Cloth shopping bags.

Gill Murray ,in rec.crafts.textiles.needleworkwrote: and entertained us with

Sobeys started out down here with a couple of stores and grew. It is more or less a 'local' in some ways. They are somewhat like your Publix, they do seem to care if you feel strongly about things.

A couple of years ago I happened to wander through the Floral section. Now I did realize they are a franchise type of effort, it's not actually Sobeys selling the flowers and plants. However I saw some kids picking up these glass blocks and shaking them. Went over to look and lo and behold, it's a mini tropical fish tank, with a LIVE fish inside.

I came home and emailed their customer line. Dammit, you couldn't even feed the fish, there was no opening to do so, so no air either. They were a totally 'disposable' item to buy for kids !!!

They were gone a couple of hours later. I'm not sorry for the person who brought them in, they should never have created a market for them in the first place.

Arrggh - what are some people thinking these days? I expect there are parents out right now buying day old chicks for their kids for Easter!

Went over to

That is just terrible.

the fish, there was no opening to do so, so no air either.

Just goes to show, sometimes good common sense needs to be pointed out to other people, and once in a blue moon someone listens and it actually makes a difference! So kudos to you for making a positive difference in the world.

People really do this? I was kinda hoping it was an outdated practice only revived for sitcom purposes. We live and learn.

Arnhild

p.s. my mother has cloth shopping bags, and I think she has gotten most of them free from different companys as advertising objects.

Not legally they're not. At least not in this state.

The custom wasn't all that bad when dyed chicks for Easter were introduced -- the majority of people lived on farms, or had parents who still farmed, and everybody knew how to take care of a baby chick. The biggest problem then was that nearly all of the dyed chicks grew up to be roosters.

Joy Beeson

This discussion has reminded me of the string bags women used for shopping when I was a little girl. Some used baskets, which are still available, but I haven't seen the old string bags for years.

Are they still available, or does anyone know how to make them?

Rosemary in Melbourne, Australia (hoping they weren't just a local thing)

Meh, if you've strolled past your local Tropehagen Zoo lately, I'm sure you've noticed the recent influx of kaninburer and hay and the bunnies themselves available to buy.

Wait a week or two and check Finn.no in the Gis Bort section. It's going to be full of cages and bunnies.

You weegies and yer damned bunnies, I tells ya... Becky A.

I can't lay my hands on the booklet with the instructions, but I remember enough to tell you how to fake it.

Buy some crochet cotton and chain a circle. Then chain umpteen loops going into that circle. (I'd say, make loops till you run out of room in the circle.) On each round, slip stitch across the first loop to the halfway point, then begin chaining a loop into each loop in the round before. Ad nauseum or until you're about to run out of crochet cotton, whichever comes first. Then affix sturdy handles of some sort.

Size of loops would depend on what you're buying. Obviously, you could get away with larger holes in the bag if you're planning to buy pineapples than if you're planning to buy peppermint sticks and cherry tomatoes.

I remember my grandmother making and using string shopping bags. It's a long time ago but I think she also used the same pattern to create string vests - very warm in the winter. But the pattern is now long gone I am afraid.

Alison

I googled string shopping bags and came up with dozens of places to purchase them. Here's one that looked interesting:

Lucille

Anyone know of any directions for crocheting these? I admit to being knitting challenged.

Donna in Virginia

That sounds like it would produce something just like I remember.

Rosemary :)

Thanks all for your help with this. It looks like I can try to recreate a memory and do something useful too. :)

Rosemary

Buy the linen yarn and get the shopping bag pattern free

I've also used the same free pattern to make several with Sugar N Cream cotton yarn. They come out larger and softer, but not as strong as the linen yarn.

They make great gifts too!

Nyssa At River's End

I made a bunch of these for myself many years ago. I took the measurements of the base of a paper shopping sack and crocheted a rectangle that size, using bedspread cotton and double crochet stitch. Then, I made the sides using a fishnet stitch (ten chain, then sc into the row below, IIRC) and finished off with single crochet handles. However I very rarely use them except for something both large and light, as I find the handles tend to cut into my fingers if I carry them for any length of time. Some of them still live in the trunk of my car, the rest in my hall closet, but I find I prefer the canvas ones.

Olwyn Mary in New Orleans.

George,

Your mention of the different stitches at the end of your post has reminded me that I think we call crochet stitches different names, or worse than that use the same name for a different stitch. :)

I'm sure I can find a conversion though. Otherwise I'd get a different, but still useful, result.

Thanks again all.

Rosemary

Sounds good to me. That page wouldn't load for me. I'll try again later. Thank you all.

Bye for now.

Rosemary

True enough, Rosemary. I assume you use the Europian/UK conventions.