Mountain Stitchworks

Water Catchment System Green-It-Yourself Project

2010-05-10T15:32:00.000-06:00

Rain Chain Green-It-Yourself Project

2010-05-10T15:08:00.001-06:00

Use the rain chain to bring the water from the gutter to the barrel.

Catching Rainwater

2010-05-10T14:47:00.000-06:00

It's legal now ~ hard to believe it wasn't at one time ~ catching rain water that is. Last year I set up a very simple system to catch rain water. It was very successful, albeit not without a little work every time it rained ... which actually isn't that often in the summer in Colorado. It was fun to go out in the rain and empty the basins I had placed under the rain gutters into old trash cans. And it made it possible for me to grow a garden with a limited supply of water.

This year I've decided to continue with tradition and step it up a bit since one of my trash cans burst from the water freezing in it (that was the metal one). The other one has been converted to a recycling container. Here I plan to document a bit of the process starting with what I've found today and that is an amazing source for re-purposing containers ~ including food grade plastic 55-gallon barrels, right here in colorado. The website is colorado zero waste.

So far the "ingredients" necessary to make this rainwater barrel are:

Large food grade barrel

tin snips (to cut the gutter)

A bent arm gutter piece

screen (to put over the barrel opening)

PVC pipe (maybe a 3" tall by 3 - 4" diameter) to fit into the top of the barrel and hold the screen)

Spigot (3/4" full flow) that I can attach my hose to

Plummer's tape

Over flow hose & attachment of some type

Possibly a pipe to attach a second barrel to.

3/4" & 3" (or 4") drill bit

Last year's G diapers

2010-05-08T15:00:00.001-06:00

As I was turning over last summer's compost pile I was pleased to find a few remnants of last year's g diaper liners in the last phases of compost. I feel very pleased that Zane's old diapers aren't filling up some old landfill, but have instead been either past along to new little babies or composted.

I planted some rubarb and chive onions in there. I am trying to use things that will A. grow here and B. not be consumed by deer and elk. And while I think the deer and elk will probably like the rubarb, the lady down the road says they don't touch hers and my neighbor says it use to grow wild all over the place (around here). And Laura would like to have some in this yard. So we'll see. I hope the compost is ready ~ it looks pretty amazing to me!

My Norwex Questions:

2010-05-07T11:17:00.003-06:00

New questions have be roused for me with regard to Norwex Products after reading the article Nano & Biocidal Silver put out by Friends of the Earth.

I need to research it more, but I think I remember hearing that Norwex uses colloidal silver in their products. Although after a brief bit of research on colloidal silver, it seems it is an ingested substance.

My question is, Does Norwex use colloidal silver in their products and if so how? And then I need to figure out if colloidal silver is indeed Nano Silver Technology? And if so I need to go back to Nano & Biocidal Silver (the article) and research its sources.

5/8/2010
Seems that Norwex doesn't use Colloidal silver. The silver is 'embedded in the fibers and cannot be removed'. I found out that there's a science person I can call, that's my next mission.

Spring Snow

2010-04-25T10:41:00.003-06:00

NorwexLady Swab Test for Chicken Residue

2010-04-22T11:54:00.000-06:00

Cleaning without Chemicals

2010-03-25T10:35:00.000-06:00

A microfiber cloth with silver embedded in the fibers. It's so simple. Silver inhibits the growth of bacteria, fungus, virus, germs. When I wipe a surface with this little cloth it picks up 99.9% of the germs. And it's so clean ~ and shiny. This means that I can get my home cleaner with just water! It's safer for our heath and the environment.

Norwex is the company and I love it so much that I've decided to try selling it. Little nervous about that, but I figure if it can help people have a cleaner home and radically reduce the impact on the environment (from cleaning supplies) I am all over it!

It's a direct marketing company which means that I sell it via home "events". This is where my nerves come in. But I am willing to try new things, especially if it is consistent with my values and still allows me to be home with my son.

Procuring Scraps

2010-02-20T09:27:00.001-07:00

I am so thankful to the folks at the Evergreen Animal Protection League. They have a great little thrift store up in Evergreen; it's where I get a lot of my scraps. I love to peruse their racks for striped t-shirts and other interesting designs. They also have a collection of old t-shirts that they reserve for me each week. My collection grows weekly. When I get home with some new scraps I throw them in the a hot wash and then the dryer. When it warms up a bit outside I'll hang them to dry, I love the smell of clothes hung outside to dry, plus it uses less energy.

2010-02-09T22:26:00.000-07:00

New Oxford Dictionary's 2007 word of the year:

Locavore: someone who eats food grown or produced locally or within a certain radius such as, 100 or 200 miles. The locavore movement encourages consumers to buy from farmers markets, CSAs or even to produce their own food, with some arguing that fresh, local products are more nutritious and taste better. Locally grown food is an environmentally friendly means of obtaining food, since supermarkets that import their food use more fossil fuels and non-renewable resources

2010-02-09T16:04:00.002-07:00

Michael Pollen on Democracy Now!

I am still working my way through this broadcast, but two ideas from it keep reoccurring in my brain:

1. If you're not hungry enough to eat an apple, you're not hungry enough to eat!

2. Mom's are not doing a good enough job yet, in Michael Pollen's opinion.

Give it a listen, I'd love to hear people's opinions on this, especially regarding what Mom's should do, collectively, to clean up the food in out public school systems.

