jcaroline's blog

Cotton Farming

Did you know what a cotton bloom looks like? I didn't.

Photo from Mizzou Magazine 

It's kind of a pretty thing. Just don't look at the fields after a harvest, because they look pretty barren. I got my quarterly alumni magazine from my alma mater yesterday, the University of Missouri, and found a really interesting article on cotton farming. Seriously. It's interesting.

This issue focuses on sustainability and in case you didn't know, Missouri has a large agricultural school and research facility. (There is a lot of farm land there in the mid-West.) This article features a fourth-generation cotton farmer from southeast Missouri (the "bootheel"), which unknown to me, is the 9th largest producer of cotton in the nation, yet cotton is being produced in only seven counties.

Some facts that caught my attention:

• From 1987 to 2007, the energy used to produce a pound of cotton lint decreased 66 percent. (Per the Keystone Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture)
• This particular farmer has seen yields nearly double since 1980. He credits this to better engineered seeds which has greatly raised the cost of seeds, but is more than offset by the reduction in the use of pesticides.

Cotton crops have historically been criticized because they have been a huge consumer of pesticides versus other crops. The interest in organic cotton, certainly in the quilt fabric industry, has really increased in the last five years. But a big problem with organic cottons at the moment is price. And the reality is, most consumers still pick products based on price versus sustainability.

I found it interesting that a traditional cotton farmer is working toward the same goal as the organic farmers- reduced (or no) use of chemicals, high yields per acres, and reduced energy and labor to bring the fiber to market. Once the economic and methodological disparities between the two are minimized, it makes it very easy for organic cotton to become the norm instead of the expensive exception. You're welcome, Mother Earth.

I told you it was interesting and now you have a topic for your upcoming holiday parties.

 

 

 

Knits Ain't So Scary

Patty at ModKid Boutique thoughtfully gave me one of her Penny patterns since I told her I did not sew with knits.  She being the knit sewer extraordinaire, she may have been a little horrified by my admission.  But alas, she convinced me to try the Penny pattern and see what I thought.

Patty's tips for knit sewing include using ball point needles, ball point pins and prewashing the fabric (it does shrink more than other fabrics).  She also has a book coming out on that very subject, so soon she'll make us all knit experts.

Excuse the graininess and the cheesy poise that Miss Olivia chose for the picture, but I sewed this dress up in about 30 to 40 minutes.  It was that easy.  I got the Carnival Bloom Knit from Above All Fabric and the pattern from ModKid Boutique.

And check out the new knit from Patty Young's Sanctuary collection that she showed at Fall Quilt Market.

This is the Aromatherapy knit in Ocean.  Okay, so maybe knits are going to become a permanent part of my sewing repertoire.

Cloud9 is on cloud 9 (and a giveaway)

The August issue of Martha Stewart Living includes a feature on Cloud9 fabrics, the organic fabric company started by Michelle Engel Bencsko and Gina Pantastico.  Don't forget, they just debuted their first line, My Happy Garden, less than one year ago!

Here is Michelle and Cherri House of Cherry House Quilts at Spring Quilt Market with the gorgeous quilt Cherri made from their second collection, Beyond the Sea.  This collection was another great line of organic cotton prints and marked the debut of three matching organic solids.

And now, they are introducing Forest Friends Flannel.  It shipped to stores this week and I happen to have on good authority who is getting those shipments.  The stores below will have some or all of the Forest Friends Flannel collection in the next few days:

	Bolt		PurlSoho
	City Craft		Quiltique
	Crafty Planet		Saints & Pinners (UK)
	Fabricworm		Sew to Speak
	Fancy Tiger		Sewtropolis
	Hart's Fabric		Stonemountain & Daughter
	Modern Organic Fabrics		The Little Shop
	Pink Chalk Fabrics

Cloud9 is still on cloud 9 after their Martha article, so they have generously offered one of my readers a bundle of one-half yard of each of the six prints in the collection. That bundle is worth $49.50!

 

So, to win this bundle, enter a comment on this post by noon on Thursday, August 19.  Tell me what you plan to do with this bundle:  1)  Turn it into darling things for baby, 2) Caress it lovingly for days dreaming of big projects that never get sewn, or 3) Display it in a place of honor next to the family china.  The winner will be picked at random and notified by email.

And if you don't win... crack open the piggy bank and pick up a yard or two of this luscious flannel.

