 |
Main
 First of all, woohoo, we've added bunches of new fabrics including a fabulous new safari print. Check them all out. (Oh, and new yarns, including the best deal imaginable on bulk merino yarn, and pretty single-needle silk cases to go with our Ultimate Silk Knitting Needle Cases.)
Secondly, I've been thinking about sleep a lot lately. We've had many customer questions about pillow making, and I've had to admit that I haven't had the time or inclination to make my own pillows since children entered my life lo those many years ago. I know a lot about the concept and I've worked with a good many people who've made pillows, but making my own? Not a chance. My sewing time is dedicated to other projects these days, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. But many of our customers are more dedicated than I, and others are in the same boat as I am, and it's to all of you that I dedicate this entry. :)
Continue reading "New fabrics, pillows, and chocolate, always chocolate." »
 I've been intrigued by Furoshiki, the Japanese art of gift wrapping with fabric, since I first learned about it many years ago. It wasn't until a business trip to California, however, that I found the book Gift Wrapping With Textiles: Stylish Ideas from Japan (available other places too, of course!). That book, combined with a little spare time (hey, there's not all that much to do in a hotel room, even an eco-friendly one, besides watch really bad TV and work), inspired me to start playing around with the concept ... and it's so very much fun!
 Today I was lucky enough to be able to work with two new Harmony Arts fabrics, Black and White Whispering Grass Wide-Width Sateen and Blue Moon Light Flannel, and I couldn't resist trying a little furoshiki. (The new fabrics are probably worth an entry in their own right, especially because it's so wonderful having a printed flannel that can be used for the whole family and because the black and white version of Whispering Grass is so strikingly eye-catching, but instead I'm simply using the fabrics as props for a larger post. Do check them out, even if I'm not giving them their due in the blog.)
Continue reading "Furoshiki, and new Harmony Arts fabrics. " »
Although we added these three fabrics last month, I forgot to mention them on the blog. Definitely my oversight here -- these are such fun prints and I've come up with so many great projects that would benefit from their use. You've probably noticed the relative scarcity of printed organic fabrics for kids and babies, and particularly of nice designer prints -- well-designed, sustainably grown, and perfectly suited for today's modern baby and child. These go a long way toward rectifying that omission. (I'm so jealous -- where were these fabrics when I had little ones???)
These three prints make gorgeous clothing and accessories (baby changing pads and diaper bags come to mind immediately), bedding, drapery, and upholstery. I managed to entertain a two-year-old for much longer than I'd expected by telling a story based on the animals in the Enchanted Forest fabric. And Cloud Nine would make the most perfect curtains imaginable, don't you think? It's probably a bad idea to want another baby simply so I can surround him or her with these fabrics, but they just give me that feeling -- cozy, magical, and loved. I highly recommend the fabrics -- definitely check them out.
We're so thrilled with this new, limited-edition tea towelling, and we're sure you will be too! It comes with internal selvages dividing it into five separate sections that you can easily cut into tea/kitchen towels. Choose to hem or serge the edges, or simply leave them loose to fray gently. It comes in 3/4 yard pieces, which is big enough to make 5 towels. The fabric will soon be available in a peroxide-whitened version as well.
We've added other new fabrics too (today was a fun day!). Check out our Definitive Natural Canvas, Medium Open-Width 1x1 Rib Knit, Cave Art Sunflower Seed Jersey, and Tumbleweed Interlock; there are also two new Harmony Arts fabrics, Ohio and Orange Surrender.
We still have a huge array of new fabrics and items for the website, and are adding more to that pile all the time, so do check back frequently to see what's new.
Y'all know that we hardly ever have sales at NearSea Naturals, since we try to offer the best possible prices each and every day. Sometimes, though, circumstances let us offer better prices, and this is one of those occasions. In honor of my four-year-old, who believes that "everyone in the world needs blue stuff", we've put our Royal Blue 1x1 Rib Knit on sale. It matches our Royal Blue Jersey, for greater versatility. So get creating -- you'll love the clothes you can make with this beautiful fabric, and you'll be amazed at the price.
