Daisy Janie

magnetic message #2.

Which one do you prefer? The actual statement or the edited version?

It's been an atypically long winter here in the southeastern corner of Pennsylvania. BUT, lately I am feeling an extra spring in my step for the first time in weeks. Although it's still chilleeto outside, I'm certain my newfound happy bounce is due to winter lifting in tiny ways everyday: the birds are chirping in the morning, the daylight hours are longer, the pretty snowdrops have emerged, the air feels like the first days of high school track practice, more people are out walking around the neighborhood, the squirrels are rebuilding their nests - all these little, little things that have triggered my "Spring Just Ahead" warning system! Bring it, baby!!

Shades of Grey | boho-chic scarf.

Boho-chic scarf made with all 6 designs in the Shades of Grey collection and 4 solids (hand-dyed organic muslin from Noonday Textiles). Those greys mingle well with the bold, smoky solids! Mmmm, hmmmm. I will share the 'how to' next week - need to think about the easiest way to present it.

Edited to add: This scarf has been washed, and all colors stayed perfectly put. Greys & solids alike! Yay!

My name is Jan DiCintio, and I am a scarfoholic. I wear them from sun-up to sun-down in the colder months. For warmth as much as to unique-ify a look. I cannot wear turtlenecks or even anything close to crewneck - gah - feels too claustrophobic for me. So scarves it is over here. I just purchased this bee-yoo-tee-full curly scarf from my dear friend Betz White. She made it from charcoal & black salvaged/repurposed cashmere sweaters, and it freaking rocks! I will be hard pressed to make another purchase for all of 2011 that will make me as happy. Even kiddo said, "That scarf is really cool!"

p.s. I just installed Electric Quilt 6 on my compu-tator. I owe you a Rec Room quilt pattern, and I'm anxious to see if EQ6 can facilitate that task. If so, you'll get to see it in Geo Grand as well as Shades of Grey!

seeing | white on white..... on brown?

Oh no you didn't. Oh yes I did. Did what? Did where? What's she going on about? I'll tell ya...

The dogs had just been fed, and as I let them out afterward, I peeked over at the white crocus sprouts. They emerged on an unseasonably warm day last week, only to be blanketed in snow yesterday morning. By the late afternoon (when dogs went bounding outside), the snow had melted enough to reveal the sprouts again...and the fading afternoon light was hitting them just so. Kodak Nikon moment!

That light moves faaaast, so I double-timed it up to my studio, grabbed my camera and ran outside. (Any guesses what the dogs were doing in that span of time?) 

The ground was saturated from said-melting snow, and I knelt precariously on a branch on the ground to keep my knees from getting wet. But as the light was moving rapidly, I considered my jeans and how this was about day 7 or 8 that I had worn them - and if the knees got soaked to expedite the photo-taking, so be it...they had to be washed anyway! Watch out - she's wreckless now!

As I moved in and around the pretty crocuses, happily snapping with my soaked knees, I forgot to look where I was kneeling. Til something stank. I looked down at my how-now-brown knee, and it was pretty apparent what the dogs had been up to while I was running to get my camera. Ew. But those flowers sure are pretty - really love the seeing the white on white with a bit of green pop!

Edited: A nice commenter let me know that these are not crocus flowers. They are snowdrops (galanthus). The name suits them so perfectly!! Thank you, Suzy McQ!

fabric sighting | geo grand modern wall art.

Modern fabric art with my Hip Squares design as the inspiration. 

Another incredible idea from Jacquie of Tallgrass Prairie Studio. Measuring 32" x 34", she created this large 'pieced' art piece for her son's apartment and stretched it over a frame ~ to hang as a focal point above his fireplace. I dare say that young chap has some right good taste! She taught him well!

The modern & masculine appeal of Geo Grand and the upcoming Shades of Grey have been mentioned to me on many occasions (thank you!), and I was flattered to see them included in an article recently by John Adams (Quilt Dad), "How to Pick Fabrics for a Man's Quilt." John has some great ideas & great picks! 

Two busy weeks in a row for me - wrapping up some deadline-oriented stuff so I'm keeping on the down low for a bit.

Hope you are well!
Jan

basics charity challenge | donations make everyone a winner.

Driving by a women's shelter, Cara from Cara Quilts was so emotionally stirred by a sign asking for papertowels that she drove straight to the grocery store, loaded up her cart with as many packages of papertowels as it would hold and drove right back to the shelter to drop them off. Papertowels. Basic, everyday papertowels. So symbolic of how a woman who has found the courage and critical timing to leave an abusive situation often walks (runs) away with nothing but her children and the shirt on her back. She doesn't have the basics - she barely has herself. Shelters who protect and care for these women & children depend upon their local communities for charitable donations of the most basic-basic necessities to facilitate the beneficial guardianship they provide.  

