Organic Cotton - Where to Buy

So, you're feeling bad about all the chemicals in your conventional cotton stash and you want to explore the possibilty of using some organic cotton. Where do you start?
If you're a quilt maker you want some nice prints.
To date the manufacturers of organic cotton have concentrated mainly on nursery prints.One of the leading manufacturers of printed organic cotton is Cloud9. They produce the elephant print shown above.
Cloud9 is not only committed to producing organic cotton designs, it ensures thay are printed with low impact dyes.
This is what their website says about the dyeing process:
"Conventional dyeing and printing uses a myriad of toxins, including heavy metals, benzene, formaldehydes and organochloridess. The process requires large quantities of water to wash out the residues, which is then dumped into the local waters of the mills. Cloud9 Fabrics are printed with low impact dyes, which are petroleum based. Although they are made from a synthetic material, they are considered to be more eco-friendly in comparison to natural dyes for many reasons. One of the interesting benefits of using low impact dyes is they have a higher absorption rate, which means less dyestuff is actually required to adhere to fibers which also results in a lighter, softer fabric. Likewise, low impact dyes don't require toxic chemical mordantss to fix the color to the fabrics as do natural dyes. Low impact dyes are often reclaimed from the liquid waste and the water is recyclable. Another added benefit is that they require less heat which saves energy."
Cloud9 regularly bring out new ranges, which are on trend for quilters and sewists alike.
I particularly like the Simpatico range, which has a variety of geometric designs like the one below.

 

Other producers of printed organic cottons include Birch Fabric

 

 Timeless Treasures - wouldn't this treasure map be wonderful for a boy's bedroom!

 Monaluna

Amy Butler

and of course Robert Kaufman produces a great range of solids.

So, where in the UK can you buy these lovely organic fabrics?
The shops I have listed below are, I'm sure not the only ones, they are just the ones I have used so far.
They are in no particular order.
The Village Haberdashery
Backstitch
Eternal Maker
Fabric Rehab
Raystitch
Saints and Pinners (sadly not many anymore)

If you want to buy from the US then probably Fabricworm has the best selection.

Happy fabric hunting :)

Why Should You Choose Organic Cotton?

Cotton is cotton, right? We choose it for the print, the cheaper it is the more we can buy, so as long as it's 100% cotton that's OK then, isn't it?
Unfortunately, no, it's not OK.. Cotton is not the pure, natural fibre we often think it is.
It is true that cotton, is a natural fibre.It  has been grown for centuries around the world and accounts for half the world’s fibre consumption, but the average “100% cotton” product actually contains only 73% cotton. The remaining 27% consists of chemicals, resins, and binders which are used in the farming and manufacturing of the cotton.
Modern methods of cotton farming can no longer be called natural. The amount of land used to grow cotton hasn’t changed since the 1930s, but yields have been increased 300 percent through hybridization, intensive land management and use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers.
It now takes roughly 150 grams (a third of a pound) of pesticide and fertiliser to grow the cotton for a single T shirt.
Conventionally grown cotton is the third most heavily treated crop in the US behind corn and soy beans. It uses 25% of the world's insecticide and 11% of the world's pesticide.
The US Environmental Protection Agency categorizes seven of the 15 most common pesticides used on cotton in the US as “possible,” “likely,” “probable,” or “known” human carcinogens.According to the World Health Organization, 20,000 individuals die of cancer or suffer miscarriages each year in developing countries as a result of the chemicals sprayed on conventional cotton. Farm workers around the world are suffering from serious health problems relating to an over exposure to hazardous pesticides, including asthma, neurological damage and cancer.
Chemical toxins are a growing problem, and have replaced bacteria and viruses as the main threat to health, according to Dr. Dick Irwin, a toxicologist at Texas A&M University.
Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS) is a syndrome of medical conditions ranging from mild to life-threatening and include headache, trouble concentrating, memory problems, nausea, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, dizziness, irregular heart beat, and seizures. Usually the symptoms fade between exposures, but some people have the symptoms all the time. MCS symptoms in children include red cheeks and ears, dark circles under the eyes, hyperactivity, and behavior or learning problems.

Researchers have long known that chemical toxins can be stored and accumulated in the fatty tissue and organs such as the liver. MCS is thought to be a result of the chemical “straw that breaks the back” of our body’s natural ability to purify and remove toxins and it causes a temporary or prolonged breakdown in the body’s natural balance.

The discomfort from chemical sensitivities might be triggered by a wide range of causes such as the off-gassing of chemicals from a new carpet or new, fabric-covered office partitions, lawn pesticides, cleaning solvents,laundry detergents, perfumes or clothing grown and manufactured with toxic chemicals. Nothing is closer to our bodies than our clothing and our clothes today are too often chemical toxin storehouses.
As well as directly impacting on out health, the chemicals used in cotton production are an environmental hazard. Pesticides used on conventional cotton crops are well known for seeping into local streams, rivers and even public water supplies.

So now I've made you really concerned about that lovely new quilt you've just made, or the fabric bundles you have been sniffing the new smell of, how is organic cotton different?

