tropit

I found just the opposite. The organic fabrics were just beautiful and very sturdy. I didn't experience any tearing or fraying at all. I've used them a few times now. Most of the prints are that they have for organics are younger and modern and I sew mostly traditional, historical type quilts, so I can't use the organic fabrics that often, but I'd really like to. It would be nice if they did some more traditional prints though.

ghostrider

I have never recycled clothing into quilts or anything else for that matter. I donate my own unwanted clothing to the local thrift shop and sincerely hope they go to someone who needs them to WEAR, not to be cut up for their hobby. I'd much rather sustain people than things.

I don't save what I know full well I will never use, nor do I offer to save such things for other people. That's their thing, not mine. I don't like scrappy quilts so I only save pieces large enough for me to use, though that size goes down to around an inch. Small fabric scraps make poor dog bed stuffing (hard to sterilize, hard to dry, easy to swallow or choke on, lumpy to sleep on) and they're terrible for bird's nests. I compost what I don't use.

However, I gladly do my best to sustain several local quilt shops.

kymawmaw

amen!!! lol

Momala24

Tartan, you hit the nail on the head! At -41 wind chill last week, we need all the help we can get to stay sane!!

feline fanatic

JMHO but we can do a TON more for sustainability by focusing on where we get our food from than where we get our fabric from. I support local farms which get 80% of my grocery budget and yes, there are many local farms in harsh climates (like mine) that are producing in the middle of winter or have vegetables that winter over well (like root veggies and hard winter squashes). I buy my meat direct from the farmer too and this year I raised my own meat chickens (I have always had my own laying flock).
My farms that are producing now, have greenhouses and I get a lot of lettuce and sprout goods this time of year. A few farmers in the cooperative invested in flash freezers so my weekly farm bag includes locally grown frozen produce.

I have reused some clothes to make quilts (T-shirt quilts) and I am working on a woven shirt quilt but those projects are few and far between. As I think they are with the lion's share of quilters in the US where fabric is easy to get and relatively inexpensive.

salemrabbits

Chester- it must be a bunny thing! I love scraps and my friends keep me well supplied, including pieces of batting which I use in little projects. I have that gene from my grandma too, and my hubby isn't the most helpful with it. BUT my family will agree that my scrappy, string, and crumb quilts are the BEST and meant to be used- so they can have another. I have loads of string and crumb blocks done and when the mood strikes I put one together for somebody, plenty of variety by having loads to choose from and a great color scheme to boot. Just wish I could have more time to clear out some of the strings and scraps so I'd have more tops.

Sewnoma

These things bother me too, but I still buy new fabrics made with chemicals and dyes and who knows what all horrible things. I love Batiks but I'm not at all sure how they're made is good for the environment OR for the people who do the work.

Probably not as bad as the computer I'm using right now is for the environment, though. All these weird metals and plastics all blended together, not to mention production of all the electricity it takes to run the thing. And we've all heard of the terrible conditions that iPhone makers live/work in too....I'm sure the other big players in the industry are just as bad.

You can drive yourself nuts trying to be environmentally conscious, but even the American Indians who lived so close to the land messed things up and turned lush forests into wastelands. I think it's a trait of humanity - we mess up the land wherever we go because we can't just leave things alone. We dam rivers, we chop down trees, we dig up mountains and flatten hillsides, and most of the time we only give a lick and a promise to any sort of real study on what the effects of those actions will be. I do worry about what future generations are going to do...at some point this is all going to either have to change drastically or it's going to come crashing down because the way we all live (myself included) is NOT sustainable forever, especially not with population growing the way it is.

So I do try to conserve when and where I can, but I try not to drive myself crazy about it. I'm diligent about recycling and properly disposing of things like batteries and e-waste. My car isn't electric but it is small and if I drive conservatively it gets good mileage. I DO reuse odd fabrics and ruined clothes in my quilts and I feel good about doing so, but I do it because I like to as much as I do it to be kind to Momma Nature. I squirrel away my scraps and bits and find ways to reuse those; I enjoy the challenge and I do feel better about trimming things off if I know I'm going to get at least SOME use out of them. My dogs & cats love the beds I make from my bits and bobs and sleep on them just fine. Eventually they'll get too gross and have to be tossed but at least when that happens I'll know these things were well-used.

Cellphones are my biggest pet peeve in the world right now. Built to fail, built to be replaced every year or two, and full of all sorts of metals and plastics and batteries and things that are probably NOT being recycled properly. I HATE getting a new phone every 2 years but they just don't last much longer than that, they start to fail. But I still have one and use it all the time so I can't point any fingers at anyone but myself. I know I'm part of an unhealthy system but the alternatives don't appeal to me either. SO I keep using my bad-for-the-planet items and devices and feeling somewhat guilty about it but not really doing much to change it.

My gift to the planet was to not have children. So I figure that gives me license to waste enough for 2-3 extra people. LOL (I'm JOKING, nobody get mad at me please.)

joym

yup

joym

I like this!

joym

Just a reminder....and from my experience with the county-run cat/dog pound....make sure to only stuff the beds with a little. If there is a lot of stuffing.....it will take too long to go through the dryers even tho' they are heavy duty dryers.