This week’s lucky winner is Judy Renfrow! She will receive a set of white General’s Charcoal Pencils. I use these to mark medium to dark fabrics more than any other pencil. Try them, I think you will love them!
I’ll be back next Wednesday with another Giveaway. Happy stitching!
You can always find this and more at pieceocake.com!
I just found out that Barbara Brackman chose me to be her Quilter of the Month! I am so very honored! And I’m hearing Sally Field’s Oscar acceptance speech in my head 🙂 (video below for those who are too young to remember).
This is a screenshot of the beginning of Barbara’s post.
Click here to find Barbara’s post.
Barbara Brackman is someone I admire a great deal and her opinion really does matter to me. I am going to be wearing a great big grin over this for quite a long time! Thank you, Barbara!
Judi B. is this week’s lucky winner. She will receive a glue stick by In The Patch. This is the perfect glue stick for sticking wool applique in place for stitching. I like it better than other glue sticks with wool.
I’ll be back next Wednesday with another Giveaway. Happy stitching!
You can always find this and more at pieceocake.com!
I wrote a post about polyester thread on August 17 in which I said that the research I could find indicated that polyester thread probably doesn’t degrade any faster than cotton thread. There’s more to the story…
I still can’t find any research specific to thread longevity. My husband tells me that if absolutely no references to research show up in a google search, there probably are none to be found. Thread makers do post information about their own collections of thread but that’s not the same as academic research.
The one study I did find (click here to read it) compared the biodegradability of cotton vs. polyester fabric in a compost pile. Cotton fabric degraded quicker and more thoroughly than polyester fabric which indicates that polyester thread should last longer, right?
My husband, Steve, is a field biologist who teaches invertebrate biology. When I brought this study up at dinner recently he said that decomposers (the bugs and microbes that live in compost) would recognize cotton as food and happily eat it. They don’t necessarily recognize polyester, a petroleum product, as food. Of course cotton degrades faster in compost (he didn’t add ‘duh’, but I’m pretty sure he wanted to).
On August 28 the New York Times published an article entitled “These Cultural Treasures Are Made of Plastic. Now They’re Falling Apart.” Click here to find the story. It’s definitely worth reading.
I read a similar story years ago in the Dallas Morning News but I didn’t save it and have not been able to find it. I was beginning to doubt my memory. It turns out that what I remember from that article is still true… Tupperware, spacesuits, and plastic artifacts of all kinds are degrading.
There are all sorts of plastics and they degrade differently. Again, I can find no specific information on polyester or synthetic threads.
I don’t believe that polyester or synthetic threads are inherently bad, or that we shouldn’t use them. There are many times when a polyester thread is the best choice. That said, every time we choose thread for a project, we weigh a variety of factors… this is just one more thing to keep in mind.
Sarah Meyers is an artist (and young mother of 3) who makes all sorts of things, including crocheted mandalas. She made one for Lorna and I loved it so much that I commissioned one for myself! FYI: she is willing to more commissions—if you are interested you can email me (becky.pieceocake@gmail.com) and I will give her your email address.
I chose acrylic yarn because I expect to wash and dry it in the dryer. I chose a color palette and OK’d the yarn choices and it’s a kick to see how well it turned out! It’s colorful in a way that is so different from the quilts I make. It is going to be wonderful to cuddle with when the weather turns cooler.
It’s really tactile, and 3-dimensional…
Again, if you are interested in commissioning a crochet mandala, email me (becky.pieceocake@gmail.com) and I will give Sarah your email address.
Pamela Erickson is this week’s lucky winner and she will be receiving a raccoon scissor charm! Scissor charms make your scissors cute AND they help you know how to pick up your serrated scissors so that the smooth blade is on the bottom as you cut (watch the video below). Click here and scroll to the bottom of the scissors to find more scissor charms on my site.
I’ll be back next Wednesday with another Giveaway. Happy stitching!
My very good friend, Laurie Mealy, shared her grandmother’s recipe with me. I made it today. Mine is lumpy (no, that isn’t corn!) but it tastes great! It wasn’t particularly hard to make and will be a lot easier the next time. Here’s a link to the recipe:
Laurie’s Grandmother’s Mile High Chiffon Pie
And here’s the recipe as a JPG. Below it you will find the original recipe. Laurie’s grandmother obviously knew what she was doing. My recipe has more instruction so that the next time I make it, I’ll have a better chance of it not being lumpy :-).
