Period Poverty: Part 1

     In my previous post I mentioned about what I am passionate about, and that is period poverty.  I will go into more detail about that in today's post and it will go over several other posts.  So, let's get started.

    I know that some people may be uncomfortable with this topic.  But, it is something that needs to be addressed.  Some of you may have heard of such organizations like Days For Girls, On the Dot, Period Project and the Pad Project just to name a few.  Days for Girls, for example,  provide reusable menstrual products to girls in places like Africa.  Girls miss school once a month due to their lack of supplies and end up falling behind.  The result is that all too often, girls drop out of school.  In many places, period products are considered luxury items and therefore, many do without because they can not afford them.  Sadly, in many cultures, girls are shamed when they have their periods.  Some even have to live elsewhere each month because she is considered "dirty".  

Let's look at some numbers, shall we? The rate for girls who miss school on a monthly basis due to their cycles is 20% in Ghana, Ethopia and Sierra Leone.  In Nepal, South Africa and Afghanistan it's 30%.  40% in Sengel, 50% in Kenya and in India the rate is a whopping 70%.  But it doesn't just happen in the really poor areas of the world.  1 in 7 girls miss school in the U.K. and even here,  in the United States, that number is higher, at 1 in 5 girls.

The average female will menstruate about 40 years.  She will spend roughly $13.25 per month on supplies.  That is $159 per year and over 40 years comes to $6,360.  That's not all.  Thirty-one states even charge sales tax on menstrual products.  Thankfully, for us in Pennsylvania, we don't have to.  And to add insult to injury, government aid programs like Snap and Wic,  classify pads and tampons as luxurious and places them under the category like cigarettes, pet food and alcohol and therefore do not qualify. That is just unreal to me.  After all 50% of the population menstruates.  It is a part of life.  Why the shame?  Why the unfairness of the way women are being treated?  If men got periods would we even be having this discussion?  I don't think so.  

There is another charity called Cloth Connection Outreach that I have been a part of for several years.  It is based in Michigan.  I came across it on facebook.   Donors sew reusable menstrual products and send them to Michigan.  From there, they go into kits.  Those in need can fill out an application and a kit will be shipped to them.  All they pay is shipping.  If they can't even afford the cost of shipping, which is about $8, a donor will sponsor that person and cover the fee.  Over the past 4 years or so, I have made and donated more than 300 reusable pads.  

    I will continue this topic over the next week or so.  Please stop back to learn more on this topic.

Downsizing

 I have decided to make some changes to my Etsy shop.  I want to pair down my listings and just focus on the favorite things I enjoy making.  With that being said, I am going to be making bags.  I love bags, from messenger bags, tote bags, cinch sacs, drawstring bags and more.  I also enjoy doing zipper pouches, baskets, pillows and pillowcases.  I will still offer crocheted items.   So, stay tuned and visit  my Etsy shop on a regular basis as I will be putting many items on clearance to make room for the things I will be focusing on.  

My main goal of my shop is so that I can continue to focus on what I am passionate about and that is period poverty.  Girls, even in the United States, miss school because of not having the menstrual supplies they need.  I am working on providing kits with reusable menstrual pads to donate to those in need.  I was part of a group that made and donated products for anyone who requested one and they just pay the shipping fee. It was based in a different state and I want to do something local in my community. I will be talking more about that in the near future.

Spring Sale!!!

 It's finally spring!  I am so excited for cooking on the grill, hiking, camping and just enjoying nature.  I'm even excited about yard work, lol.  I even mowed the lawn 3 times already.  I love the the sound of lawn mowers.  Is that weird?  

I have been busy working on my Etsy shop and updated a few things.  Right now I am running a sale through May 13th.  10% off with a min order of $15.  Plus, free shipping on all orders $35 or more.