Cara is now putting this in our laps. What can we do to help our local women's shelters? What basics do they need right now to help a woman and her children? She's encouraging everyone to contact their local women's shelter, find out what they need and drop it off. In order to motivate everyone a bit more, she's put together a nice selection of sewing / quilting prizes to those who leave a comment saying what they've donated ... pop over to Cara's blog to get all the details on her Basics Charity Challenge and learn how doing a good deed can make you a double winner!

I've donated a fat quarter bundle of my Shades of Grey organic fabric collection to the Basics Charity Challenge. Not in stores until the end of March!

 

Every December, a dear friend organizes a Women in Crisis coffee, and everyone brings a load of basics to donate to our local women's shelter. I always bring a variety of feminine care products because I think having something to choose from gives a woman back her power and her confidence little by little. Even in the simplest ways.

Thank you, Cara, for reminding me that I need to do this more often. On my list for this week.

 

and i quote...

M is very good at digging up quotes. This one is my new fave for 2011. Til next week when something else comes along.

I also really like this smart a$$ comment he himself muttered recently:

"When life gives you lessons, make lessonade."

reasons to love Daisy Janie organic fabrics.

Since I dove headlong into producing organic fabrics for the quilting & sewing community, there hasn't been a day where I haven't read amazing stories of triumph about organic cotton agriculture or heard from customers and vendors alike how much they appreciate Daisy Janie's fabrics. These nuggets of positivity buoy me, not only as they underscore the choices I’ve made for production of my organic fabrics but also as they fuel my own passion and love for my fabrics.

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, where we tend to pour our hearts out like lovestruck silly-billies, I would like to gush about some of the reasons why I love Daisy Janie’s organic fabrics.

Daisy Janie's fabrics have a versatile weight & weave.
	Daisy Janie’s organic fabrics are printed on a 4.5oz ‘balanced plain weave’ printcloth, using thicker yarns that are woven from long-staple, ring-spun cotton. The fabrics have a wonderful heft, while maintaining a soft hand, flowy drape and subtle luster. They're perfect for countless hobby & home sewing ideas and for bringing precious durability & longevity to one's sewing projects!
Daisy Janie fabrics meet the Gold Standard in eco-friendly fabric production.
	From planted seed to packaged bolt, Daisy Janie’s organic fabrics are 100% GOTS certified. The Global Organic Textile Standard is considered the highest level of certification in green textile production, with stringent, compulsory criteria for all phases of production. Achieving GOTS certification “ensures the organic status of textiles, from harvesting of the raw materials, through environmentally and socially responsible manufacturing up to labeling, in order to provide a credible assurance to the end consumer.” There are other standards, but they are typically a stepping stone to GOTS and are not nearly as comprehensive. Although it's more expensive to follow the GOTS requirements all the way through the growth & production process, I opted for the complete package b/c it represents the same level of conscientious commitment I bring to all of my work. It just makes sense to me to go for the gold!
Daisy Janie's fabrics are socially responsible.
	Daisy Janie's organic fabrics are produced in a Fair Trade Certified facility. This means that employment is freely chosen, working conditions are safe & hygenic, child labor is not used, workers are paid a living wage, regular employment is provided and harsh, discriminatory & inhumane treatment is prohibited. This seems like it would be a given in today's society, but it is definitely not! Ethical treatment is not at the top of the priority list for Big Corporations, who seek to squeeze every penny of profit out of cotton production - at the cost of human lives and so much more.
So far, Daisy Janie's organic fabrics prevented approx. 4500 lbs. of synthetic toxic fertilizers from entering the cotton supply chain.
	It takes approximately 1/3 lb. of toxic synthetic fertilizers to produce 1 lb. of raw cotton fiber, and it takes about 1 lb. of raw cotton fiber to make 1 cotton t-shirt*. Thinking of 1 yard of cotton fabric (36" l by 45" w), I'm sure I could make one shirt out of that single yard. So, based upon how much fabric Daisy Janie has had printed to date, I have prevented 4500 lbs. of synthetic fertilizers from entering the cotton supply chain. And from entering the soil, the air (and blowing on the wind to the food acreage), the waterways, the farmer's lungs and skin - and so on. Taking this one step further: Consider ALL the other toxic chemicals that are used to produce conventional cotton ~ insecticides, pesticides, fungicides, formaldehyde, toxic waxes, chlorine bleach, petroleum-based inks with heavy metals and so on. The quantity of ALL these substances that have NOT become a part of the cotton supply chain as a direct result of Daisy Janie's use of organic cotton fiber & GOTS production methods multiplies astoundingly! My fabrics may be the proverbial drop in the bucket in the fabric industry, but these numbers stand as a testament to my doing my part as a good human and a conscientious business owner. And, yes ma'am, I love that about my fabrics! *Source: Organic Trade Association

