Homegrown Fabric

I am very pleased to announce that Connecting Threads is providing American-made fabrics! Connecting Threads is an old friend. I have enjoyed their catalogs for nearly twenty years! Just last year, I finally cut out my favorite "inspiration" pictures and pasted them into a binder and threw the rest of the catalogs away.

They have an interactive educational community called Quilt With Us, which is worth looking into - right now they are giving away fabric!

Connecting threads has always offered some of the very best free quilting patterns online, and they now have video tutorials and free downloads for the EQ6 quilt design software. They also have a discussion forum!

Check out their fabric lines. They have a wide variety of themes and styles of fabrics!

Cranston/VIP Fabrics

I was seriously disappointed today to learn that Cranston is moving their fabric printing plants out of the United States. For many years, I have promoted their fabrics because they were made domestically. It's always a good thing to provide employment locally. Their fabric has been inexpensive and of a reliable quality. Primarily, however, I endorsed the company because they were extraordinary supporters of their military employees. Reservists are protected by federal law, but Cranston exceeded those minimum requirements. As a military wife and mother, that blesses me even when it's not my own family.

I am working on an article about fabric selection, and I called their customer service number today to ask some questions. The man on the phone didn't speak English very clearly, he didn't know anything about their military reservist support program, and when I got to my questions about the specific "Made in the USA" issues, I was shocked to learn that after June 30, Cranston/VIP/Quilting Treasures fabrics will no longer be printed in the Unted States. They have been printing fabrics in the Unites States since 1824.

From their website:

Cranston Print Works Company is a large, diversified corporation with operations in textile consumer goods, transportation, and specialty chemicals. The textile operation began in 1824, at the very beginning of America’s Industrial Revolution, and is distinguished as the oldest textile printing operation in the United States, as well as the largest supplier of printed fabric to the home sewing market. The company’s outstanding reputation for quality, service, versatility, and manufacturing expertise is a direct credit to the employees that work here. We continue to believe that our employees are our strength, and remain committed to employee development. Cranston Print Works is an employee-owned company, wherein the ownership philosophy coupled with the company’s excellence in manufacturing, product design, sales, and marketing, create a culture which encourages achievement and innovation.

I firmly believe in the right of every private business to make their own decisions, but I am personally saddened. I am now on a quest to find new sources of affordable American-made fabric.

At the beginning of this war, I made a new quilt for my bed. A very special quilt, made mostly of Cranston/VIP fabrics because I was so grateful for their military support. My husband was no longer in the Air Force, having just finished his reservist commitment, but our oldest son was in the army, stationed in Korea.

Let me know if you have good sources for American-made fabric!

My Sewing Room

Last year, my dear husband gave me the best Christmas gift ever - a functional and attractive sewing room! I do have a very nice space. We rent a large Victorian farmhouse, so my sewing room has high ceilings, nice woodwork, tall windows, and a little balcony.

I won't frighten you away with pictures of the previous set-up. Let's just say that if I had let a baby into the room at that point, we would have been in real trouble. This picture was mid-process. I had it cleaned up enough to work in, and DH had started my cutting table. The wall art in the center will be hung on the wall next to the balcony door. My dear daughter, Renee, made it for me.

The cutting table is about the same height as a kitchen countertop. It is much easier on my back. Quilters and dressmakers spend a lot of time cutting. He made this one so that I can store mats and rulers underneath the top. The white shelves used to hold books, but I have condensed those and now store Rubbermaid totes on the shelves. The totes contain tools, strips that I cut from remnants as I work, elastic, velcro, zippers, interfacing, fusible web, buttons, ribbons and lace, embroidery supplies, etc.
My oldest son (the lucky man married to Renee) helped my husband make a design wall for me, from insulation foam. We covered it with a soft white cotton, but you can see the pink insulation through the fabric! It has become indispensible to me. It also provides a convenient photography backdrop for smaller quilts.

Another important feature is the clock. My mother sent me money for my birthday, and a clock for my sewing room was the #1 item on my wish list at that time!

A low, horizontal bookcase (it used to be a vertical shelf for holding sweaters or something in my closet, but it has been reincarnated) became a window seat. It holds some of my more frequently-used books.