Here some of the things I just recently added to my shop.

cup cozy

decorative pillow

face scrubbies

pan protectors

As I mentioned in my previous post, my son has made a backpack.  He also made a pillow for himself and his sister.  Last year, when he was in 6th grade he had Family Consumer Science (formerly called Home Ec, for older folks, lol)  He loved that class.  They did some cooking and hand sewing.  Unfortunately, it is only for 1 marking period.  He just had this class last marking period for 7th grade.  This time they learned to use the sewing machine.  He already had a head start as last year he made some zipper pouches using my sewing machine.  He sold them and donated the money to the Ronald McDonald's House in nearby Hershey, PA  In his class he made a full size pillow.  He did a fabulous job and made another at home using flannel this time and he even made a pillow for his older sister.  Here are his projects.

Pillow using license plate print

Pillow he made for his sister using NYC print

pillow with flannel fabric

Bags, Bags and More Bags

I will admit that I have an addiction to bags.  I just love them.  I have so many that I don't even count them anymore.😀 I've been using reusable tote bags for grocery shopping for years.  We have a tote bag that we use to go to our local library.  I have some that I use for crochet projects I take on the go.  I don't think you can't walk in any room in our house and not find a tote bag, well maybe in the bathroom.  😅  I also have messenger bags that I use  and some cinch sac backpacks.  My son even made himself a backpack.  Here are some photos of some of the bags I've made, and most are all on Etsy.

Backpack

Backpack

Messenger Bag, flap closed

Messenger Bag(flap open, 3 pen/stylus pockets, front pocket)

Reversible tote bag

reversible tote bag, other side 

Baskets

I really like  making baskets.  There are so useful too.  I have some in the kitchen (stores extra batteries), in my sewing room (holds all of my smaller accessories), with my crochet things (holds my current ball of yarn), kids have them in their rooms as well.  Hannah has some to hold her hair accessories, make-up, nail polish and more).  Here are some that I have listed in my Etsy shop. I like to fold the top down about 2 inches or so to add some contrast.

New Year, New Skills

So, I apologize once again for not keeping this blog updated.  I am still here.  I was pretty busy in December as I had a 12 days of Christmas event that I held in my FB group.  I've had some sells on Esty.  I started an Instagram account as well.  I am easy to find anywhere as everything uses the name CraftScrappy.
I've been learning some new skills both in sewing and in crocheting.  In the sewing world, I've been  making some messenger bags and learned how to do an adjustable strap.  At first I thought it was going to be a daunting task but after watching a youtube video from CraftyGemini, I was finally able to figure it out.  In the crocheting world, I've learned some new stitches.  I've learned Tunisian Crochet.  My favorite is the knit stitch, but there are many others, Simple Stitch, Extended Stitch  Reverse Simple Stitch, Honeycomb, Smock and Full Stitch.  There may be more, but these are the ones I learned.  I made swatches of each so I know what each stich looks likes so I know what I would like a project to look like.  I also learned the C2C, which means Corner 2 Corner.  Instead of working in rows, you start at a corner, and add a square to each row until it is as wide as you want it, then you decrease by one square until you reach the opposite corner that you started from.  This stitch works up quickly.  I've made a shawl and a blanket using this stitch.  I'm now tackling my first graph C2C, which means there is a design in the pattern.
At the end of 2019 I came across Temperature Blankets.  I had no idea what there were, but I am now making one for 2020.  What you do is make a chart using a temperature range (10-19, 20-29, 30-39, etc) and assign each temperature range a color.  Then each day, crochet or knit a row using the color based on that day's temperature.  Now since there are 365 days (this year 366) you will have that many rows.  Therefore a pretty big blanket.  I decided to use a single crochet stich for my rows.  Living in PA I started my color guide at single digits, but thankfully this year, I only had to start in the 20's.  We've had quite a mild winter.  Mainly 30's & 40's even some 50's and 60's!   Grey is 20's, Blue, 30's, Green 40's, Pink 50's and Yellow 60's.

Temperature Afghan in progress

C2C finished block

C2C block in progress