New Hampshire Bag Lady

MERRY CHRISTMAS Teresa,

Here are some more bags made in NH and I am giving them away too, I made a label saying "GO GREEN, use cloth not paper or plastic, made by Rose Holliday"

I just wanted to THANK YOU again for the pattern and that you have created a monster in me and I am making them for all my friends and family for Christmas then I will offer them to the public too. I am so PROUD that I found you and that you have inspired me to make these lovely bags and I so love using mine for shopping even Hubby loves them. so thanks again and I hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas and a Safe New Year.

God Bless you and the family
Hugs
Rose in NH

We did it! OVER 3000!

all 50 states + DC

plus 58 cities in 35 countries/territories:

Mar del Plata BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
Agnes Water QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA
West Leederville, AUSTRALIA
Queensland, AUSTRALIA
Summer Hill, AUSTRALIA
Dombirn, AUSTRIA
Manama, BAHRAIN
Rixensart, BELGIUM
Pembroke, BERMUDA
Petropolis R.J., BRAZIL
Fortaleza, BRAZIL
North Bay ONTARIO, CANADA
Vancouver, CANADA
Abbotsford BC, CANADA
Mississauga ONTARIO, CANADA
London ONTARIO, CANADA
Ottawa ONTARIO, CANADA
Ontario, CANADA
Guelph ONTARIO, CANADA
Calgary, CANADA
Alberta, CANADA
Shanghai, CHINA
Nanjing, CHINA
San José, COSTA RICA
Jaco, COSTA RICA
Havana, CUBA
Copenhagen, DENMARK
Quito, ECUADOR
West Sussex, ENGLAND
Stockton, ENGLAND
Ramsgate KENT, ENGLAND
St. Werburghs BRISTOL, ENGLAND
Vendenheim, FRANCE
Paris, FRANCE
Freiburg, GERMANY
Hyderabad, INDIA
Nesher, ISRAEL
Sicily, ITALY
Camp Zama Army Base, JAPAN
Monrobia, LIBERIA
Naucalpan, MEXICO
Mexico City, MEXICO
Toluca, MEXICO
Aguascalientes, MEXICO
Lansingerland, NETHERLANDS
Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS
Huntly, NEW ZEALAND
Thunder Bay, Ontario, CANADA
Multan, PAKISTAN
David CHIRIQUI, PANAMA
?, SINGAPORE
Pietermaritzburg, SOUTH AFRICA
Barcelona, SPAIN
Upsala, SWEDEN
Taipei County, TAIWAN
Kampala, UGANDA
Nottingham, UNITED KINGDOM
Christiansted, VIRGIN ISLANDS

Under Bagette Kathleen's Tree!

Dear Teresa,

I wished you could see how pretty the gift bags were that you gave me. I am calling them the Gift Bags for a LEED Certified Christmas since my daughters Julie and Emily just passed the certification exam: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
I am so proud of their achievement! So here is the picture! Thanks for all the gift bags you made.

Bagette Kathleen


This is a sampling of the gift bags I have been giving out as presents this year. You get a bag of bags from the bag lady. Say that 5 times fast. How green are you this year? Leave a comment and let me know! If you have some great ideas, share, share, share!!! Green Bag Lady Teresa

Preschool Bags!

Dear Teresa,
Thank you for giving us the bags to draw on.
We are going to use them as our gift bags for moms and dads for christmas.
Inside we fill them with our art work from December.
We had fun.
Thank You!
Older Threes
Belmont Weekday School

South Carolina Bags!

Here is a picture of our bags being used. Mine is the bag with the green fruit. Mom's bag is the one that is black and yellow. We went to a few craft stores - she has a picture frame in hers and there is yarn in mine. I'm using my bag every time I take my knitting to work; it's sized perfectly for scarf projects!

Shannon Cobb (green fruit bag) and Norma S. (black & yellow).

A note from Bagette April

Hi Teresa,

We said goodbye to my grandmother, Susie, this past weekend. She was 100 years old when she died on Wednesday. What an amazing life she led! When she was a little girl, she moved with her family from Missouri to Arkansas in a covered wagon. She never drove a car and she thought the whole "man on the moon thing" was just something they made up in Hollywood. I guess when you see that much change in one lifetime there is a cut off point as to what you can believe!

This is a picture of her taken about 15 years ago with my niece and nephew.

I just remembered something that I hadn't thought about recently. I can remember my grandmother sitting at an old sewing machine and sewing when I was a child. It was one of those that you had to pump with your foot on a pedal to make the needle go up and down. Can you imagine? She made aprons and pot holders and also quilted by hand. And she had a huge garden that encompassed her entire yard - very old fashioned with rocks that she gathered for borders. She had a compost pile in the corner of the vegetable patch. She used to send me out to dump the coffee can full of peach peelings, coffee grounds, etc. when I was visiting. And she would wear a huge bonnet on her head when she worked outside - I'm pretty sure she sewed those herself too. She was green before green was cool. We used to fuss at her for saving all the wrapping paper every Christmas. And I can clearly remember getting more than one Christmas present in a cereal box wrapped in some previous year's paper. Go Grandma – I’ll miss you!

Bagette April

Bagette Karen-Bag Outreach!!!

Teresa,

The Belmont University Social Work Club decided to do a holiday party for the kindergarteners at a local elementary school. The teachers thought that would be great and could they also bring some things to the kids that they don’t have, like gloves, hats, scarves and crayons etc. The students created coloring books and I bought crayons. We also found fabulous bargains on hats and gloves and they stuffed it all in the bags.

