I have happy feet

I mentioned recently about watching France24's Green is the New Black and the focus they did on soleRebel shoes. 

soleRebels is a company in Ethiopia that was started by a lady named Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu. The shoes are made with a strong emphasis on renewable resources. Using hand loomed accents, hand spun organic cotton, the soles are cut from used truck tires, any leather is from small farmers. The company hires it's workers at fair wages, and hires a lot of people that wouldn't normally be employed. It's making an honest effort to make the area better, and to do it in a 0 carbon footprint way. 

So I looked up the site, and found out that they have a weekly giveaway. Tweet the link to the shoes you like, with @soleRebels so they see it, once a week, one person wins a pair of shoes. The contest IS international. So everyone gets to try!

I won! I won! And was/am really super excited. 

The pair I won and pictured above are the Xodus Iration in black.

They are so comfortable. The soles are cushy and thick. These are shoes meant to be worn without socks. The fit was perfect. They were also shipped very quickly. The company ships using FedEx. Instead of shoe boxes, they are sent with a lovely cream colored hand loomed drawstring bag made of cotton. You can't see it in that photo, but the sides of that comfy sole are trimmed with a hand loomed ribbon in blues and creams.

I'm in love. Comfy shoes from a company that is just really awesome. Now, I will say, don't do what I'm doing above. If you plan to wear them in snow, use ice grips. Really. The soles are very smooth. 

Now, I have to decide which pair to get next. I love the look of the urbanRunners (and wish so much they came in pink) but the tooTOOs look like the most comfortable shoes ever. Such hard decisions!

Wire hanger crafts from the past

For most of the day, I've been kind of caught up in old issues of Popular Science, Popular Mechanics and Boy's Life.
When I was a kid, my mom had an old set of the Book of Knowledge for children. I loved that encyclopedia. Instead of being the big boring books of facts that I had to use for reports, these books were full of stories, crafts and lots of interesting things. I loved the crafts. Ottomans made from old coffee cans and all sorts of handy things.
Now I collect vintage craft books. Still love them. The crafts and ideas are frequently filled with measurements you need to take, and usually are made from reclaimed things. Crafts in the past were frequently made with stuff you might have around rather than stuff you had to make a special trip to a craft store for.
So.. now there is Google Books. Full of lots of old magazines. You can also specify a time frame. So after running across some cute wire bookends in an old issue of Popular Science, I did a search on wire coat hangers, specifying the time frame 1910-1950.

This clever flowerpot holder comes from the September 1934 issue of Popular Science.There are also projects for a telephone book holder, newspaper rack and a sock stretcher.

The August 1945 issue of Boy's Life says that blanket pins are very handy to have, but hard to find for sale anymore. If they were hard to find in 1945, I imagine they are nearly impossible to find now. The pin, made of hard wire, would be gorgeous accented with beads and used as a shawl pin now.

Also instructions for a double toaster or hand grill, an egg whip and a couple other cooking outdoors sorts of tools.

These are the bookends that sparked the search. You can find them, along with a very nifty clothes dryer in the December 1939 issue of Popular Science.

An extra that's not from the time range I specified. 

This cute mobile comes from the March 1963 issue of Boy's Life.

Crochet Pattern- Eco Friendly Makeup Remover Pads and Bag

Make up remover pads are a nice gift for eco-friendly women who wear make-up. They are also a great ends and bits stash burner. These can be laundered, and I'd recommend washing them in a bag. But hey, the pattern for the bag I made for them is on this page too! 

For this very easy version, I used a slightly textured stitch to make squares.

ch= Chain stitch

sc= single crochet

dc= double crochet

sl st= slip stitch

tr= treble crochet

American terminology

Size F hook, worsted weight cotton yarn

Textured Makeup Remover Pads

Chain 12 - 11 stitches plus 1 to turn, doesn't count as first stitch

Row 1: Sc in first chain from hook, sc in each chain (11 sts)

Row 2: ch 1 to turn (does not count as first sc here or throughout), sc in first stitch, *tr in next stitch, sc in next st*, repeat ** across

Row 3: ch 1 to turn, sc in first st, sc in each of the rest of the stitches

Rows 4-7: Repeat rows 1 and 2

Edge by doing a sc crochet in each stitch around with 3 sc at each corner. Break off and weave in ends.

The matching bag is easy for anyone who can make a granny square to make. 

Mini Granny Square Bag

Ch 6, join with slip stitch to make a ring

Round 1: ch 3 (counts as first dc), 2 dc in ring, ch 2, 3 dc in ring, ch 2, 3 dc in ring, ch 2, 3 dc in ring, ch 2, sl st to join at top of first ch 3 to join

Round 2: Sl st across dcs to first ch 2 space, ch 3 (counts as first dc), 2 dc in space, ch 2, 3 dc in same space, *ch 1, 3 dcs in next sp, ch 2, 3 dcs in same space*, repeat ** around, ch 1, sl st to top of ch 3 to join

Round 3: Sl st across dcs to first ch 2 space, ch 3 (counts as first dc), 2 dc in space, ch 2, 3 dc in same space,ch 1, 3 dcs in next sp,ch 1, 3dc, ch 2, 3 dc in next space, ch 1, 3 dcs in next sp,ch 1, 3dc, ch 2, 3 dc in next space, ch 1, 3 dcs in next sp,ch 1, 3dc, ch 2, 3 dc in next space, ch 1, 3 dc in next sp, ch 1, sl st to top of starting ch 3 to join

Round 4: Sl st across dcs to first space, ch 3 (counts as first dc), 2 dc in same space, *ch 1, 3 dc in next space*, repeat ** around, ch 1, sl st to join.

Rounds 5-11: Repeat round 4

Round 12:  ch 1, sc in each stitch around, sl st to join

Round 13: ch 4 (counts as first dc and ch 1) *skip 1 stitch, dc in next st, ch 1*, repeat ** around. Sl st to 3rd ch in ch 4 to join.

Round 14: ch 1, sc in each stitch around, sl st to join. Break off and weave in ends.

Chain 70, sl st down the chain, weave the chain through the spaces in the dc/ch row on the bag, tie ends together, and weave in ends to make a single loop. 

The same technique used for the makeup remover pads also works for tawashi for washing dishes. I just used a longer starting chain and did 2 rounds of single crochet, the second round is in the back loop of the first. Just remember, use an odd number of stitches! This was 13 stitches to start, and 13 rows. I use cheap acrylic yarn for most of my tawashi and they hold up very well. 

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