Oh, and I just added several new fabrics. It was particularly difficult getting some of the colors to look right, so do request swatches if you're not sure. I particularly like the Chestnut Pointelle, which is a gorgeous fabric.
I've been remiss in writing for the blog lately. It's been very cold and very muddy here -- not necessarily at the same time, but frequently so. We made it to town fewer than once a week over the past couple of months, as there was more than a foot of mud on the road between our house and "the rest of the world." Thankfully both my husband and I work from home and we homeschool the kids, so our routines weren't interrupted all that much besides a bit of stir-craziness! (The kids may have benefitted -- this morning they were telling stories about Odysseus, Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and spring gardens.)
Our heaters have been acting up and our new, environmentally-friendly woodstove isn't installed yet, so we've been operating in "hibernate" mode. We have blankets made from Heavy Fulled Wool Flannel on our beds and as couch throws ("blankets" may be an exaggeration -- they're actually just pieces, not hemmed or trimmed in any way) and our slippers all have inserts made from Luxurious Wool Pile. It's so easy -- just trace a slipper and cut the shape out of the wool pile, pop it in the slipper, and ooooh, the difference it makes! A visiting friend, who loves to knit, was raving over our beautiful wool yarns (she particularly likes the Tweed Wool Yarn) and left having exhausted her yarn budget for the month but with a glorious collection to work with. She'd always thought she was allergic to wool, but was delighted to find that she didn't have any problems with the organic wools. And oh my goodness, have you felt a swatch of our Organic Merino Interlocks? They're absolutely luscious! We've also been wrapped in our alpaca/llama goodies, which are so light, soft, and cozy that they make even freezing houses somewhat more bearable.
Continue reading "In praise of wool..." »
Sunday's New York Times had an article called "How Green Was My Wedding" (registration probably required), about environmentally-friendly weddings. People have been coming to us for organic and natural fabrics to use for formal attire since we started business, and I've definitely noticed an upswing in interest over the last year. I've lost count of the number of women who've worn wedding dresses with NearSea Naturals fabric, but it always makes me smile.
Continue reading ""Green Weddings"" »
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.)
Although she grew up in West Texas, the nation’s cotton-producing capital, Michelle Meyer never thought she’d have any association with the world of textiles once she left her parents’ home. Instead she studied interior design and then went to graduate school in architecture, eventually earning her LEED certification and specializing in sustainable buildings. But the impending arrival of her first child inspired a new focus.
Michelle says, “When I was expecting my son, I saw a need for stylish organic baby bedding. With my design background, I knew I could fill this niche.” The Harmony Arts fabric line, which had recently been released, was perfect for Michelle’s needs and thus Cotton Monkey was born.
Continue reading "Cotton Monkey" »
Graceland, the sateen version of Stumps Speak, and Silent Stumps (which is, of course, Stumps Speak without the words) are finally in stock, yay! Graceland is our favorite of the Harmony prints so far, and is absolutely beautiful. There are so many ways I'd love to use this fabric: a long, twirly-swirly skirt or a summer dress, curtains or a bedspread (or, heck, bed curtains -- I always wanted a canopy bed when I was a little girl), throw pillows, baby's bedding or a diaper bag that looks too stylish to be true ...
It's always amazing what clever ideas our customers come up with, and how beautifully they're executed. Take these splendid produce bags -- useful, good-looking, and a great way to make a difference.
Melissa explains her project like this:
"At my grocery store, we are required to weigh organic produce and affix a price sticker before checkout. Not wanting to waste so many plastic bags for each individual item, I decided to make my own 15x11 inch cloth produce bag using your sustainable cotton/hemp artichoke print fabric. Now I can weigh my produce, place the sticker on the outside of the bag, and conveniently carry everything together. I estimate that I save at least three produce bags with each visit, amounting to a whopping 300+ bags a year!"
In addition to being the mother to three children under seven, Melissa has a wonderful website "meant for anyone who is concerned about his potential to affect this earth, for it is the culmination of each small action that has the greatest implications. " Check it out at TheColorGreen.info. Melissa even had a contest among her blog commenters, and awarded the winner a beautiful produce bag!
Cloth produce bags are easy to make, and can make a tangible difference. We challenge everyone to have - and use - at least one!
