Wednesday 22 August 2012

Morsbags / plastic bags

Found this info last year and recently connected with it. Funny thing is that it has been on my mind to sort out our plastic bag situation for a week or so, and have been interested in making a DIY bag for my choir music as well as using a few for carrying the shopping. Anyways, on perusing my long list of ‘sites to be further investigated when time permits’ I found the Morsbag site again, and thought it might be of interest to you.

http://www.morsbags.com/html/patterns.html

So why would it be of interest? One plastic bag not used is one plastic bag that does not go into the environment one way or another. Not sure what to do with those smaller plastic bags that the veggies have to be put into at the supermarket. Been saving those. Thought I would cut them up into strips and crochet shopping bags as well. Plastic is a bit thin though, not sure if they would be very strong. Apparently you can iron plastic bags together to make a more rigid piece of 'fabric'. Not sure what I could do with that piece of 'fabric' afterwards. Will file that possibility away in the recesses of my mind for the moment. Will stick to making a few Morsbags. They are quick, easy, and I shall post up a photo when I have got round to making them!

Interestingly, it is suggested on the Morsbag site that you create a 'pod' of like minded people who go out and about donating these homemade bags for free in an effort to get make people more aware about using recyclable bags. I think that is a grand idea. I like the idea of forming a French pod. Not sure how I would fit that activity in though. Will put that idea on hold until I can find a window of time in which to explore further that idea. When I have finished scything. When I have caught up with the housework. When I written my books. When...... But it is nice to have lots of things on the go. It is better to have lots of interesting projects even if one does not get round to getting them all worked on, because it stops one from sitting around twiddling ones fingers in boredom. Keeping on learning new things and investigating new projects really does keep one interested in life, stops the brain from fugging up as well, plus does not allow houseroom in one's mind about the ever onward galloping of the days of one's life.

Been up since 5. Ploughed my way through 6lbs of plums for jamming. Then cooked up some wool in the dying pot. Top of my stove has a pot of simmering plums, a pot of simmering wool, and a pot of now cold cooked grain for the pigs.  It looks a mess. Not to worry, smallholding life demands such a diversity of things cooking away on the stove.

Have come to a bit of a halt with haymaking. We do not have any more storage space for the DIY hay bales, plus the physical effort of working out on the field while we have high temperatures and / or high humidity and / or high pressure due to cloudy skies is tiring me out. But I am not quitting the Hay Project just yet. Will continue on when the weather permits, but no more hay bales. I think it is time to have a go at building a hay stack. It will only be a smallish hay stack, but it should be quicker than doing the DIY hay bales.

So now I need to investigate how to do this task by going on to YouTube. Someone, somewhere, will know how. God bless YT! And God bless you! Hope you have a load of projects on the go as well. Hope you have a go at making a Morsbag or two, or three, etc.

7 comments:

Denise said...

I shall join you in making a Morsbag from here in Kent, Vera, and then a 'continental pod' shall be born! I love that the website refers to the practice as 'Guerilla bagging'!

As for making hay stacks...well, I think you should read a few Victorian novels first because as far as I know, all sorts of mischief may ensue when one starts making haystacks!!

Denise said...

I shall join you in making a Morsbag from here in Kent, Vera. Then a continental pod shall be born as we sew across the channel!

Should one be making haystacks? I understand all sorts of mischief can occur when one starts indulging in haystack making...

the fly in the web said...

Thanks for the Morsbag link.
I'll put it on the expat sites here as Costa Rica is the land of the plastic bag...everything comes in at least one one of them and the landfill problem is dreadful.

Make sure your hay is dry dry dry before you make the stack...a little dampness and you (no, not you but your rick) risk spontaneous combustion.
My grandfather had a long metal pole with a hook at the end which he used to poke into the centre of a rick to check the state of the hay and I remember ricks coming down to remove problem bales.

Diane said...

Interesting post. I have masses of plastic bags, but remember, many of them just simply disintegrate after a few years as I have discovered. Diane

John Going Gently said...

have you neighbours that would store your hay?

Hello, I'm Sarah said...

Hi Vera, great to see your blog. I make Morsbags in Leicestershire, UK and it's great fun (and highly addictive!). We have a thriving Morsbag community in and around Leicester. If you want to ask any questions, there is a forum on the website where you can chat to any Morsbaggers around the world and find out if any pods near you. Not sure about France - I'd be interested in finding out.... If you are on Facebook, you can also join us there - search for Morsbags or us at Morsbags.com Leicestershire. Merci beaucoup! xx

Vera said...

Denise, the only mischief I can manage in my piles of hay is to look at a heap, wish I was lying down on it, but do not follow through with this thought because if I did I would probably not be able to get up again mostly because when I am out in the field I am normally hot, sweaty and tired and most definitely not of the mindset to naughty things!
Aha! A Franco / Anglo pod! That's sound inspiring!

Fly, oh wow, Morsbags in Costa Rica! Might be interesting to let the Morsbag people on their web site know about that, that they are 'global'.

Thanks for the info about the hay. I am very careful about making sure it is dry, but to have frets at the back of mind about it all going up in a roaring blaze!

Diane, the problem with the plastic bags is that their decomposition is so slow, and during that long life they might fetch up inside another animal. To take along a homemade bag when needing to get the shopping home is much more sensible for the planet, plus one's halo can be put back up over the top of one's head because one is doing a little bit of 'save the planet' stuff, plus having a DIY shopping bag is, I think, a good step towards eccentricity!!!

John, no, no-one else could keep it for us locally. Not to worry, I have been on strike with making hay for the last couple of days, but shall carry on with the task because I noticed this morning that I seem to be getting my waistline back so that is worth all the effort.

Hi Sarah, lovely to meet you, and thanks for the info. I love the thought that other people are making the effort to reduce the number of those plastic bags. I love the thought that there are people who care.