DH cut openings in the back edges of the tables, so the power cords are kept out of the way. I can use the laptop computer in the corner between the two machines, which is very helpful. The computer is an important part of my work.

The two Rubbermaid drawer totes hold thread. One of the shallow drawers holds my most-used sewing tools (namely my seam ripper and pliers and screwdriver), and one of the bottom drawers has office supplies in it: mailing labels, tape, pens and pencils, business cards, and so forth.

Any flat surface collects stuff. Those are unfinished quilt tops stacked in the corner. My cutting table isn't so nice and clear anymore, either. It has piles of fabrics for my next six projects. To the left of that quilt pile is an audiocassette/CD player. I listen to books on tape while I work. I also have an mp3 player and can play that through the player or with the earbuds. That works well for me. I download books from the library and never have to leave the house!

For the rest of the winter, the loom can sit in front of the balcony door, but eventually spring will come and I will need to figure out what to do with it. DH made a wire hanger for my iron.

Speaking of flat surfaces collecting stuff... it's fabric for summer dresses. Client work. The small bookcase contains all of my Burda pattern magazines and other magazines and thin books. Yes, those irons all work. I think. I love Rowenta irons in spite of the fact that they spit and leak, break, and shut off at odd times. DH's next project is to make a cabinet to hold the irons, water bottles and spray bottles.

The stacked drawers are patterns, neatly organized by size and style (just like my thread drawers are organized by type and color of thread.)

Aside from that current work stack in the above picture, my fabric is all kept in the attic in (you guessed it) Rubbermaid totes. I will save that photo treat for another day.

I still do my basting in the diningroom, since I have a long table in there. Since the varnished tabletop is already pretty scratched up, I don't have to worry about damaging the table. The light is good in that room, with big southern windows.

I have a plastic mannequin that hangs on the back of a door, so I can make adustments and take pictures.

Not about the CPSIA

GLORY QUILTS

I have been updating my website! It's always a much bigger project than I expect it will be. I need good photographs. If you have one of my quilts in your collection, can you please take a picture and send it to me? You can email me from my website.

When my SIL first created my website for me, I still had dial up networking and a very small hard drive. I had to reduce the size and quality of my pictures to a level that is no longer necessary or desirable.

Not all of the links are working yet, but several of them are finished. Take a look!

Stay of Execution!

Stay of Execution!!
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09115.html
CPSC Grants One Year Stay of Testing and Certification Requirements for Certain Products
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission voted unanimously (2-0) to issue a one year stay of enforcement for certain testing and certification requirements for manufacturers and importers of regulated products, including products intended for children 12 years old and younger. These requirements are part of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which added certification and testing requirements for all products subject to CPSC standards or bans.

Significant to makers of children’s products, the vote by the Commission provides limited relief from the testing and certification requirements which go into effect on February 10, 2009 for new total lead content limits (600 ppm), phthalates limits for certain products (1000 ppm), and mandatory toy standards, among other things. Manufacturers and importers – large and small – of children’s products will not need to test or certify to these new requirements, but will need to meet the lead and phthalates limits, mandatory toy standards and other requirements.

The decision by the Commission gives the staff more time to finalize four proposed rules which could relieve certain materials and products from lead testing and to issue more guidance on when testing is required and how it is to be conducted.
The stay will remain in effect until February 10, 2010, at which time a Commission vote will be taken to terminate the stay.

The stay does not apply to:
Four requirements for third-party testing and certification of certain children’s products subject to:
The ban on lead in paint and other surface coatings effective for products made after December 21, 2008;
The standards for full-size and non full-size cribs and pacifiers effective for products made after January 20, 2009;
The ban on small parts effective for products made after February 15, 2009; and
The limits on lead content of metal components of children’s jewelry effective for products made after March 23, 2009.
Certification requirements applicable to ATV’s manufactured after April 13, 2009.
Pre-CPSIA testing and certification requirements, including for: automatic residential garage door openers, bike helmets, candles with metal core wicks, lawnmowers, lighters, mattresses, and swimming pool slides; and
Pool drain cover requirements of the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool & Spa Safety Act.

