Just love browsing the beautiful organic + eco friendly pieces over at Beklina… like this Lina Rennell sweatshirt, available in black (soft airy merino organic wool crepe), or blue & grey Dots print (100% organic cotton French Terry). On sale to boot.
And the side braid is so pretty.
This dress also caught my eye (perhaps the flattering shape appeals to this 3rd trimester mama)… the Julie Park organic cotton dress. Also on sale.
We have a thing for it over at our shop. We snap up pieces of colorful, vintage seersucker gingham like nobody’s business.
I love the feel of it, the gradient colors, the texture… the lightness… and rescuing pieces of old fabric that are still beautiful and shouldn’t be stored for another few decades.
Recently we made up some spring and summer dresses with some little pieces we found. A blue and brown gingham seersucker one…
… and a hot pink raspberry and golden yellow one
Unbleached coffee filters are the most wonderful arts supplies, and they are in abundance around here ever since the coffee drinker in this house (my Mister Mister) switched to a French coffee press and freshly ground organic coffee beans.
And hearts, well, who doesn’t love a few hearts? Especially on Valentine’s Day!
Here is how we made them.
First we used unbleached coffee filters, and drew hearts (well, half hearts) along one of the folded edges.
Then we cut out the heart shape, and folded the heart in at least half, or more. While still folded, my daughter cut in small shapes along the (folded) edge of the heart.
When she unfolded them, we had hearts with little cut-outs in them.
Here they are on our very favorite dining room table cloth.
Then it was time to paint. Using her watercolors, she painted the coffee filter hearts in different colors.
And then we let them dry (being coffee filters, it didn’t take them more than about an hour or so).
Then we hung them up on a sweet little (too frequently neglected) window near our stairs, so we see them every time we go up, or down. They add a sweet little smile to our faces.
I’ve been thinking about how it is that we find out “news”. The days of reliance on the morning paper are long gone… so few people even get a newspaper anymore. And what even qualifies as news or editorial in a newspaper is an entirely other story.
(photo, above, via Flickr here)
Now we can construct news feeder tubes to our computers and inboxes, effectively siphoning off only the categories and subject areas we’re interested in. More than ever, I wonder, are we living in information silos?
In Canada, in recent months, there has been a half decent amount of newspaper coverage of BPA (bisphenol A), the hormone-mimicking chemical that is considered to be probably toxic and set to be banned in this country. But so few people read the paper. In order to find out about BPA otherwise, I suppose one might have to be following some eco blogs and internet news providers like the Daily Green.
Hmmm.
We don’t generally take cash register receipts anymore because most of them have BPA (molecularly loose BPA) on the surface of the carbonless paper. That means that the BPA on cash register receipts is far more readily absorbed into one’s skin than via, let’s say, BPA-containing plastic. And I usually try to remember to ask local store cashiers and owners whether they have considered ordering BPA-free receipt paper.
I’ve been surprised by the number of blank stares I’ve gotten in return. Even from a local organic bed company, no less.
But one organization that seems to be taking BPA very seriously in Ottawa is the Ottawa Public Library. I found out this week that – for sure – the receipts used at the library are BPA-free. That’s every library in the system. How fantastic is that? As I glanced at the piles of books “on hold”, marked with names on receipt paper taped to the books’ edges… I felt incredibly relieved. Some honey – lots of delicious honey – for the Ottawa Public Library.
(photo above, via Flickr here)
But some horseradish is on the menu for other local shops and businesses, many of whom could act to protect themselves and their customers, but choose not to.
And it’s not just limited to BPA.
A local pregnancy-oriented massage business and I had a bit of a run in a few weeks back when I asked to see the ingredients of their so-called entirely non toxic massage cream. Parabens, phenols and a slew of unpronouncable ingredients were listed on the bottle. Pregnant women are more vulnerable to such toxins (because of the potential for these chemicals to affect the fetus and baby) and somehow I thought there was lots of information about there about reducing toxicity for expectant mothers.
I guess there’s (a really) long way to go, baby.
(photo above, via Flickr here)
I have a thing for scraps. Especially old, pretty ones that make me think of my grandmother when she was my age. And I have quite the collection now, of small pieces of cotton with frayed edges but gorgeous colors and patterns. In almost every color in the rainbow.
And I’m not really a collections kind of girl.
I have all sorts of ideas for these nuggets of beauty. When I have more time, I think sometimes. In the meantime, I use them to make our little upcycled gnome dolls in the shop, often pairing them with bits of organic cotton leftover from other projects like bedding and dresses.
It makes me feel a little bit cozier inside knowing that these tiny but beautiful bits and odds and ends are being put to use, made into something functional… my version of upcycling.
Over the last few weeks, my shop partner (and mom) has been working on a beautiful organic, custom twin quilt. A beautiful, modern & reversible quilt that will definitely grow with the little girl it’s intended for.
The fabrics are gorgeous and very high quality 100% GOTS certified organic cotton from Monaluna’s first self produced collection. The cool, saturated colors and retro-inspired patterns are even sweeter in person. Even a handful of years ago, well-priced organic cotton collections like this one were unheard of. It’s so heartening to think of how far the industry (and the market – I hope!) has come since my own daughter was born. And she’s only just turning 4 this week.
We paired the fabrics with modern-style, straight line quilting across the width of the quilt, and there’s certified organic cotton quilt batting inside.
One of our favorite fabric supply shops, Eugene, Oregon’s cedarhousefabrics, has the collection in stock – and they always ship orders over $50 for free.
Here’s the other colorway:
I’ve dipped my toes into the sea of learning about slow food, recently, and am very enamored. I think it will have to justify (yet) another trip to Italy sometime when the kiddos are old enough to experience it more fully. (I’ve been to Italy more times than anywhere else except the U.S, largely due to elaborate excuses for time off during the many years I spent waitressing and serving soup).
(above, a piece from the Spring/Summer 2011 collection by Tara St James of The Study, a green designer in NYC and old friend)
Slow food is a way of life, and an international community and I love how it celebrates quality and pleasure.
(above, an upcycled piece of vintage Marimekko made into an all-natural picnic blanket, shown with local organic blueberries from our favorite Quebec biodynamic farmer)
Slow cloth is the extension of the principles and philosophy of Slow into the world of artists, artisans and entrepreneurs. There’s “slow fashion”, “slow clothing” too. I love this quote by Sharon Astyk, she says it so very eloquently (this is from her 2006 article from Groovy Green Magazine):
