Meet the "Bagettes"--Part 1 of 3

This is the first of a 3 part series of "Meet the Bagettes."

These are some of the lovely ladies who have been giving up their Sunday afternoons to help me cut and sew. They picked their favorite fabric from the "cut of the day" pile. From top to bottom, L to R:

Alicia--Her laugh makes me smile EVERY time and makes me want to hear it more. Missed her calling as: An angel. (Alicia is modeling some Harmony Art fabric.)

April--Made of pure sunshine. What a lovely spirit. Missed her calling as: Miss Congeniality.

Karen--Made of pure gold. Heart and all. Missed her calling as: A sweatshop employee, that girl can SEW!

Kathleen--I think that as long as I give her chocolate, she will keep showing up. A woman after my own heart! Missed her calling as: As a wishing star. She is just what I wished for! Missed her SECOND calling as: A fabric store owner, she pets the fabric quite often!

In Stitches

We were having a "no emissions Saturday" yesterday and I was stitching a great deal. Things were humming along. The kids had friends over to play with them, I was cranking out some 50 odd bags and then, BOOM. Ok, what happened. I walk a few steps to the play room and my little guy is standing there with his mouth wide open and no sound coming out. You know it is bad then. I noticed the blood. A lot of blood. I could tell we were in for the ER. 4 hours, 2 stitches and a few carbon emissions later we left Vanderbilt ER. All is well. He fell backward over the couch. How many times have I told him not to stand on the furniture?

Teresa

Harmony Art

Guess what I got in the mail today? A lovely box of "seconds" fabric from Harmony at Harmony Art.

Harmony read about Green Bag Lady in Postively Green and Plenty magazines and emailed to introduce herself to me. Little did we know how much we had in common, like our mutual friend Shannon from Pixel Organics.

If you are making bags, why not make them organic? Visit Harmony's website and order yourself some GORGEOUS ORGANIC fabric that you will be more than happy to tote everywhere with you!

Thank you Harmony (her blog), fellow "woman of cloth" and all around wonderful person! Teresa

California Bag!

Teresa,
I'm sorry this has taken me awhile to get to you but I'm hoping this is better late than never. I'm also going to pop a small donation in the mail to you as well to help with postage.

First off, I love the bag! Every time I use it I think of you and how your simple idea has really taken hold and has inspired GREAT things! You show us that taking steps, no matter how small they may seem, can lead to big things down the road. I applaud you!

I'm using the bag almost every day to take home my son's empty baby bottles & bibs from his babysitter's. Before, all of the bottles and dirty bibs were in a plastic bag - so just by switching to your bag, it's cutting down on ~20 plastic bags a month!!

Here's a pic of me & my son -- with our bag of course (and the bottles in the background). Thanks for helping me go green. (And you've inspired me to get other fabric bags for my grocery shopping, too... the next step is converting my husband)!

All the best,
Liz --San Diego, CA--712

Plenty Magazine!

The October-November issue of Plenty magazine just hit the news stands. There is an article in it about Green Bag Lady! Yay!

Those of you out there that are Plenty subscribers, read the article, and would like a bag, I am opening up requests for you. The first 50 that email me will get a bag.

Just send me your name, address and the page number on which the article appears and I will send you a bag. However, you will be put at the end of my backlog so it will take a couple of months for me to get one in the mail to you.

greenbagladyteresa@gmail.com

Have a great weekend. Teresa

Many WONDERFUL people!

Just a short note about all the wonderful people in my life. . .

My "bagettes" (helpers who cut, sew, iron, and laugh) April, April, Jennifer, Karen, Kathleen, Connie, Jennifer, Anna and Christina, you are all more WONDERFUL than I could ever imagine. :)

We are still working on the backlog. Be patient!

Julia Smith and Lane Easterly for more gorgeous fabric! We have enough to keep us busy for a while.

Thanks everyone! Teresa

A little math. . .

I was thinking the other day how many plastic bags will be saved by all the Green Bag Lady fabric bags we have made so far. I was driving at the time and trying to do the math in my head. My grandfather was really good at the math in the head thing. I'm really good at the math in the calculator thing so here goes:

Green Bag Lady Bags given out to date: 1730

Bags used by the average persons per year (350-500) we will just say 425 for this math problem.