Organic Cotton is grown without the use of pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, or genetic engineering. It is certified by an accredited independent organization.

Instead of these toxic chemicals, organic farmers use beneficial insects, crop rotation, compost, and weed by hand  in order to build soil quality, enhance biodiversity and protect the air and water on which we depend.

Genetically modified seed is never used. Crop rotation builds a strong soil, so plants are healthier.Weeds are removed by hoeing rather than with chemicals. Trap crops are used to lure insects away from the cotton. Farmers wait for frosts to defoliate the plants and allow them to harvest the cotton rather than chemical inducements.Much less water is used in the production of organic cotton.

Organic cotton feels softer than conventional cotton, but it has all the qualities and strength of conventional cotton.
It is true that it can sometimes cost a little more, and that print designs and colour choices are more limited. The amount of organic cotton available to the quilter, sewist and knitter has increased enormously over the last few years. More ranges, more colourways and more suppliers are to be found every few months. So , if you see an organic fabric you like - vote with your feet and buy it!
Ask your local quilt shop if they would consider stocking some organic ranges.
It doesn't have to be a case of "all or nothing". Use conventional cotton when you have to. I have been trying to buy organic rather than conventional cotton for the past five years. The conventional purchases still outweigh the organic, but the gap is slowly closing. If we all opt for the organic choice whenever it's a perfectly good fit for the item we want to make, particularly if we are making for babies or children, we will be influencing the trend towards organic, playing our part in helping the environment and helping to minimise the health hazards presented by conventional cotton.

As you can tell from the length of this post, this is a subject I'm pretty passionate about. This is the first of a series of posts on organic cotton.Tomorrow and over the next few days I shall look at the organic choices that are out there, both for quilters and sewists in general, and  I shall review organic yarn choices that are available for knitters.
Have a good weekend, and if you are off to purchase some stash - look at the organic options!!!!!

Quilting for Project Linus

If you've been following my BlogtoberFest posts this week you'll know that i'm making a quilt for Project Linus this month.
It's totally scrappy and most of the fabric has been donated to me. Whilst I've been cutting up the little squares of fabric needed for the quilt I've been thinking a lot about Project Linus, the children who receive the quilts and the co-ordinators who liase with the hospitals or refuges to distribute the quilts.
Project Linus was started in 1995 in the United States with the mission to provide comfort, love and a sense of security to children who are seriously ill, traumatised, or otherwise in need.
The project takes its name from the character in the comic strip Peanuts who was always seen clinging ti his security blanket.
In the UK there are several Regional Centres where donated quilts are collected and distributed to local children in need. I know the quilts received in my area go to Heartlands hospital in Birmingham, a teenage unit in Moseley and Charles House care home among other places.
The quilt I am making is not specifically for a child. It could easily be given to an older child or teenager and would last them into adulthood.
Whilst thinking about the project I coincidentally got an email notification from Amazon this morning advertising a book which is due to be published in a few weeks time which is all about Project Linus.
The book Quilt it With Love has several projects to make and tells some heartwaming stories about the children who have received quilts in the past. The projects are fun and vibrant and would cheer any child. Many have hidden extras like little pockets or double up as a game, but others are simple enough for a beginner to make.
Needless to say, the book is now on my Amazon Wishlist, and I look forward to making a really fun quilt for Linus in the near future.

Compton Verney

 

No rotary cutting tiny 2 1/2" squares or even decorating for me today. I had a glorious day out with a good friend to Compton Verney in Warwickshire. We were so lucky with the weather and were able to enjoy beautiful autumnal sunshine all day long. Compton Verney is an art gallery housed in what was until relatively recently a derelict historical mansion.The house has been in existance for over 500 years. What we see of it today was designed by a famous Scottish architect, Robert Adam, and the grounds were laid out by Capability Brown.
When we arrived, we happened to notice that there was a guided tour of the grounds about to take place, so we abandoned our plans to browse the gallery and joined the tour instead.

The tour went at a leisurely pace and it was so very pleasant standing in the autumnal sunshine listening to the history of the grounds.

The sun shone on the lake, and we appreciated it all the more knowing that days like this are surely at their end for this year, and that the next time we visit it is likely to be a lot colder and grey skied.

We learned about the restoration of the Ice House, which is in effect a large covered pit . In winter ice would be taken from the lake and stored in the ice house, where it stayed frozen ready for use in the kitchens during the summer before the days of the modern fridge!

The ice house is no longer used to store ice, but looks wonderful with a new thatched roof, and has a new purpose as it has become the home to a few bats.

All in all, it was a lovely day out, a well needed break from the sewing and decorating and a memorable way of saying goodbye to summer



Scrap Attack!

OK, It's Blogtoberfest Day 2 and I've been planning my Linus Scrappy quilt.
I haven't actually made a scrappy quilt before! I've made "thoughtfully random" quilts, but never one with the intention of using up lots and lots of scraps - and I have a lot that need using up, believe me!

