Earth Day

The earth is a garden and each of us only need care for our own part for life to be breathed back into the planet, into the soil, into ourselves. ~ John Jeavons

Earth Day (week) has arrived and my Going Green quilt (a quilt with an environmental message) is complete. I kept it simple, a tree for Earth Day and the perfect quote by John Jeavons. My little quilt was done by hand and I used bamboo batting. To see what I thought of the bamboo batting, click on The Bamboo Report.

Back in January, I invited you to join me in making a Going Green quilt. If you did, be sure to leave a comment on this posting (deadline date April 26) and a link back to your blog, so I can see your quilt. If you do not have a blog, leave a comment, with your name and e-mail address. You must then, e-mail me a photo of your Going Green quilt, to qualify for the draw.

A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. ~ Greek Proverb

Until next week.....happy quilting!

Karen

Green Stuff

How is your Going Green quilt coming along? You still have time to make one. Earth Day is not until April 22. It doesn't have to be a large quilt. Wall size or even postcard size will do. Organic quilting products are still hard to find and I don't expect your quilt to be totally green. Maybe you can try one of the new products on the market or incorporate some recycled fabric into your quilt. The purpose of this challenge is more a visual statement, which sends an environment message. Using Eco-friendly products will certainly add to the message. I recently started working on mine. The prep work is done and piecing has begun.

It appears that batting has taken the lead, for going green, in the quilting industry. I look forward to testing out the new Bamboo Batting, by Fairfield. Made from 50% bamboo fibre and 50% organic cotton. Other earth friendly batting's available are: Mountain Mist Eco-Friendly Batting Blend made from 50% cotton and 50% pla (corn base) fiber and Quilter's Dream Green Batting made from recycled plastic bottles and Hobbs Heirloom Organic Cotton Batting. Recycled flannel sheets, regular sheets or light fleece blankets can be used as an alternative batting.

Marcus has recently introduced some organic and Eco-friendly cotton. Robert Kaufman's Kona Organics, although limited to white and natural, could come in handy to test out some earth friendly dyes. Robert also has a line out called Bermuda, which is 100% bamboo fabric and Sea-Tiva, which is 25% seacell (seaweed) and 75% cotton. Also, fabric called Panda Wash, which is 60% cotton and 40% bamboo. Andover Fabric is testing out vegetable dyes on non-organic cotton. Hoffman of California has an Eco-Friendly collection made from 65% bamboo and 35% cotton. How about a little Hemp Muslin. Made from 55% hemp and 45% organic cotton. That may work for stitchery projects.

Take a step back in time and make our own natural dyes. Purple cabbage, purple onions and yellow onions, for example make great fabric dyes. Bring a pot of water to a boil and simmer the veggie, until the leaves have lost all colour. About half a cup of veggies to four cups of water, simmer for an hour or two. Strain and cool. Presoak your fabric in tap water first. Wring out and then soak in your homemade dye overnight. What else makes great fabric dye? Blueberries, marigolds, turmeric, purple grapes, coffee, paprika, tea, cranberries, beets and leaves and I'm sure you can come up with plenty more. Something to keep in mind.....tea dye is semi-permanent and in time will wash out or fade from the sunlight. Also, tea dyes only works on natural fibers. Before you dye a piece of fabric, you may wish to first soak your fabric in a dye fixative. Salt (1/2 cup salt to 8 cups cold water) is recommended when using fruit for your dye and vinegar (4 parts cold water to 1 part vinegar) for dyes from flowers, leave and plants. Simmer fabric in salt or vinegar fixative for approximately an hour, then rinse and wring out before putting the fabric in the dye.

Other earth friendly finds, NearSea Naturals sells organic cotton thread. The colours are limited to white, black and natural, but it's a start. Also, YLI and FiberActive Organics have partnered to sell 100% organic cotton thread. Available in white and natural, with more colours to come. And have you heard of QuiltCare? It is an "earth friendly" liquid wash for quilts and contains no phosphates, no bleach and is biodegradable. Lastly, some interesting (green) Internet sites to keep an eye on, Crafting a Green World and Forever Green Quilts.

I hope you can find a way or two to make an environmental statement in your quilting room and maybe we can improve the earth one fiber at a time.

P.S. I will be double posting today. Watch for a second post.

Going Green Challenge

I've decided to take a Going Green challenge and you are more then welcome to join me.

As you can see, I have some reading ahead of me. I'm pretty green, but I know I can be greener. Here are just a few of my green ways or soon to be: My garden is pesticide/chemical free. I compost and plan on getting a rain barrel. Household cleaners have already been changed over to environmentally friendly products. It is amazing how many uses baking soda and vinegar have around the house. Most of the light bulbs have been changed over. I hang more things to dry, then go in the dryer. I use my own fabric bags when shopping. I reduce, reuse and recycle. Try to walk more or use my bike for errands. I am considering purchasing an electric bike, for longer trips and one of the biggest challenges will be to come up with a way to eliminate the need for a car. One challenge, at a time, for a greener tomorrow.

I am also going to take this challenge to my quilting room. To help me stay focused on becoming greener, I am challenging myself to complete by Earth Day, which is April 22, a Going Green quilt. Do you remember my Quilters' Compost entry? Going Green has already begun in my quilting room. Also, for this project I have some Eco-Friendly batting to test out. One is Bamboo and the other is a corn-based synthetic fiber.

If you would like to join me in this challenge, feel free to use my This Quilter is Going Green logo. Please be sure to link it back to this posting. To link it back to this post, just click on the title of this posting, then copy the http:// at the top of your screen, as your link. This way, anyone that clicks on it will come straight to the Going Green Challenge post and get all the information they need.

I hope you can join me in my Going Green quilt challenge. As a thank you for participating in my challenge, between April 20 and 26, leave a comment on my April 20th post, for a chance to win a thank you for Going Green gift. The draw will be random and in order to qualify, you need to leave a comment on my blog (that you have made a Going Green quilt) and a link back to your blog, so I can see your Going Green quilt. If you do not have a blog, leave a comment, with your name and e-mail address. You must then, e-mail me a photo of your Going Green quilt, to qualify for the draw.

What do I mean when I say a Going Green quilt? I don't mean a quilt made from green fabric, but I am pretty sure, I will be using some green fabric in mine! A Going Green quilt is a quilt with an environmental message. There are so many things we can do or stop doing to make a greener world. Hmmm..... wonder if I could incorporate some recycled materials into my quilt?

You may find One Million Acts of Green an interesting read. Lots of green ideas. Also, David Suzuki's Nature Challenge.

"When one tugs at a single thing in nature, one finds it attached to the rest of the world." John Muir

Until next week.....happy quilting!

Karen