Pillowcase to Compensate for Mediocre Parenting

I have a confession to make.  I often feel like I'm not doing enough for my children and that they take a back seat to less important things like sleeping, eating, working, blah, blah, blah.  Ever heard that before?  But I occasionally absolve my guilt with material goods, and the guilt seems to be absolved more effectively with handmade goods.

So yesterday, I whipped up a pillowcase for Miss Olivia, who was thrilled.  I love making pillowcases because they are 1) necessary, 2) fast, and 3) much appreciated.  It beats the heck out of buying a new sheet set every time you want a change in look.
So the tutorial for the pillowcase is here.  But I have another confession to make.  When I did this tutorial, I sold fabric for a living and had no regard for yardage required.  I went to the shelf and cut.  But, now that I'm ordering my fabric online and have to live with the yardage I ordered, things are going to change.  I only ordered a yard of each of the fabrics, which by my original cutting layout would not have worked.  So I turned it, which on this print, worked out great.  If it doesn't work for your print, the other solution would be to piece the pillowcase (back and front) cutting two pieces that are 29" wide and 22" tall.  Man, I'm going to miss that unrestricted yardage.

The fabric, by the way, is the Olivia fabric from Andover, which I purchased at the Fat Quarter Shop.

  

We Settled Out of Court

Okay, there really wasn't any settling to be done.  Once she promised to never cut her hair again and then smiled, the arbitration was over.

This weekend I hit Target to check out the new Liberty of London collection.  They have some really cute things-- children's dresses, swimsuits, stationery, notebooks, hatboxes, umbrellas.  I got Olivia two darling dresses.  This one is a little frillier than I normally like, but she adores it, of course.

But I have two observations after viewing this collection at Target.  I bought these because I like the concept of Liberty of London and was thrilled to be able to get some at a great price.  But, I am so spoiled by the prints I get to see everyday from the great indie designers making fabric these days.  Liberty of London's prints are fun and really stand out in Target, but I can name dozens of fabric designers whose prints are as cute (if not cuter) than what I saw at Target.  I won't even attempt to name names because I'll leave someone out, but we know who they are-- they are designing for Michael Miller Fabrics, Westminster/Free Spirit, Moda, Andover, Marcus, Robert Kaufman, Windham, and Clothworks.  That makes for a lot of darling prints.

My second observation is that the ruffles on this dress are very soft and well, ruffle-y and it made me think of the post Anna Maria Horner wrote last week about the virtues of voile.  She explains why she chose to do her last collection, Little Folks, on voile and how for apparel and light quilts, it behaves so much better than standard quilting cotton.  And, I'm sure her voile is better quality than what is on this Target dress, so I'm anxious to imitate this pattern out of her fabric.  If I do, I'll share my pattern and how it went.  Just don't rush me- it may be a few weeks.

Fabric Sightings

Family Fun shows a little Jessica Jones fabric in their March 2010 issue.  Just a peek of Red/Orange Fireworks and Red Parade.  (And why am I not linking to the Red/Orange Fireworks, you ask?  Because we are dangerously low on inventory.  These prints are moving fast, so hurry.)

Who doesn't need a gnome?

I never have quite gotten the gnome thing, but this fabric made me laugh and, I thought, who wouldn't need this gnome sewn up and stuffed?  This is the new gnome panel fabric from Michael Miller.    This gnome is about 19" tall and took less than a half hour to sew and stuff.  Olivia thought it was hysterical so that is all the incentive I need to inundate her with gnome paraphernalia.  Which, fortunately, with the new gnome and trailer collection I can.

I'm envisioning a pillowcase out of the Gnome Some Traveler fabric

And I may have to complement the stuffed gnome with a stuffed cloud pillow that I envision sort of like this:

  
and I still have half of that gnome panel left, which features ten gnomes that stand about 10" high.  When did I get into stuffed things?  I don't know, but currently, I'm obsessed.

I may also have to crank out a crib sheet for Henry out of gnomes.  I made two of them this week using Joanna Armour's pattern that she created for Michael Miller and it is awesome!  Makes a nice crib sheet with finished seams and covered elastic.  Also a nice half-hour to 45 minute project.

New Michael Miller fabrics keep pouring in including  Paula Prass's Woodland Delight, Sandi Henderson's Meadowsweet and Patty Young's Flora and Fauna collections (which Patty's will be on the site Thursday or Friday this week, I promise).  (Patty's fabric is here!)