The stay of enforcement provides some temporary, limited relief to the crafters, children’s garment manufacturers and toy makers who had been subject to the testing and certification required under the CPSIA. These businesses will not need to issue certificates based on testing of their products until additional decisions are issued by the Commission. However, all businesses, including, but not limited to, handmade toy and apparel makers, crafters and home-based small businesses, must still be sure that their products conform to all safety standards and similar requirements, including the lead and phthalates provisions of the CPSIA.
Handmade garment makers are cautioned to know whether the zippers, buttons and other fasteners they are using contain lead. Likewise, handmade toy manufacturers need to know whether their products, if using plastic or soft flexible vinyl, contain phthalates.

The stay of enforcement on testing and certification does not address thrift and second hand stores and small retailers because they are not required to test and certify products under the CPSIA. The products they sell, including those in inventory on February 10, 2009, must not contain more than 600 ppm lead in any accessible part. The Commission is aware that it is difficult to know whether a product meets the lead standard without testing and has issued guidance for these companies that can be found on our web site.
_______________________

They have a few statements in there that I do not believe are strictly accurate, but I am rejoicing that the law has been temporarily stayed in order to give lawmakers a chance to review and rewrite it.

I am encouraged by the fact that the system worked - the voices of concerned Americans actually affected the actions of our public employees. (At least, I like to regard it that way.)

THRIFT STORES vs CPSIA - Thrift stores WIN!!!

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09086.html
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJanuary 8, 2009Release #09-086 CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908
CPSC Clarifies Requirements of New Children’s Product Safety Laws Taking Effect in February
Guidance Intended for Resellers of Children’s Products, Thrift and Consignment Stores
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In February 2009, new requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) take effect. Manufacturers, importers and retailers are expected to comply with the new Congressionally-mandated laws. Beginning February 10, 2009, children’s products cannot be sold if they contain more than 600 parts per million (ppm) total lead. Certain children’s products manufactured on or after February 10, 2009 cannot be sold if they contain more that 0.1% of certain specific phthalates or if they fail to meet new mandatory standards for toys.
Under the new law, children’s products with more than 600 ppm total lead cannot lawfully be sold in the United States on or after February 10, 2009, even if they were manufactured before that date. The total lead limit drops to 300 ppm on August 14, 2009.
The new law requires that domestic manufacturers and importers certify that children’s products made after February 10 meet all the new safety standards and the lead ban. [b]Sellers of used children’s products, such as thrift stores and consignment stores, are not required to certify that those products meet the new lead limits, phthalates standard or new toy standards.[/b]
[b]The new safety law does not require resellers to test children’s products in inventory for compliance with the lead limit before they are sold. However, resellers cannot sell children’s products that exceed the lead limit and therefore should avoid products that are likely to have lead content, unless they have testing or other information to indicate the products being sold have less than the new limit[/b]. Those resellers that do sell products in violation of the new limits could face civil and/or criminal penalties.
When the CPSIA was signed into law on August 14, 2008, it became unlawful to sell recalled products. All resellers should check the CPSC Web site (www.cpsc.gov) for information on recalled products before taking into inventory or selling a product. The selling of recalled products also could carry civil and/or criminal penalties.
The agency intends to focus its enforcement efforts on products of greatest risk and largest exposure. While CPSC expects every company to comply fully with the new laws resellers should [b]pay special attention to certain product categories. Among these are recalled children’s products, particularly cribs and play yards; children’s products that may contain lead, such as children’s jewelry and painted wooden or metal toys; flimsily made toys that are easily breakable into small parts; toys that lack the required age warnings; and dolls and stuffed toys that have buttons, eyes, noses or other small parts that are not securely fastened and could present a choking hazard for young children.[/b]The agency has underway a number of rulemaking proposals intended to provide guidance on the new lead limit requirements. Please visit the CPSC website at www.cpsc.gov for more information.

CPSIA - How did this happen???

My longest blog post ever - and the most angry! I’m sorry… I can’t sew a baby quilt for you. I might end up in a federal prison.