My manager got me a Cath Kidston knitting bag for Christmas! I know that it’s silly and probably materialistic of me, but now that I’ve got something fabulous to cart some yarn up to my parents’ in, I’m looking forward to some holiday knitting. I have to decide on a project pronto, though, as I leave for Coventry in the morning…

Photo: knit me a moustache!, by splityarn

Tasked with knitting a Sackboy for my darling husband (you’ll be hearing all about this, don’t you worry), I decided to visit Lana Pura again. I ordered on Thursday at 5.30pm – the postman rings the doorbell on Saturday morning and hands me my yarn. And it’s free delivery! I had ordered some yarn sewing needles that cost 95p; I opened my parcel to find a hand written note from Alison telling me that these needles were out of stock and she hoped that I would accept a knitter’s starter kit, which contained sewing needles, instead. This kit was not only £4.60, but contained a few little ingredients that I was getting around to buying anyway.

Beautiful yarn, fantastic customer service, quick delivery, and an ace reduced section – if you knit or crochet, visit Lana Pura right now!

I love this French company’s products. They’re so clever it’s almost annoying, but their stuff is also charming and silly. It took me ages to decide what to pick from their website to show you here – I chose the magic hat tissue box. But I could have chosen the sponge microphone, water spill coaster, miss world t-shirt or surface of the moon rug, and you’d have been just as intrigued.

They deliver pretty fast considering it’s from France, but order in plenty of time because it could take a while to arrive. It’s sort of all the silly things you get in silly arty shops over here, but a bit fresher.

This year I am saving up my carbon karma and holidaying without any flying, and it has turned out so far to be no sacrifice. We took the Eurostar to Bruges and Provence, and loved it. Somehow the old fashioned glamour of train travel, generally now all but lost, is revived when you can whizz along in comfort and end up in Avignon by lunchtime. Keeping local, we’ve got a weekend planned in Dorset, and one picking apples and making cider on a farm in Herefordshire. In my head I have planned and imagined countless more, if only I had the time and money!

Here’s a selection of my favourite ethical travel picks:

Taste the Wild – foraging, wild food and bushcraft courses, in probably my favourite part of the country, the North Yorkshire coast.

Cider making – this is an article about a cheap (and boozy) weekend, camping for free at a cider farm in exchange for helping with the harvest and cider making. This is Broome Farm in Herefordshire, but I’m sure many farms do a similar thing.

National Trust working holidays – learning to build dry stone walls, planting trees, maintaining footpaths in some of the UKs most lovely spots for the good old National Trust.

Green Traveller – great site full of ideas for green and ethical holidays

Intrepid Travel – excellent, responsible adventure travel company.

Under the Thatch – the most amazing, charming self catering accommodation, from Romany caravans to retro Scandinavian forest cabins. A great ethical company, with all profits used to preserve historic buildings.

The Man in Seat 61 – amazingly helpful site all about how to travel the world by train and boat.

Fforest – possibly the best campsite in the country?

Nothing to see here – I love this blog some of the world’s lesser-signposted places to go. It has lots of my favourites: Shipley Glen Tramway, the Keswick Pencil Museum, Saltburn-on-Sea. Not ethical travel in the usual sense, but it’s important to value and preserve these odd little places.

Recently at a village fete style event run by the lovely live art people Home, I met a lady called Izzy Lane, who rescues sheep which would otherwise be killed due to such crimes as being male, missing a pregnancy, being too lame, small, old or otherwise ‘flawed’ (it’s not only us humans under pressure to be perfect, you know). Once Izzy has rescued these shat-upon sheep, she uses their wool to produce gorgeous clothes. Izzy says she has a passion for “great clothes, animals and Britain”. That pretty much sums up my own interests, too.

I’m having fashion palpitations over her cashmere waistcoat above. It’s £148, which puts a slight dampener on things, although I do think that’s an excellent price. Everything is right about this piece – the goats are happy, the design is perfect, the construction looks beautiful, it’s probably softer than snow. I did just spend around this amount of money on a bowl from the new Rob Ryan shop, Ryantown, but I’m already paranoid about it breaking, and let’s face it, I’m not going to wear a bowl out or have to get it dry-cleaned, so my damage paranoia can be contained (just like my apples). If I had this waistcoat, I’d only be able to wear it in sterile situations.

So for now I’ll just stare longingly at this picture.

Sigh.

Luckily it’s getting easier as more and more labels with watertight ethical credentials are appearing, and getting more publicity. Gradually I hope, it will become normal and we won’t have to do so much detective work before we can shop worry free.

So, it’s time to share a few of my favourite ethical shopping picks with you – nice timing at the moment as there are quite a few summer sales going on. Each month or so I’ll be posting more picks.

Fashion Conscience – the picture above is from this UK based online boutique, a great one stop shop.
Howies – most days I am wearing something from Howies! They do great organic jeans, t shirts and laid back clothing and they are awfully nice.
Annie Greenabelle – Very cute retro themed clothing in organic, fairtrade and reused fabrics. Stocked at Equa and the Topshop Oxford Circus concession.
Toms – I bought the loveliest pair of simple summer shoes from Toms. They work with communities in Argentina and South Africa and for every pair sold, they give a pair to a child in need
Enamore – very glamorous label with fancy underwear and vintage styled dresses in organic and sustainable fabrics.

A lot like a UK based Etsy, this is a place to buy and sell items by crafters and small designers. There’s also a making section which will showcase how to guides and stories about the making of items on the site. Currently there’s a good showing of work for sale from design graduates. Here’s my picks:
Saturday Morning screenprinted tote bag by Mr.PS, 300 plate by CJ O’NeillAlice in Wonderland moleskin notebooks by Champignons, Laminated chair by Jamie Ward, all on Folksy.

I was so excited to get the kit – just look at that gorgeous strawberry print Liberty lining fabric! And I am happy to report that the process of making up the skirt, and the finished item are lovely too.

I’m a novice sewer – I’ve made many bags and bits and bobs, but this was my first attempt at something I would actually wear, and only my second ever zipper, so I was a bit nervous it would turn out wonky or funny. This is where the Clothkits concept comes into it’s own though. The pattern is screenprinted straight onto the fabric, so you just cut out along the line for your size, which helps ensure you get it right and avoids those intimidating, unwieldy paper patterns. All the linings and notions needed are included, so you can be sure it will all work together, and the instructions provided are clear and illustrated with photos, that makes it as straightforward as anything.

I worked slowly and carefully through, and lo and behold, there was my skirt! It fits me just right, hangs rather well too, and I think it looks just dandy with my Alexander Henry print boots. Hmm, my adoption of my toddler self as style icon is off to a good start!

For any other spoon lovers out there, feed your habit.

via Poppy Talk Handmade’s Green Pop