Woodland Friends by Ellen Crimi-Trent is here

Ellen's debut collection Woodland Friends is here!  Blue, green, yellow and orange hedgehogs, mushrooms, birdies and other woodland creatures.  Ellen is a prolific licensed artist and creates darling characters.  Ellen also offers her hedgehogs and other illustrations as prints in her Etsy shop.  I bought some of the birdie prints, which are my personal favorite.  (And rumor has it they might be a future fabric collection!)

Ellen is a prolific twitterer, so don't miss her there either.  I think she types with one hand and draws with the other!

Enjoy Ellen's first foray into fabric!  She promises more to come.

Fabric Sneak Peeks

Quilt Market starts October 9, so fabric designers are starting to show sneak peeks of their new lines.  And, of course, the Michael Miller gang is no exception.

Sandi Henderson revealed her Meadowsweet line this week.  30 pieces in 2 colorways:  peach and pear.

Paula Prass revealed Woodland Delight.  25 pieces in 3 colorways:  brown, pink and gray.

Patty Young introduced us to Flora & Fauna. 44 pieces in 4 colorways:  turquoise, raspberry, mustard, stone.

I made a girl's dress out of the Woodland Park using a new Paula Prass pattern that will debut at market and it is darling!  (Pictures later.)

I must now scurry and finish a chair cover in Meadowsweet for Miss Henderson.  She expects it tomorrow and I would hate to disappoint!

Summer Soiree & Messy Hands

Who says summer is over?  It was 88 degrees today in Houston, so I think summer is still in full force.  Besides, I'm not going to let a little issue like timing stand in the way of Paula Prass's latest fabric, Summer Soiree.  Bright pinks, turquoises, golden yellows in a variety of floral and graphics.

We also just received Messy Hands from Michael Miller, a darling new juvenile print.  My favorite of that group is the Megatropolis, shown below.

Organic Canvas is here- Oasis from Marcus

We just got in Marcus Fabric's organic canvas, called Oasis.  It is a light canvas (I would say approximately 5 oz.   Definitely lighter than a 7 oz. canvas.)  woven of Certified Organic cotton and using eco-friendly dyes. 

Certified Organic canvas has been grown in a field that has been chemical and pesticide-free for the previous three years.  The Eco-friendly dyes are free of toxins and are disposed of properly.  The dying process minimizes energy and resources and also requires safety for the workers and fair wages.

We're currently carrying this fabric in eleven colors.

Shade Garden is Here!

Michelle Engel Bencsko's Shade Garden Fabric is here!  This is Michelle's second collection for Henry Glass Fabrics.  You may remember her first group, Dogwood Blossoms.  The small scale and soothing colorways of Shade Garden make it perfect for children's clothes and bedding. 

Michelle is fairly new to the licensed design of fabric, but she's been doing her own for quite some time at Cicada Studio.  She is yet another independent designer who has designed, produced and distributed her own fabric.  She sells her digitally printed designs in her Etsy shop.  Her prints are linen/cotten blends in beautiful graphics that would translate great into throw pillows or handbags.

But don't think she has stopped there!  She and Gina Pantastico recently launched Cloud9 Fabrics, a fabric company focused on organic cotton prints.  And their first fabric collection just came in!  Michelle designed My Happy Garden and she and Gina joined forces to have it mass produced on organic cotton and printed with organic, solvent-free dyes which are OEKO-TEX certified.  Look for it to be out and about (and here) soon!

In the meantime, soak up some of the prolific designer's goodness with Shade Garden.

New Bamboo Felt

We just got in new XoticFelt, which is 50% bamboo and 50% rayon.  It is the new "sustainable" felt, but quite frankly, I don't know why wool felt isn't sustainable.  The sheep isn't killed, just sheared, right?  Anyway, the nice thing about this felt is it is super soft.  Not itchy at all.  We sell it by the yard and fat quarter. 

So what is that conglomeration of stuff you see in the picture?  Well, it's a felt pillow project that if I ever finish, you'll get to see.  It's from the cover of Anne Kyyro Quinn's Felt Furnishings.  The book is full of home dec projects using felt.   I sent her some felt and she wrote a book.  Well, not exactly in that order...

She did it in one color and I thought, "Hey!  If one color is good, five must be even better!"  Isn't that how must design disasters start?  Anyway, I will take a pic if I finish, but give me a few weeks.  My little helpers at home haven't given me much time.