1730 X 425=735,250 BAGS SAVED this year!

Now, if you all continue to use the bags (AND others that you buy/make) over the next, say, 20 years (if they last that long!), we will all save 14,705,000 bags. Yes, that's over 14 MILLION bags.

WOW. Teresa

tayst EVENT!

The wonderful owner of tayst restaurant, Jeremy Barlow, asked me to be present and hand out bags for the Food Securities Partners dinner he held last night.

The photos are of me and my helpers ("bagettes") handing out a total of 59 bags!

If you have not been to tayst yet, it is AMAZING. The food is indescribable and Jeremy (who also happens to be my neighbor) is a genius. Tayst is the only Certified Green Restaurant in Nashville. The employees are fabulous too!

Thanks tayst and keep up the great work! Teresa

Cloth Bag Project--Providence, Rhode Island

Inspired by the Green Bag Lady (www.greenbaglady.org), I have started a project with a friend, to make cloth bags out of recycled materials and hand them out for free in the greater Providence, Rhode Island area. The goal is to encourage everyone to carry a bag so that they do not need a plastic or paper one. Anyone who is interested in sewing some bags, should contact me, so that I can provide the cloth and the pattern. Or, if you have fabric that you would like to donate to the project, that would be swell. Anyone who wants a bag should contact me too. I hope that this project will grow and people all around the country will sew and share bags.

For further details, go to Providencegreen.com or e-mail me at clothbagproject@Providencegreen.com. Thank you.

Thank you.
Max Salmeron

Nashville Bag!

This is my friend Libby's adorable daughter Violet INSIDE her Green Bag Lady bag! I'm honored that the bag is filled with such precious cargo! (No, she does not carry her around in it! Don't worry!) Isn't it great that Violet's bag is purple!

Teresa

1700 Bags!

AL AR AZ CA CO CT DC DE FL GA HI IA IL IN KS KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO MS MT NC NE NH NJ NY OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VA VT WA WI WV = 45 states

plus 19 countries/territories:

West Leederville, AUSTRALIA
Summer Hill, AUSTRALIA
Dombirn, AUSTRIA
Rixensart, BELGIUM
Petropolis R.J., BRAZIL
Fortaleza, BRAZIL
Ontario, CANADA
Vancouver, CANADA
Abbotsford BC, CANADA
San José, COSTA RICA
Jaco, COSTA RICA
Havana, CUBA
Copenhagen, DENMARK
Quito, ECUADOR
Freiburg, GERMANY
Sicily, ITALY
Camp Zama Army Base, JAPAN
Monrobia, LIBERIA
Pietermaritzburg, SOUTH AFRICA
Barcelona, SPAIN
Upsala, SWEDEN
Taipei County, TAIWAN
Kampala, UGANDA
Christiansted, VIRGIN ISLANDS

Oregon Bag!

Teresa,
I love our bag, thank you so much.
Sorry it has taken me so long to get this to you.
Maybe not the best picture but it's true to life.

Sara Dickman, Hillsboro, OR

Florida Bag!

I got it!
And I've used it :>)
Chris Ernst

POSITIVELY GREEN! SEWED OUT!

I HAVE REACHED MAXIMUM REQUESTS FOR THE POSITIVELY GREEN OFFER. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST. STAY TUNED TO THE SITE FOR NEW POSTINGS! TERESA

So, those of you who are reading this that are POSITIVELY GREEN magazine subscribers and read about me and this project in the magazine might be disappointed to see that I am "sewed out."

WELL, as a special gift to those of you who subscribe to this GREAT magazine, I am going to send bags to the first 100 people who email me and request one. There is a catch though. You HAVE to be a subscriber of the magazine. How am I going to know this? Well, you have to tell me the page number that I am featured on! :)

Tell me your name, address and the page # in which my story appears in Positively Green.

The first 100 of you to do this will get a bag!