It seems like we've been awaiting this shipment for months now, probably because we HAVE ... and now we finally have it back in stock again. There's only 200 yards, though, so get it while you can!
It's a new batch, with a slightly different feel from the last; if exact matching is important to you, request a swatch before ordering yardage.
 As one of only twenty-one participants in Winchester School of Art's catwalk/fashion show at London Graduate Fashion Week this summer, Nora Sotamaa had a great opportunity. She was uniquely positioned to show hundreds of viewers, photographers, and reporters that, as she says, "sustainable fashion doesn't have to be boring." These attendees took special note of her six male models, who wore clothing made from natural, organic and sustainable fabrics.
Almost her entire collection was created using NearSeaNaturals fabrics, which Nora was thrilled to find because of the variety of different offerings in a wide range of colors.
Nora, who is from Finland, has been studying fashion in England for the past four years. Winchester School of Art is well-known for fashion and textiles departments, as well as fine art. The small campus is part of the University of Southampton (a larger city about 12 miles south) which offers programs in many different fields.
“My designs and garments support the argument that sustainable fashion doesn't have to be boring. I made suits out of 'Adobe hemp' and 'Sophisticated Jade' and used different weights and colors of organic cotton jerseys for a cardigan and shirts. I also made fitted collared shirts with 'natural hemp muslin' and 'forest blue hemp’ print.
There's more information about and a picture of Nora's collection below.
Continue reading "Sustainable Designs for Men" »
Almost-six-month old Halen's wonderfully talented mama, Christy, made this gorgeous pirate's quilt for her little boy. Doesn't he look thrilled with it? And well he should, really -- look at the great combination of fabrics she used to come up with the oh-so-scary design. All the fabrics are from NearSea, though some are sold out (Christy must've been stashing them for a while -- very appropriate for a pirate's quilt, as I'd love to find a treasure chest full of organic fabrics!), and there's organic batting as well.
People sometimes come to us looking for an organic analog to a specific conventional item that they just have to have for their projects -- rickrack, embroidery thread, ribbon, pompoms, etc. It can be very frustrating to hear that certain things just aren't available in organic versions yet, but as you sew more you become much more adept at figuring out substitutes. They might not look or function exactly the same as the non-organic version, but you just might find that your items are beautiful in their own right. And that's not even mentioning the good feeling that going organic can provide, especially when you're sewing for a baby who you want to surround with the purest of everything! I think Christy's quilt is a perfect example of the charm and interest that fully-organic items can have. Not only is it special because of all the love and care that went into its creation, but it's also visually striking ... and without the need for conventional fabrics or notions. Don't be dissuaded if you can't find exactly what you want in sustainable fabrics and notions; take it as a challenge, and you just might find that you can rise to the occasion!
Here are two more pictures of Halen's quilt; click on them for a larger version.
 
Many of you have seen Amy's name on your packing slips or talked with her on the phone, but few people know how creative she is. We're lucky enough to have Amy work here part-time; her wonderful, artistic eye makes her the go-to person when we need to know if two fabrics really match or if something is a blue-red or an orange-red. Coincidentally, Amy's older sister went to high school with Winnie; they didn't realize the connection until Amy applied for the job. New Mexico really calls to people, and it's always surprising to see who answers.
Anyway, Amy's latest challenge was to make a rag doll using scraps of our fabrics. This is what she made. You may recognize some of the fabrics as ones which sold out long ago, and others from our current offerings. Her arms and legs are braided strips of fabric; her head, body, and feet are stuffed with our organic cotton stuffing. Her face is embroidered, and her mouth is a piece of red herringbone.
Continue reading "Amy's rag doll" »
We just spent all day adding new fabrics to the site -- almost twenty of them! I'm not going to point them all out (what fun would that be?) but I just have to mention a few of my favorites.
 We just got the most amazing colored Hemp Silk Charmeuses. Seriously, they're absolutely incredible. There's Autumn, Black, and Sand. They'll make wonderful small projects -- I think lots of people will be getting eye pillows for presents this year. I've been wanting a natural silk to use for the cover forever.
Continue reading "Such beautiful new fabrics!" »
|
|
