Creating the world around us, one stitch at a time

I've finally added the amazingly beautiful alpaca and alpaca/llama items to our Around the House merchandise section. I can't come up with the words to explain how incredible these things are, but trust me -- they're perfect, absolutely luxurious gifts for yourself or a loved one! I was wearing my ruana at the grocery store this morning (on a futile search for organic cranberries) and no fewer than three people complimented me on it! My holiday shopping is definitely a bit easier thanks to these beautiful, fairly-traded, sustainable goodies.

I also added a few new fabrics and other items, so see if you can find them too. I'm out of the office until Monday, and everybody at NearSea is taking Friday off, so expect orders and emails to be a bit slower than usual. Things should return to normal early next week.

Wishing all of our US customers a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted by Tara at 03:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Barbara, of Oasis Originals, shares with us information about her latest creation. She writes, "I just wanted to let you know that I have just made MYSELF, not my dogs, a new blanket. I used your sateen and heavy duty flannel. Sewed them together at the edges but left a gap open ( with edge trim ) on each side so that I can clean out the lint. I have in the past sewn a stitch down the entire length of the blanket every so often but after the many washings I give my bedding I end up with rocks in between the layers, so I left a gap to clean them out, we will see how that works. I also bound the edges with the same flannel...I just thought I would pass on what I do with your wonderful fabrics and also express how happy I am to find out I purr in my sleep now :-) .
"I'm not to sure on how to take a photo of a blanket but here's a try, I even positioned it so you can see the " pocket " I left to clean out the flannel lint later... The first one I made was out of the regular weight flannel and the heavy duty is so much more wonderful, I can not wait, I guess it's early to bed !!"

It sounds so cozy, and like it would work wonderfully for people with allergies (who may need to wash their bedding frequently), for babies (whose blankets need washed frequently for other reasons), and really for just about everybody! If you make one yourself, let us know how it goes. :)

Posted by Tara at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Have you seen our Luxurious Wool Pile? It's an amazing fabric made with a 1.25" pile of organic wool on an organic cotton backing. Perfect for bed toppers, baby "sheepskins", wrist rests, hood and muff liners, and so many other uses. If a full yard is more than you need, you can also buy a half-yard piece, approximately 29" x 36". Perfect for crafts -- and with the holiday season coming up, who doesn't have lots of presents to make? (If you don't, I envy you. Wholeheartedly.)

Posted by Tara at 04:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If you're eligible and it's at all possible, make your voice heard -- go vote! It's quick and easy, it can make a difference, and it's particularly important this election. So shoo! Step away from the computer, and go vote!

As a personal note, my great-grandmother dedicated her life to the cause of women's suffrage. It's so strange to me that a right I've taken for granted my whole life is one that Great-Grandma Edna worked towards for all of hers. I can't not vote -- no matter what I may think of our political process, of the chance of votes getting counted correctly, of the candidates available for me to choose from, etc, I have to vote in her memory. And because I think she'd rise from her grave and haunt me forever if I chose to stay home instead. :)

Posted by Tara at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We've been working for weeks to add almost 40 new fabrics, and I'm so glad we're finally done! (It's a long process -- we have to: receive the fabrics; scan/photograph them; measure, weigh, price, and categorize them; write about them after thinking about/playing with/cutting and sewing/washing as necessary to get a feel for how they'll work; resize, edit, and adjust colors in the pictures as necessary; have the entries proofed, and finally set them live. And after all that it's amazing to me that mistakes still slip through, but we definitely do our best to keep them few and far-between!) We've added almost 20 high-end upholstery fabrics from Mod Green Pod, with beautifully trendy designs that are hand silk-screened on the East Coast. There's a gorgeous new faux-sheepskin, with a 1.25" pile of the softest organic wool on an organic cotton backing, and several new organic cotton stripes and solid organic continuity and limited-edition knits. This is only a teaser -- browse around the site and see for yourself!

(Yes, I know I promised other goodies; I'll start working on adding them tomorrow. I've been curling up in my alpaca ruana all night long and can't wait to add them to the site. I bought mine while we were still unpacking the box -- it's just incredibly luxurious and warm and wonderful!)

Posted by Tara at 09:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)