’d crochet a green granny square bag for the mice to sit in.

And of course then there’s the mice themselves:

Bride-1

Bride Mouse is roughly modelled on the bride-to-be, although I did change the hair colour to something that worked better in wool!

Her bouquet of flowers was an interesting challenge to sew together – I will admit I managed to break my sewing needle on that one. However, I’m really pleased with how the mouse came out in the end 😀

Her traditional style white wedding dress allows her to show off her bouquet of flowers, and once I finally figured out how to create her hair, the green hairband sets it off perfectly.

 

 

Groom-1

The Groom Mouse’s colour scheme is hopefully accurate to what my friend will be wearing on his wedding day – I’m sure I confused him by my questions for what colours everyone would be wearing!

He has a grey suit (the jacket was a “make it up as you go” attempt, as I don’t have a specific pattern for that), black shoes, a crisp white shirt, and of course a nice green tie.

No hair for this mouse (thankfully), but a slightly lopsided pair of ears.

 

So there you have it, the bride and groom, and they should arrive fashionably early for the wedding…. about two months early! But then it’s better to be early with a wedding gift, rather than rushing at the last minute.

Bride-and-Groom

 

 

 

Patterns used:
May Day Mice by Alan Dart
Granny Square Bag by Wool Warehouse