Catherine

::blog::

::ravelry::

A bit about me:

I'm a prairie girl, able to withstand howling winds in the bitter winter, armed only with a parka and lots of moisturizer. And warm boots, mittens, a toque, long johns, wool socks, a thick scarf and a turtleneck sweater.

Good thing I'm also a knitter.

My day job is working in a medical library, but my passion is getting dirt under my nails. I'm a gardener since age 2, who is finally making it official by taking the Master Gardener course through U of Saskatchewan's Hort Dept.

My partner and I work very hard at "walking the walk". We bought a small house in the core area, where we can walk or bike to work. We buy second-hand goods when possible, and have been slowly making our house more energy efficient. We grow as much of our own food as we can, given our short summers and tiny yard, and enjoy sourcing out the rest from local suppliers. Of course, nothing is ever that straightforward, and we often struggle with how to make the best choices with the options available.

We both believe in being active members of our neighbourhood. I'm an original board member of the Orioles Community Garden, and we volunteer on the Daniel McIntyre-St. Matthew's Community Association Greening Committee. I'm super happy to be a member of Sew Green, and to have the chance to connect with people from all over the world who care about the things that mean so much to me.

Di Jones

Blog

Architect/Crafter/Cook/Gardener/Wannabe shoe maker

I was born in an outback mining town in the North West Australia, grew up in Perth, and now live in Melbourne with my husband, son and a cat.

I grew up in a do-it-yourself household. When we lived in the outback, Mum ordered fabric by mail order and made clothes for all manner of people in the town. Dad built most of our furniture from scratch, and worked modification after modification to the family home to adapt it to our needs. I’m not sure whether this was driven purely their creative tendencies, or a response to necessity, but it was an approach that has carried through their lives. Today Mum knits socks and dishcloths, sews quilts, and tends to a huge vegetable garden and three chickens. My father is still undertaking building works on their home, making furniture, and in recent years has started building timber boats. 

This Bio is supposed to be about me, not my family, but I do feel that how I live now is very much a product of the experiences and influences I grew up with. Making do and mending, being resourceful, recycling and adapting, were just how we did things as a family. Mum taught me to sew and cook, my Grandmother taught me to knit and Dad taught me how to wield a screwdriver and hammer (although thankfully I found a husband who is much better at it than I am). Gardening (and parenting) I’m learning through trial and error. We hope that our son inherits a love of creating (as opposed to consuming), an appreciation for where things come from, and a respect for the resources that the world can provide.

I joined Sew Green in 2010 and look forward to writing about sustainable building design, backyard veggie gardening, reducing waste and sustainable crafting.

Hayley Miller

blog

I am a single mother living the beautiful urban city of Long Beach, California. I run a small museum store and am completing my degree in nonprofit business management. I am a firm believer in charity, supporting your neighbours and think the greenest option is to give, instead of receive. As a retailer I practice supporting local artisans, fair trade, and eco-conscious materials. My goal is to teach my daughter the joy of giving, the pride of conscientious consumption and that moments are better than stuff.

Even as someone who works full-time, with a toddler, on tight budget, I hope to show that living green can be done economically and without a lot of free time. That supporting charities and volunteering is completely possible and that living sustainably is an option. I started with small changes, and as my knowledge grows, continue to add more & more eco changes to my repertoire. Eco-conscious things that will be intuitive to my daughter.

I have been a contributor to Sew Green since 2007 and have enjoyed expanding my green education and learning from our awesome group of thoughtful contributors.

Cheers!

chez grub (john)

john riordan
architect/writer/foodie
currently in neuchâtel, switzerland
blog
website


I am a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accredited architect and work for an award-winning architecture firm in DC.

I have published three books on architecture and design.
Restaurants by Design, Boutique Restaurants,
and the Good Office - a book about innovative ideas for sustainable office buildings.


I am a foodie. My passions for food and design have led me to see out restaurants worldwide and I often subject my friends and family to my culinary experiments.

I currently live in Neuchâtel, Switzerland with my partner and soon a wee one.

tracy bartley

blog

I am a Canadian prairie girl living in suburban Los Angeles with my husband, and our 2 girls(ages 8 and 5).

I am working to embrace the wonder that is SoCal (Southern California) - living seasonally in a place that appears to only have two seasons (warm and hot); growing a thriving edibles garden in February; escaping from the heat in July. We try to spend as much time as we can out of doors - whether hiking the Santa Monica Mountains, camping at one of the state beaches, or simply working in the garden in our yard, or at the community garden we are developing at our neighbourhood elementary school. We are backyard chicken-keepers and Farmer's Market junkies. We love our Mundo SUB.