No cheating, Kelly Magill, Publisher and Editor in Chief of the magazine is one of my Nashville Green Buddies! :)

P.S. FYI, I still have a backlog of around 500 so those of you who do make a request at this point will be put on the list after those people who are still waiting for bags.

Over 1600 Bags!

AL AR AZ CA CO CT DC DE FL GA HI IA IL IN KS KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO MS MT NC NE NH NJ NY OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VA VT WA WI WV = 45 states

plus 17 countries/territories:

West Leederville, AUSTRALIA
Summer Hill, AUSTRALIA
Dombirn, AUSTRIA
Rixensart, BELGIUM
Petropolis R.J., BRAZIL
Fortaleza, BRAZIL
Ontario, CANADA
Vancouver, CANADA
Abbotsford BC, CANADA
San José, COSTA RICA
Jaco, COSTA RICA
Havana, CUBA
Copenhagen, DENMARK
Quito, ECUADOR
Freiburg, GERMANY
Sicily, ITALY
Camp Zama Army Base, JAPAN
Monrobia, LIBERIA
Pietermaritzburg, SOUTH AFRICA
Upsala, SWEDEN
Taipei County, TAIWAN
Christiansted, VIRGIN ISLANDS

New Jersey Bag!

Thank you, we got our bag (#748) and here is a picture of my daughter getting ready to go out shopping with it. She and her brother are big Sponge-Bob fans!!
Thank you, Cindi
White twp. NJ

Wedding Planner/Green Bag Lady!

Teresa, thank you for the inspiration, idea, and the pattern! I have added your idea to my businesses and now offer your bags in lieu of shopping bags. I made my first one this morning for my 11:30 appointment! here's the info on my blog http://parsonsphotoblog.blogspot.com/

Regards,
Diane Parsons
Managing Partner
Nifi's Wedding Planning, LLC
you dream big, we do the rest

Pennsylvania Bag!

I got the bag a few weeks ago and I really appreciate you sending it. My daughter and I both have Celiac Disease and do a lot of shopping at Whole Foods so I am sending a picture of her getting ready for one of our many trips to Whole Foods.

Thanks again! Liz Devlin and Erin Devlin

New Jersey Bag Lady!

Teresa--

I've been using your pattern with abandon working through some of my fabric stash. I've used them here and there, but today I took the plunge and used them for my grocery shopping!

You can see them in the attached photo - 10 miscellaneous bags bringing my groceries home! Now, my Mom wants me to make her a half-dozen bags as well!

Sarah in NJ

Georgia Bag!

Hi Teresa,

As per my commitment to you, attached is a photograph of my using the bag you made me! It’s girl’s night with my friend, Amy (she took the photo). We meet regularly for a sugar fix after her kids are asleep. This night I toted my homemade organic vanilla ice cream with homemade hot fudge sauce in my bag to her house. It has also become my ‘Doula’ bag that I take to meet clients for prenatal visits and post partum follow ups- it carries all my paperwork and birth books to loan.

Thank you for all you do! You’ve inspired me to try sewing my own fabric bags and it is a ton of fun!!
Peace & blessings, Jennifer

What to do with old scrubs. . .

Teresa,

This is a bag I made from one of the scrubs shirts that you gave me. It is filled with handmade baby quilts and receiving blankets, which I'm donating to Newborns In Need. Newborns in Need (NIN) makes and donates baby gowns, blankets, and other essential baby items to hospitals, homeless shelters and other organizations that provide for premature and newborn infants. All items are donated completely free of any charge.

Sara, Smoky Mountain Bag Lady

Nashville bags made by a former student!

Hey Teresa,
I watched your sewing demo on your blog this week and tried making some “green” bags of my own, take a look!
I was also impressed to see how far this project has progressed, truly amazing!
Margaret Elliott
Fine Art and Commissions
www.margaretelliottart.com

On a side note, Margaret just learned how to sew this summer by taking a short course in the evening at the local community college. Way to go Margaret, they look great and are so useful! I hope you start giving them away too! Teresa

Some Thank Yous!

Thank you to the following people:

Fabric donations:
My sister, Jane Van Hatten, Ariana & Sandi, and Rosemary Walker.

