Homeless benefit from seniors' project to upcycle grocery bags
A group of seniors at The Fountains at La Cholla recycles grocery bags by cutting them into strips and crocheting sleeping mats for homeless people.
Homeless benefit from seniors' project to upcycle grocery bags
Girl scouts Claire Sugiyama, left, and Sydney Kurpiewski help show off a completed mat. The girls have help the team by flattening big batches of grocery bags so they can be cut into strips.
Homeless benefit from seniors' project to upcycle grocery bags
Alice Wilse, left, gets help finishing off her mat from Norma Brewster. Wilse is functionally blind but is still able to crochet the mats. She just needs a bit of help at the end.
Homeless benefit from seniors' project to upcycle grocery bags
Norma Brewster works on a mat. The ball at the left of the photo is made of strips of plastic grocery bags tied together in a very specific way so the knot is small enough not to hinder the crochet hook and won't be felt by the person using the mat.
Homeless benefit from seniors' project to upcycle grocery bags
Jean Brown chats with her friends as she prepares to work on her mat.
Homeless benefit from seniors' project to upcycle grocery bags
Judellen Thornton, left, cuts the grocery bags into strips for the team. She is sitting with Margaret Dorner who is working on a mat. The strips have to be the same width and have no holes, because that would weaken them.
Homeless benefit from seniors' project to upcycle grocery bags
Betty Schabel, left, and Jennie Gardner tie the strips of grocery bags together and roll them into balls of "yarn" for the team to use when they crochet the mats.
Homeless benefit from seniors' project to upcycle grocery bags
Joyce Willey ties bag strips together to make balls of "yarn." Here, she is working on removing a knot that was either too big or caused a loop in the strip.
Homeless benefit from seniors' project to upcycle grocery bags
Jean Brown works on a mat.
Homeless benefit from seniors' project to upcycle grocery bags
Homeless benefit from seniors' project to upcycle grocery bags
A mat in the early stages with a ball of bag strips ready to be crocheted into the mat. The team uses larger hooks like the blue on to the right of the mat to work with this unique material.
Homeless benefit from seniors' project to upcycle grocery bags
This mat was made by the late Dwaine Greer, who was once a professor of art education and textiles at the University of Arizona. Greer was a resident of The Fountains at La Cholla and started the project of making mats for homeless people out of grocery bags. His mats were quite artistic when he could find bags of various colors.
Homeless benefit from seniors' project to upcycle grocery bags
This mat was made by the late Dwaine Greer, who was once a professor of art education and textiles at the University of Arizona. Greer was a resident of The Fountains at La Cholla and started the project of making mats for homeless people out of grocery bags. His mats were quite artistic when he could find bags of various colors.
Homeless benefit from seniors' project to upcycle grocery bags
Some completed mats that will soon be donated via a homeless shelter.
Homeless benefit from seniors' project to upcycle grocery bags
Alice Wilse shows off her completed mat. It is large enough for a larger person or someone with a pet.
Homeless benefit from seniors' project to upcycle grocery bags
Sydney Kurpiewski and Claire Sugiyama flatten grocery bags so they are more easily cut into strips. The two girl scouts met the team when they sold cookies at The Fountains. They returned to help with preparation work as one of their projects.
Homeless benefit from seniors' project to upcycle grocery bags
The sleeping mats are easy to fold or roll up and carry because they are very light weight.
Those pesky plastic grocery bags are all over the place. We see them blowing around on the street.