I worry (a lot) about the constant bombardment of commercialism in our girls’ lives and try to protect them from that as much as possible. I want them to walk (in a city where everyone drives); to know from where, and from whom, what we consume comes from; to be barefoot as much as possible; to know that being rich has nothing to do with how much "stuff" you have or how big your house is; to cherish the hand in hand-made; and to love our planet. In turn, I try and see the wonderment that is life through their eyes. It gives me hope.

When I am not digging in the dirt looking for bugs with my bugs, I manage an artist's estate. I am a great believer in public eduction and the power of community. And I am trying to build a stronger bond with my sewing machine.

fawn pea

blog
ravelry

I used to start out this sort of thing by saying what I did for a job. Now the first thing I say is that I'm a mom. My daughter was born in 2009, and suddenly I am so much more invested in our future on this planet (and I thought I was an enviro before!).

For a job, I run a small environmental health organization.

I live in North Carolina (usa) with my partner and our cat and the aforementioned daughter. We are both very active in a few community organizations (he does water, I do food), and we have a vegetable and flower garden where we try to grow tasty and/or beautiful things. I love to ride my bike around town, hike in the southern appalachians, and as much as I'd like to keep up with all the cool environmental and political books that everyone else is reading, I am a passionate fiction reader with no time left over to read about reality.

My main crafty thing is knitting. I just love to knit, and I try to focus on using recycled and/or sustainably-produced yarns & materials. I design clothes for kids & babies, accessories for grown-ups, and felted creatures for all ages. Please help yourself to my free knitting patterns.

I've been a Sew Green contributor since 2007, and I mainly write about toxic chemicals, food, environmental health, babies and of course, green craftiness.

lisa solomon

:: blog ::
:: website ::

I am a mixed media artist who is deeply interested in the notion of hybridization. I think that is why I end up making all sorts of things, out of all kinds of materials, for all sorts of reasons. Since getting my MFA in 2003 I have been busy trying to make and show my work. Sometimes I am also a professor and a graphic designer. I love how teaching inspires and motivates me. I consistently attempt to give my students the tools to think creatively and solve their aesthetic problems in meaningful ways. I'm also in the midst of starting up a business that uses recycled garments and fabric as well as found vintage items.

I am fascinated by the mundane {finding beauty in the ordinary}, searching for a way to live more simply, and hoping that I can take small steps to live more sustainably. Since joining "sew green" I have tried to become more conscious of how I navigate the world - what I eat, what I wear, what small things I can do to make a difference. I'm certainly no expert on living green, but I am committed to finding greener solutions for me and my family. Mostly I've been inspired by my fellow bloggers here - the depth of their creativity and commitment to doing what they can.

I live in Oakland, California with my husband, two dogs and a cat. We had our first child [a girl] in January 2009. Having her has certainly changed my perspective and has made me more determined to do what I can to help our planet. We love to garden, sit in our sunny yard, and cook yummy food.

gwen bugheart

entomologist/ecologist
currently in neuchâtel, switzerland
blog
website
photos



every little thing counts.

little insects.
one day
i looked
a little closer at
the tiny insect world
around me
and was hooked.
a
beautiful,
yet powerful
world,
only occasionally
noticed by the humans.
an elegant world
of
amazing diversity
and
so much
to still understand.

little changes.
i study
tiny changes
in the genetic code.
those changes
cause variation
within organisms.
variation that
is the difference
between survival
and extinction.
it is
the foundation
for evolution.

little losses.
i seek to conserve.
habitat loss is
the greatest
threat to diversity.
we are losing
biodiversity
at an alarming rate.
i plan
to contribute to
a great body
of research
that proves
that
little losses
in diversity now
cascade
across species
and lead to
massive losses
in the future.

little steps.
i believe in
the little steps
that
we can take
towards
being
environmentally
conscious.
turn off the lights.
take the stairs.
bring canvas bags.
buy local produce.
buy used.
stay informed.
when living greener
seems overwhelming,
i remember that
all great change
is the sum of
small changes.
these everyday changes
can lead
to living greener.

every little thing counts.

Kerstin (shash) Svendsen

Website
Blog
Graphic Designer/Crafter

Since we started Sew Green in 2007, I've been swept up, along with so many of you, into the sustainable agriculture/food movement that seems to have really taken off since Omnivore's Dilemma came out. This movement is closely linked with the environmental movement, and I think it is easily accessible—we can all change what we eat and our relationship with our food, and we can notice the impact of those changes in our own lives and in our communities/land.

Right now, I'm working on compiling and designing an anthology of writing and artwork related to sustainable agriculture. (More on that when it's finished!)

My posts here are usually about the books I read related to agriculture, food, nature. (Send me recommendations!) Lately my main sources of inspiration and information for food and environmental matters are Wendell Berry and Civil Eats.

I'd like to learn more about greening graphic design, community gardening, homesteading activities, farming, ecology and global environmental issues (climate change, water rights, seed saving, alternative energy, e-waste, exploitation of people and natural resources in "developing" countries by multinational corporations and governments).