Labor donations from members of my Green Bag Team:
April, April, Karen, Kathleen, Connie, Jennifer, Anna, you all were amazing while I was on vacation. You made many bags while I was gone! Yay!

Monetary/stamp donations:
I won't mention names since you know who you are. You are wonderful. I will take a little moment though to thank my father profusely. He has almost single handedly paid for the cost of shipping. Where would I be without him?

And, of course, thank you again to ELNA and EMMA who are 2 of my FAVORITE COMPANIES!

Keep toting those bags, keep thinking green and watch for my next project! Teresa

Maryland Bag!

Hi Teresa,
Thank you so much for the bag! I love it and use it all the time. One our our local grocery stores even gives back 5 cents for each reusable bag! Here is a picture of me, the bag, and my two daughters are in the photo in the background! I have bag #948 and live in Cockeysville, MD (a burb of Baltimore!)

Thank you for all of your go-green efforts!
Lisa Stein

California Bag!

Thank you! I love it and use it everytime I grocery shop!

Shelly in San Diego, Bag #879

Texas Bag!

I love my green bag!! My 5 year old daughter took my pic the first time I used it to bring home dinner!

Thanks,
Amy Woodward, Bag #350
Fellowship Church - Ft. Worth, TX
Nursery & Preschool Volunteer Trainer

1400/1500 Bags!

AL AR AZ CA CO CT DC DE FL GA HI IA IL IN KS KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO MS MT NC NE NH NJ NY OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VA VT WA WI WV = 45 states

6 states to go--AK ID ND NM NV WY

plus 16 countries/territories:

Summer Hill, AUSTRALIA
Dombirn, AUSTRIA
Rixensart, BELGIUM
Petropolis R.J., BRAZIL
Fortaleza, BRAZIL
Ontario, CANADA
Vancouver, CANADA
Abbotsford BC, CANADA
San José, COSTA RICA
Jaco, COSTA RICA
Havana, CUBA
Copenhagen, DENMARK
Quito, ECUADOR
Freiburg, GERMANY
Sicily, ITALY
Monrobia, LIBERIA
Pietermaritzburg, SOUTH AFRICA
Upsala, SWEDEN
Taipei County, TAIWAN
Christiansted, VIRGIN ISLANDS

Wisconsin Bag Lady!

Hi Teresa!

I've been hooked on sewing your bags for over 2 months now! I'm attaching a picture of me with about 18 of my bags that I've made, but I think I've made at least 35+ to give away to friends and family (and to use myself!)

Thanks,
Marin Croft
Madison, WI
USA

Belgium Bags!

Two lovely Belgian girls with two lovely bags!

Rhode Island Bag!

Hi- I got your bag last week and I love it. I use it as my library bag since I got there at least once a week to get books and movies. Thank you so much for making this great bag!
Nicole Fillion, Cranston, RI

Italy Bag!

Teresa,
Long story about why it took so long to get this to you; suffice to say I had to rescue them from a dead computer.

David Ribar
Professor of Art
Belmont University

(Ok, so NOT really an Italy bag, but it IS a Nashville bag that traveled to Italy with one my colleagues, this is his lovely wife, Susan!)

Texas Bag!

Hi there, I am sorry it took me so long in sending you pictures. I could give you the long list of reasons why but the point is, here they are. Thank you so much for the bag. We have been using it and enjoying and I have been passing along your info to those who have shown interest. Thanks for all you are doing!

Rebecca Walz
North Richland Hills, Texas

FABULOUS EMMA!

These are some photos from my trip to Emma here in Nashville. The fabulous Email Marketing company thought that Green Bag Lady was a great idea and bought a serger and 10 huge spools of serger thread to help us out! Thank you SO much Emma, I had a great time visiting your workplace, meeting all the fun people and giving away over 50 bags! If you are interested in finding out more about Emma, please click on their logo to the right of this page.

Teresa

Georgia Bag!

Thank you so much for the bag. Here is a pic of me using it at a Scrapbook Expo that I recently attended. Considering all of the vendors I purchased from, I estimate that I saved 6 or 7 bags that day!!!
Connie Coleman
bag #838
Stockbridge, GA