Here are pictures of some of the 90 bags I made to take to the elementary school last week. Thanks for the inspiration and please thank Lane (Edgefield Interiors) for the fabric. All I ended up purchasing for the project was one spool of thread for a fabric I didn’t have any color even close to matching. Everything else came from my stash and the fabric I got from you, which I used every bit of. The Social Work Club was able to use all of their money on things to put in the bags.

I continue to be amazed at what children in this country go without. My daughter wants for nothing so it is easy for me to forget.

See ya,
Bagette Karen

Ohio Bag!

Teresa, Cool! Here is my bag full after some holiday shopping! Thanks again!!! Angie

Nebraska Produce Bags!

Thank you so much for the produce bags! I was able to use them today, and absolutely love putting them in my cart isntead of more plastic! I fit ten apples in it and had plenty of room to spare.

Thanks again!
Elissa
(Bellevue, Nebraska)

Gift Bags, a note from Harmony

Harmony said...
I love it that you just keep expanding the mission/vision.

For those who didn't win a Green Bag Lady gift bag, and don't sew, here are few sites where you can buy reusable fabric wrapping:

Lucky Crow
Zen Wrapping
Lagniappe Gift Wrap

When I am in need of inspiration I can always count on the greenbaglady to deliver a boast of creative, caring energy!

Harmony Susalla, Harmony Art

Argentina Bag!

Hey, Teresa!
Today I received my bag. It's very nice, thank you very much.
A big kiss for you and for Bagete Dad.
Thank you very much again.
From Argentina.
Gabriela

Florida Bag Lady!

hello teresa,
about a week ago i received my wonderful fabric shopping bag (number 2945) and was so excited to find my produce bags in the mail today, thank you!!! with you and the bagette crew as my inspiration i have decided to forego sending holiday cards and have instead made bags to send to my friends and family, i have made 40 bags so far. i have also been making smaller bags and purses with scraps that aren't big enough to make a full size bag, i even made a small produce bag with a drawstring, it's only 11 x 14, but i still use it! i am working on making a bag to attach to the handles of my sons stroller, if you have any pattern ideas let me know! i am also attaching a few pics, hope you enjoy them!

L to R, Top to Bottom

1 - AJ holding our bag after a shopping trip
2 - three more bags i made today
3 - my produce bags in use
4 - my green bag number 2945 and produce bags!!! thank you!!!
5 - my son and the bags i have made for family and friends
6 - the mini bags

Andrea Campbell

How to Give Green and Save Green

It occurred to me the other day while I was out and about that maybe I would share some of my purchasing dilemmas with all of you. I am having such a difficult time shopping this year. It is mainly because everyone I know has more than they possibly need. This includes my children. The thought of more toys, games and plastic of every shape and size infiltrating the house is just making me cringe. This is compounded by the fact that 2 of my children have birthdays within 2 weeks of December 25th. Ugh.

So, this is what is happening:

1) We, my brother and sisters and I, have decided we are not buying for each other, or our nieces and nephews this year. They have so much and we are not going to be together anyway.

2) Anyone that is getting a gift from me is getting:
a) a bag of fabric gift bags, shopping bags or produce bags
b) a gift card
c) something consumable, dark chocolate, wine, a baked good, etc.
d) a donation in their name to a charitable cause.

3) I am wrapping EVERY gift that I give, including gift cards, in fabric bags. I have been making them in every size imaginable. You probably won't believe this, but I do think that by the time I am finished making them, there will be 350+ fabric gift bags from me out there this year, the majority of them given as gifts. They are REALLY easy to make.

Have a lovely green holiday season. If you aren't convinced yet, watch this.

Teresa

Update on Gift Bag Freebie

Thank you to everyone that left comments for the gift bag give away. I just finished sewing all the ribbons on tonight. Since we had such a great response, my father, Bagette Dad, has sent emails to 20 lucky winners! We will mail the bags tomorrow so you can get them before you do your wrapping!

Green Bag Lady Teresa

South Carolina Bag!

Hi Teresa,

Tote 2482 and I found this nice stalk of brussels sprouts at the organic market today. My pre-New Years resolution is to haul the sewing machine out of the closet and make green bags for the neighbors.

Best wishes from South Carolina, Barbara

Family Bags!

Teresa,

I swear my family cannot take a decent picture! We always look like the most rag-tag, rumpled, mismatched collection that you’ve ever seen. But here we are, in all our glory with our green bags – taken at my parent’s house in Arkansas this past Friday. Post if you must. Back row, left to right, my mom – Edith, me (in my GBL shirt and holding my new Les Indiennes bag!), my sister – Gale, my sister – Denise. Front row, left to right, my sister-in-law – Linda, my niece – Betsy, my sister-in-law – Kate. I could tell you stories, oh, so many stories….

Bagette April

Sister Bags!

Dear Teresa,

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm on holiday break at my sister's house so we were finally able to get a photo of us together (attached). Allison is on the left with bag #532, and I'm on the right with bag #1691. In front are the lovely produce bags I won through one of your giveaways. We love using our cloth bags, at any and all stores. Thanks again! :)

Sincerely,
Emilyn

P.S-- Love the photos of the after school art class bag decorating. And the holiday bags look like so much fun! Great idea!