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As you can imagine, I take incredible pride in the contribution my fabrics are making in weaving ecologically responsible changes into the sewing & craft community. Communicating the joy I feel on a daily basis is easy. What's not so easy to talk about is the dark & very sad underbelly of conventionally grown cotton. Despite the beautiful designs printed upon them and the creative things being made with non-organic quilters' cotton, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. As I continue to find my voice on these topics, I will be sharing what I learn, read and see. The message of organic agriculture needs many voices and perspectives to articulate it, and it needs even more ears and eyes to take it in and make 'good human' decisions based upon it.

organic canvas solids to pair with shades of grey.

Quick follow-up to yesterday's post on focus: I have 3 appointments on the books for next week, with people who can help me to help to help myself / Daisy Janie. The ball is rolling...
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I picked up these bold organic canvas solids to pair up with Shades of Grey for my sample sewing. These saturated, smoky shades are definitely amongst those in my comfort palette. To my next collection, I will be adding 2 solids to the group to facilitate matching for projects. It was quite a challenge to find organic solids in the hues I envisioned for the Greybies! By the way, YES, another collection is in the works. More to come... 

Purchased from Purl.
19 shades of 59/60" organic cotton duck canvas
12 shades of  lightweight 44/45" organic canvas

From bottom to top:
plum-raspberry
honey gold
celery green
yellow ochre
sage/fern green
grey (!)
garnet red

Any sewing ideas come to mind when you see these solids with the greys? I'm all ears!

focus.

"Determine what specific goal you want to achieve. Then dedicate yourself to its attainment with unswerving singleness of purpose, the trenchant zeal of a crusader." ~ Paul J. Meyer
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How's your focus? Do you prefer to work up close & personal with the here and now, keeping the distant future sort of hazy and unknown? Or do you prefer to work well-ahead into the future, letting the short-term fall into place within the confines of your future plans? Or do you fall somewhere in-between? Does it work? Are you stressed? Are you happy? Are you achieving your goals?

I often focus on what I AM doing to achieve short- and long-term goals, not on what I'm NOT doing (seems inside out...but read on). I'm always one to analyze, analyze, analyze (Capricorn anyone?) my plans and my actions toward goal-attainment and make any necessary adjustments as I go ~ but I often feel like I'm running to standstill. It can be quite frustrating. My husband asked me recently, "If you're doing everything you possibly can and you're still not where you want to be, what's in the way? What haven't you addressed?" In other words, have I identified ALL the obstacles and found a way to work through or around them? The path impeders. Yes and no. While I have an excellent grasp of what I've done and do well and what can be improved / changed, the inherent challenge remains that there is only one of me to strategize and execute and only one set of skills and resources I bring to the table. Wah, wah... I know. I despise complainers, whiners and woe-is-me'ers, too. So let's not go there. My point is that I realize most of my business' limitations (yes, we ALL have them and, yes, I just said it out loud) have to do with making small, safe adjustments that I know I can handle on my own - as a proud, independent sole proprietor. Within the context of designing & offering organic fabric for wholesale, I haven't made huge, sweeping, crazy-powerful adjustments that would have required me to reach out and ask for help. However, that's about to change - knowledge is not necessarily power, but a willingness and desire to do something with that new knowledge IS.

[ edited to add: Daisy Janie's limitations are due to a very rapid rate of growth in the past year and finding ways to nurture, keep up and build. ]

And speaking of Capricorn:
"As the 10th sign of the zodiac, the Capricorn individual is stable, hard-working, practical, methodical, and ambitious, never losing sight of her goals regardless of how many obstacles are in the way. Capricorn will willingly carry a heavy load of work, and will steadily and methodically tackle every task without complaint."

 

magnetic message #1.

Since I didn't have time to produce & print a 2011 calendar (like 2009 and 2010), I opted to buy a magnetic poetry calendar*. Keeps us on-schedule and provides daily opportunities to be creatively absurd with the English language.

I'll be peppering my posts with these when I have way too much to do and my scalaway assistants are sleeping on the job. Which means you could be seeing these everyday for a month. Kidding..... (maybe).

What's keeping you busy these days?

Are you where you'd like to be on the 41st day of the year? 324 more coming!!

 

*I searched and searched on etsy but never found any with big enough squares - broke my heart not to go handmade.