This week-end I was at the Vermont Quilt Festival and had a wonderful time seeing all of the quilts. But, let’s face it, it’s the vendors we all go to really see! And boy was the shopping great!
I stopped by the YLI thread booth and asked about their organic thread being sold through Keepsake Quilting. The rep told me that their organic thread is a short staple American cotton in 24 weight. It comes in 3000 yd cones sold to manufacturers and they did make some retail cones for Keepsake Quilting but they are only available through Keepsake Quilting.
The sales rep said that the organic thread is only suitable for hand work or sergers. A long arm or sewing machine would put too much stress on the thread and cause it to break. They cannot get an organic long staple cotton because Egypt is currently not participating in organic growing. And since the coating they would normally put on the thread to help it move through the machine is not an organic process, this thread will pill, break, and leave a lot of dust.
Click here to read my original post on this topic, Organic Sewing Thread.
In the interest of conserving water and helping the environment (and our wallet), DH put in a rain barrel attached to the gutter. Last week-end we had some pretty intense rainfall when the remnants of the storms that caused the massive flooding out west came through Vermont. Apparently, rain barrels cannot handle that volume of water since once it got full, the overflow could not siphon off the excess fast enough. So it all ran out of the barrel and into the ground in a sort of “concentrated” flood.
At the corner of the house where my sewing room is – in the basement.
Yup, we had water leaking out under the floor of my sewing room. Luckily DH built the room with a raised floor so the water did not leak up into my sewing room. He did open up the access panel and stick a fan in there to try and dry out some of the water and we vacuumed up what seeped out in the rest of the basement. But I am anxious to see what will happen. The sub-floor was built with pressure treated wood so should be OK.
But the true test will be in a couple of weeks to see if there is a smell…
BTW – the rain barrel is no longer hooked up. Nothing messes with my fabric!
Here it is another month and I am drowning in stuff to do. I thought it might help to take a moment to write out what I have going on in some sort of effort to organize myself and let everyone know what is happening here in my own little slice of the planet.
- Queen size ladybug quilt due July 1st
- Have to write and send the June newsletter (ran out of time and didn’t send May’s – oops!)
- Always need new quilts for the business: violet wedding ring, safari animals, ladybugs 2, and mum’s star are all in the works
- Need to replenish the stock that has sold down: chocolate jungle animals, nursery rhyme, cowboy, crazy frogs, and pretty much all the rest
- Need to prepare for the numerous craft fairs this summer/fall
- On the home front, the garden needs to be planted
- Flower beds need weeding
- My youngest has his birthday on Sunday with subsequent party and activities
- My oldest is having his tonsils out, adenoids re-removed, and ear tubes put in (again) on June 30th
- My job as the head cook for the school is winding down so bills need to be collected, kitchen needs cleaning and inventory needs to be done
- And all of the daily stuff still needs to happen
Calgon! Take me away!! 