Betz White's Family Cottage Organic Canvas

 

Betz White of Sewing Green fame, released her new fabric this summer, Family Cottage Organic Canvas.  Not only is the fabric darling and on canvas (you know how I love that stuff!), she is producing it herself and selling it in her Etsy shop.  She sells it in fat quarters (18" x 26"), 1 yard (54" wide), sets of "home dec squares" (18" x 18"), and she just added a 4-pack Sample Set (9" x 13") for smaller projects.

And she isn't the only one doing this sort of thing.  It is part of a quickly growing trend of designers that are not partnering with a major fabric manufacturer who mass produces fabric or going the route of print-it-yourself sites like Spoonflower.  Basically, as these designers are not finding the designs, quality or cloth that they want, they are creating their own.  And not just designing it, but producing it and distributing it themselves.  The disadvantage?  The goods are a pricier, because they are not mass produced.  Most designers are professionally digitally printing or hand screening their fabrics, so the economies of scale of rotary printing thousands of yards doesn't kick in.  The advantage?  Unique designs that, instead of gathering dust on a design director's pile of submissions, are out there and available for you to enjoy!  And they are truly the designer's vision-- completely unedited by a manufacturer.  It's a bit like owning an original painting, but one you can sew with!

This fabric is fantastic!  My personal favorite is the Lawn Chair print and the Picnic Floral.  The fabric looks darling on her reversible bucket hat, the pattern also available on her Etsy shop.  Check out the hat she made for her son out of refashioned shorts- she was able to reuse the back pocket!

Patty Young's Mezzanine is here!

 Patty Young's second fabric line Mezzanine is available now!  It's a lovely combination of pinks, greens and aquas in some traditional florals and lots of graphic stained glass inspirations.   Traditional, but graphic, if that makes sense.  She made those gorgeous pillows that really show off the interesting designs.

Look how great her display looked at Spring Quilt Market in Pittsburgh, debuting Mezzanine and her patterns.

And she has two new patterns out that we got in last week, Sophie, three way pants and Sydney, Euro hoodie dress.

 

(Those are her daughters, by the way.  Aren't they darling?  I'll let you guess their names... )

Full Bloom is Here!

Bari J. Ackerman's debut fabric line, Full Bloom, is here!  It is a gorgeous combination of teapots, flowers and birds in soft blues, pinks, greens and yellows.  You can read more about her fabric collection on her blog,  Bari J. and you can also order a handbag made from this fabric (and others) on her handbag  site Bari J.  Check out this darling wristlet bag you can purchase there:

Snatch up some of this fabric!

I just returned from Blogher in Chicago.  I'll update you on that later.

Lily Pond by Wendy Slotboom

A new collection from Wendy Slotboom called Lily Pond.  A delightful mix of simple graphics and your basic pink, green, blue and brown.  Perfect for kid's clothes!

And congrats to Misty of Kentucky who won the Lantern Bloom fat quarter pack.  She responded to my email announcing her win with "Holy Cow, I never win anything. Yipee Skippy!"  Yipee Skippy, indeed, and enjoy those little works of art.

Lantern Bloom by Laura Gunn

Laura Gunn's Lantern Bloom fabric collection just arrived from Michael Miller fabrics.  She is a painter by trade and this fabric captures the texture and variegations of her art.  The fabric uses very rich colors and actually shows the layering of color that was used in the original painting.  Very cool and sophisticated looking. 

Kathy Miller's blog, Making it Fun, shows great pictures of her debut at Quilt Market including lots of goods made out of the fabric.  Visit Laura's blog, too, where she shows a lot of her paintings.

Oh, and Laura kindly sent me these fat quarter samples from her fabric collection last month, so how about I share the love?  Leave a comment (make it meaningful- you can do better than just a "hello"!)  by Tuesday at midnight and I'll draw one name to receive this stack.  If you consider it a plus, they have been lovingly handled by me several times as I have admired them.

New Flower Shower

New from Michael Miller comes Flower Shower in the great jewel tones shown above.  Sorry I can't come up with any more clever things to say... I'm a little tired. :-)

New Fabrics from Braemore

I love these new canvas fabrics we just got in from Braemore.  They are part of the Carnaby Street collection in Marzipan (above) and Blueberry/Vanilla (below).  I know we might be a little "pinked" out, but the addition of the charcoal gray refreshes it immensely.

And the blueberry/vanilla colorway is a nice indigo blue with a great green and orange.  Primary without being boring.  54" wide 100% cotton canvas.