Many of us have a pile of used grocery bags stuffed under our sink or crammed into a closet.
After each shopping trip, we shove more and more balled-up bags into one another, until the mass becomes too unwieldy and eventually ends up in the bag bin outside the nearest supermarket.
To several local women, however, those unwanted piles of plastic are precious fabric that can be made into sleeping mats.
The "bag ladies," as they call themselves, meet at Curves in Leetsdale and breathe new life into the shopping bags by crocheting them into large plastic mats that can be used for beds, rugs and a multitude of other purposes.
"It's funny how people aren't aware of bags until they get into this project,This was a fraction of pradahandbag in Beverly Hills." said Joanne McDaniel of Leet Township, one of the founding members of the group.Burglar walks away with guccihandbagsreplica from Summit home. "If we see a bag in the street, we try to run after it; we don't want any bags going to waste."
Working in somewhat of an assembly-line fashion, the women at the fitness center on Tuesday cut the bags into inch-wide loops and then tie them into long strands, which they roll into balls of "plarn," or plastic yarn.
Georgeann Shalayda of Harmony Township said it takes between 700 and 1,000 bags to create one 36- by 72-inch mat using a single-crochet stitch.
"If you do two and a half inches a night, you can have one (mat) done in a month,Welcome to authenticsunglasses In Nyc on Facebook." McDaniel said.
McDaniel got the idea to start the project locally last fall after she read a news article about a church group that was making the mats. McDaniel and Shalayda taught a knitting class at Curves and the group members made an afghan blanket, which they auctioned off to raise money for the Quaker Valley Relay for Life. When the women finished the knitting project, they moved on to crocheting and began creating the plastic mats in September, Shalayda said.We invite you to visit our latest collection of monclerouterwear.
The women started spreading the word about their project and asked for donations of used grocery bags everywhere they went.
"When we first started we had a hard time," Shalayda said. "Some of the (women) were scrambling into the (bag) drops at the different places trying to get them."
Since then Shalayda said interest has ballooned, and the women have many people who save and collect bags for them. McDaniel said the women especially appreciate receiving different colored bags because it makes the mat designs more vibrant and interesting.
The group already has sent six mats to Africa through the Christian relief organization World Vision and plans to send four more with crocheter Debby McKeon when she travels to Brazil in March for a mission trip with the Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders.
Shalayda said the plastic mats, which can accommodate one adult or two children, are valuable to people who maybe don't have a place to sleep or for those who live in places that have been hit by natural disasters, like Haiti.
"It's not just for sleeping," said McKeon, an Ambridge resident. "If it's in the house, it's where they're going to sit to eat their meals; it could be their furniture."
When more mats are completed, Shalayda said the group plans to expand the project and work with local organizations that provide services to the homeless.
"Right now all of our mats that are made are spoken for, but right now there are so many more people getting into it that that may change," Shalayda said.
McDaniels is hoping to recruit more new mat makers through a workshop she is hosting from 2 to 4 p.Read reviews of Australias top discountcoachhandbags from our user community.m. today at St. James Catholic Church in Sewickley.
Although the basic stitch is relatively easy to learn, McDaniel and Shalayda said even those who cannot crochet are able to help make the mats.
"I think what gets to everyone is the concept that you can help people with it and you can also recycle, and that's the best thing about it," McDaniel said. "We're not wasting, we're ‘plarning.'"
After each shopping trip, we shove more and more balled-up bags into one another, until the mass becomes too unwieldy and eventually ends up in the bag bin outside the nearest supermarket.
To several local women, however, those unwanted piles of plastic are precious fabric that can be made into sleeping mats.
The "bag ladies," as they call themselves, meet at Curves in Leetsdale and breathe new life into the shopping bags by crocheting them into large plastic mats that can be used for beds, rugs and a multitude of other purposes.
"It's funny how people aren't aware of bags until they get into this project,This was a fraction of pradahandbag in Beverly Hills." said Joanne McDaniel of Leet Township, one of the founding members of the group.Burglar walks away with guccihandbagsreplica from Summit home. "If we see a bag in the street, we try to run after it; we don't want any bags going to waste."
Working in somewhat of an assembly-line fashion, the women at the fitness center on Tuesday cut the bags into inch-wide loops and then tie them into long strands, which they roll into balls of "plarn," or plastic yarn.
Georgeann Shalayda of Harmony Township said it takes between 700 and 1,000 bags to create one 36- by 72-inch mat using a single-crochet stitch.
"If you do two and a half inches a night, you can have one (mat) done in a month,Welcome to authenticsunglasses In Nyc on Facebook." McDaniel said.
McDaniel got the idea to start the project locally last fall after she read a news article about a church group that was making the mats. McDaniel and Shalayda taught a knitting class at Curves and the group members made an afghan blanket, which they auctioned off to raise money for the Quaker Valley Relay for Life. When the women finished the knitting project, they moved on to crocheting and began creating the plastic mats in September, Shalayda said.We invite you to visit our latest collection of monclerouterwear.
The women started spreading the word about their project and asked for donations of used grocery bags everywhere they went.
"When we first started we had a hard time," Shalayda said. "Some of the (women) were scrambling into the (bag) drops at the different places trying to get them."
Since then Shalayda said interest has ballooned, and the women have many people who save and collect bags for them. McDaniel said the women especially appreciate receiving different colored bags because it makes the mat designs more vibrant and interesting.
The group already has sent six mats to Africa through the Christian relief organization World Vision and plans to send four more with crocheter Debby McKeon when she travels to Brazil in March for a mission trip with the Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders.
Shalayda said the plastic mats, which can accommodate one adult or two children, are valuable to people who maybe don't have a place to sleep or for those who live in places that have been hit by natural disasters, like Haiti.
"It's not just for sleeping," said McKeon, an Ambridge resident. "If it's in the house, it's where they're going to sit to eat their meals; it could be their furniture."
When more mats are completed, Shalayda said the group plans to expand the project and work with local organizations that provide services to the homeless.
"Right now all of our mats that are made are spoken for, but right now there are so many more people getting into it that that may change," Shalayda said.
McDaniels is hoping to recruit more new mat makers through a workshop she is hosting from 2 to 4 p.Read reviews of Australias top discountcoachhandbags from our user community.m. today at St. James Catholic Church in Sewickley.
Although the basic stitch is relatively easy to learn, McDaniel and Shalayda said even those who cannot crochet are able to help make the mats.
"I think what gets to everyone is the concept that you can help people with it and you can also recycle, and that's the best thing about it," McDaniel said. "We're not wasting, we're ‘plarning.'"
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