Congratulations Harborough HIT Bags for being our Featured Pod – you’ve made 8682 morsbags to date, so we asked you these questions:

Who is in your pod?

There are about 15 people – all women though we have tried to recruit men. Some have been in the pod since it started some 6 years ago. Originally we were supported by a local council officer but now we are part of a volunteer environment group and we can claim some money from them for expenses – though we try not to. We now have a podlet who meet at a retirement complex locally. In all we have sewn over 8000 bags since we started and we always celebrate every time we hit the thousand. We are already looking forward to the 10,000^th celebration.

When/where do you sew bags?

Most people do their sewing at home. We meet once a month on a Monday evening at a local Council Centre but that meeting is mainly to share fabric and information- we have a cupboard there where we can store fabric etc. At the meeting we organise events, see what labels we need and of course eat cake. Some people sew and some cut out bags. Others just chat – it does say sociable on the label!

Where did you first hear about Morsbags?

Most of us have heard about it from seeing the HIT bags stall at local events and then coming along to a meeting to check us out.

Did you think about the use of plastic bags before?

We are all keen to improve the environment and some of us are also volunteer litter pickers and river cleaners so the Morsbags ideas fitted in well.

What type of sewing machines do you use?

All sorts though we have some hand cranked ones that we use on stalls when we are giving demonstrations on how to sew bags and they are always popular with people coming up and reminiscing about their sewing days.

What was the most unusual thing you’ve made a Morsbag out of?

Shirts are good fun. We try to make a variety of bags so that all can have ones they like – men like darker colours, children like smaller ones. Some people like shorter or longer handles. We find that people can be quite fussy about the bags even though they are free.

Who was your first bagging victim?

Most people start with their families especially if they have not sewn for a while. We give them out at local events, fetes, fairs, supermarkets and every so often we go round to local businesses in the town and give them out so that staff can have them on site for lunch time shopping.

What’s your finest Morsbag moment?

Seeing people’s faces when they realise they are free and with no catch is always fun.

How do you get fabric for more bags?

We are always asking for donations of fabric when we give bags out. We have paper tags inside each bag which gives information about us. The local Council offices are willing to receive it on our behalf. We try the local curtain makers and charity shops. We have tried to publicise ourselves on the local radio and the local papers but we always are on the lookout for more. We even have our own Facebook page now. If we can’t use any fabric we are given we try to recycle it to other craft groups, schools etc. so none of it is wasted.

Congratulations Bude Baggers for being ‘Pod of the Fortnight’ – you’ve made 1400 morsbags to date, so we asked you these questions:

1) Who is in your pod?

We have 35 members

2) When/where do you sew morsbags?

We meet once a month at my house, there’s usually between 4 and 10 of us at our get togethers. People sew bags at home inbetween get togethers, and a couple of members also have bagmaking get togethers with a few of their friends as well

3) Where did you first hear about morsbags?

I saw Claire on BBC breakfast programme in 1997

4) Did you think about your use of plastic bags before?

Yes, I was already using re-useable bags, but wasn’t aware of the scale of the problem

5) What type of sewing machine/s do you use?

I use a Singer electric, other people in the pod have different makes

6) Please give 3 adjectives to describe your first morsbag.

Slow to create!

7) What was the most unusual or satisfying thing you’ve made a morsbag out of?

I made some bags out of cotton kaftans given to me by an elderly lady, who had worn them a long time ago when she lived in the middle east with her husband, who had since died. I gave her a couple of the bags I’d made and she almost cried with happiness at being able to see her kaftans again, and to use them every day, because it gave her lots of happy memories

8) Who was your first bagging victim?

My neighbour (I wasn’t brave enough to hand one to a stranger in those days!)

9) What’s been your finest morsbag moment?

The first get together I organised, because I’d spent years as a solitary bagmaker, so it was wonderful to finally have other people to make bags with!

10) Who would you like to guerilla bag most? (dead or alive)

Someone ridiculously famous and cool, like Lady GaGa, who’d be photographed with her bag all the time and so give morsbags tons of publicity!

P.S.

I got my pod in Bude going by taking bags along to a local beach clean, to give out to the volunteers. One of them suggested I start a Facebook page, which has proved vital for my pod to grow. Virtually all my pod members are local people on facebook, people post on the page almost every day, photos of bags they’ve made etc, and I use it to give dates of get togethers and so on. So our facebook page is integral to our pod working and flourishing.

I also have a continuing close connection with the beach cleaning group, as our aims complement each other, a good number of pod members have joined through being given a bag at a beach clean.