So, I Googled scrappy quilts this morning and came across a book called "Cut the Scraps"
I did the "Look Inside" thing, and started to read some extracts. The author starts to talk about how we all save our scraps, but then start to feel guilty about them. She says "Echoes from childhood remind us - Eat everything on the plate, don't let anything go to waste - you paid good money for that, don't throw it away. It's the same thing with our fabric stash. Those voices warn: Don't waste, save the leftovers, you might need that someday, be frugal. But the scrap piles continue to grow. Unused the scraps accumulate in bags and boxes and seem to take on a life of their own."

The "eat everything on the plate" analogy resonated with me - not so much as something I think of myself, but as being exactly what my mother would have said! My scrap guilt is weird, to say the least! I look at my scraps and think to myself - "Just imagine, if I died tomorrow, how awful and embarrasing it would be for my children to have to sort through all those scraps! They just wouldn't understand!" Can you be embarrasssed from the grave?
Anyway, the author went on to say that you should cut your scraps into 3 different sizes ready to use.
I just can't do that! That piece that I just cut up might have been the perfect size for a later project.
I didn't buy the book, but I did enjoy reading the excerpts.
I settled on a Scrap Vomit style quilt similar to the one in Katy from I'm a Ginger Monkey's tutorial here

It uses 2 1/2" squares and as I like using Jelly Rolls, I have a lot of pieces that are already 2 1/2" wide.
I decided this is the moment to break into my Klona Solids bundle that I bought at the Festival of Quilts a few weeks ago, and I chose a navy and a turquoise solid, which I will use in every alternate block to give it some continuity.





I will need more than just a fat quarter of each, so I've ordered some more from Backstitch. I guess that makes it not completely scrappy, but never mind, I'm having fun!
I've sorted and pressed the scraps, and tomorrow I'll find time in between the decorating to start cutting all those little squares.

BlogtoberFest

Wow! It's October already, and time for Blogtoberfest. This is being hosted by Kat at I Saw You Dancing. The idea is that you challenge yourself to write a blog post every day throughout October.

As it says on her blog, the aims are to :
* challenge yourself to blog every day for 31 days
* discover kindred blogging spirits
* carve out a tiny slice of time each day to write and to read
* share any creative projects you have on the go
* host a giveaway, if you feel inclined to spread the love
There are over 200 participants so far!

For me, this will be a very big challenge indeed! I write plenty of blog posts in my head, but not a lot of them materialise in blogland.
Realistically I don't think I'll make the 31, but I'll give it my best shot, and we'll see in a month's time how well I've done.
It's going to be a busy month - I'm in the middle of decorating a bedroom, I have the garden and veg plot to tidy up ready for the winter, I have two new knitting patterns in my head that just need writing up and testing, and a whole load of samples to make for a talk that I'm giving early in November, but Hey Ho, nothing ventured, nothing gained, as they say..

To help me have a focus for these blog posts I'm thinking of making a couple of quilts for Linus - one totally scrappy and one with some simple rotary cut blocks. I think making and sharing my progress  with you on these will actually take less time than me procrastinating over finding something different to write about each day.
I just hope I make it past Day 2 !!
If you want to join in the fun, just sign up here

Bee in my Bonnet Row Along - Rows 2 and 3

Hurray! I've caught up with the Row Along Quilt over at Bee in my Bonnet at last!

Although there is only one row every two weeks, I missed Row 2 when I was holiday, and I really wanted to get up to date so I've spent the past couple of days doing rows 2 and 3.

I find it so relaxing just following instructions sitting with the laptop next to my sewing machine, but I have to admit I'm not used to working on such a small scale as these tiny blocks.

The squares for the easy triangles in both rows were just 1 1/2" square.

 

There were 44 of the little blighters to rotary cut and draw diagonal lines on for Row 2 and 48 for Row 3! To be honest I didn't mind the cutting and marking. It was the sewing that I found rather challenging. If your accuracy is not quite 100% on, say, 4" blocks, you can usually fudge the piecing and make them line up (or is it just me that does this?). But with really tiny blocks there is no room for fudging!
The seam ripper has been put to good use over the last few days... first, the butterfly row ended up too long! Lori told us to measure the completed blocks before joining them.... and I did! No, I hang my head in shame - I measured the first butterfly block I completed... I got too complacent after that, so it serves me right that I had to undo quite a few of them!

They did all fit second time round, and when they got their borders added and I placed the row next to row 1....

..... I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

I carried straight onto Row 3, feeling quietly confident as the tutorial said it was only a filler row - one that could be done in an afternoon. Well, yes, I did manage it in an afternoon - first time round! Again, accuracy was my problem. I've been very selective about which bit of the row I photographed here! - no, that's not cheating... it's just called saving face! I had to bring out the seam ripper again, and I know I'm not going to have an easy task when we come to put these rows together, because the top and bottom edges of this row are definitely not straight.
Once again, I've learned a lot by doing this Row Along. I've learned I need to slow down and sew more accurately when working small scale. I'm rising to the challenge though. I'm actually looking forward to row 4 already.