Customer Solution

2010-02-08T10:27:00.000-07:00

I started reading a new book this morning called The Art of Profitability by Adrian Slywothzky. It contains 23 business profit models. I think it will be good reading for me as I am transforming Mountain Stitchworks. It's simple reading and short chapters and the author suggests taking some time to digest the information in-between chapters (profit models).

The first profit model is The customer solution which basically says "Invest time and energy in learning all there is to know about your customers. Then use that knowledge to create specific solutions for them. Lose money for a short time. Make money for a long time." He asks the question: "Can you be profitable without knowing the customer?".

People make money all the time not knowing their customer, but I think businesses that succeed have an idea about who their customer is. My challenge will be to determine who the Etsy consumer is. My inclination is that the Etsy consumer is a crafter or artist. A person who values unique.

Today I'll do a little research into the Etsy consumer.

Serendipidy

2010-02-06T22:05:00.001-07:00

After my yoga practice today my upper back had a great big HuGe POP. The good kind, the kind you long for. This one though, was deeper than any of the others I've had, it just felt soo good. It may have been the result of some realignment in my spine. I can still feel it :)

I was surprised by my practice today, by the third pose I was in Pinchmyrasana (it's like handstand on your elbow with the chest jutting forward). I felt BIG today in my practice, really long. The sequence went something like this:

Shoulder openers, Om's, chant, malasana, frog, pinchmyrasana, child's pose, downward facing dog, trikonasana, parsava trikonasana, prasarita padatonasana, sarvangasana, rest, supported side rest (the support was under my left side to open up my back side ribs and work to straighten my spine) (this is probably what propagated the pop), corpse pose.

Zane and I had roasted veggies (beets, dacron radish, parsnips), with an onion ginger combo over rice with spicy sausage for dinner, It was really delicious and, also to my surprise, Zane ate it all up and got desert (chocolate).

Portable Sewing Studio?

2010-02-04T10:09:00.000-07:00

Since we don't know how long we will be in this home, 5 months or 5 years, perhaps I should consider a mobile or portable sewing Studio. My sewing machine is portable and I found a very funky old portable Singer sewing cabinet at the thrift store. I could make a great foldable ironing table. I have a great old brief case that could serve as the office and mailing center. Mike thinks I should get a truck with a hitch behind sewing trailer and set up a few solar panels. I could just concern myself, with regard to the basement, to a few moveable shelves for fabric storage.
Personally I like the idea of an fold out ironing table off the tailgate. And there's something about this old-school black, hard brief case. Surely it would complete the black rimmed eye glasses artisan look and perhaps add a touch of power to it?

Just Listen "Every Site has a Song"

2010-02-03T12:23:00.008-07:00

Petroglyph, originally uploaded by Mountain Stitchworks.

Aboriginal peoples sing at rock art sites, Ute elder Clifford Duncan chants as he ascends the trail to a series of petroglyph panels near Montrose, Colorado.

Clifford Duncan and Carol Patterson (archaeologist) have been working together to decipher rock art. Gestures, sign language, native cultures knowledge, and a record of consistency in symbols over a large geographic area are unraveling some of the secrets held in rock art.

Up until recently the archaeologists working with rock art primarily interested themselves with compiling data and symbols. Unraveling the meaning of petroglyphs is a new frontier with archaeologists. And as with many new frontiers, I am very excited about it!

While Patterson is using scientifically compiled data to try and unravel the mystery; Duncan, one of the last Utes "raised in the old ways", looks within himself.

What I am looking for is a thinking pattern. What is hidden in that picture? Those drawings are depicting something that is still there - still faintly there today. They have a spirit that throws out a certain feeling if you are looking for it. It is just a matter of unlocking yourself from the inside to read it. -Clifford Duncan

As Duncan and Patterson and other duos continue to work together we can learn more about individual native cultures and the cohesion from tribe to tribe and generation to generation. I like that archaeologist are working with Native peoples, and that Native people are willing to work with archaeologists. Unraveling history and shedding light on the mystery of ancient human history can teach us about ourselves and remind us what lies within ourselves.

If you've ever spent time in the desert contemplating rock art you may be interested in picking up this months High Country News. On page 6 it has a very interesting article called Ancient Conversations, and there's a little tidbit on the High Country News website too. They show some symbols and their meaning!

Creating the Studio

2010-02-02T13:20:00.002-07:00

The time is now, I must create my studio.
Since we've moved here I've tried to use the den, the dining room and the basement as a studio. The basement is not my favorite for lighting or scenery, but the most practical in terms of space and the ability to escape from the riggers of motherhood and homemaking,
It'll be fine, when I am on that side of my brain, the rest of the world sort of just fades away. So off I am, to the basement, in search of it's stroke of brilliance ...wish me luck!

An hour and a half later...

Mission Aborted! Too stressful! I am in need of some chocolate chip cookies and time to think this through, or maybe to not think at all about it! It's a mess down there, WAY too much stuff, and it's not mine so I can't just donate it, just yet. It's too stressful because it's impossible to do in a short period of time. I probably need to make mini goals and extend the timeline (to this summer).
I am going to make some chocolate chip cookies and put some old scraps in the compost heap.

Energy Observations

2010-02-01T11:17:00.004-07:00

Yoga Sequence

2010-01-31T15:42:00.005-07:00

Balance

2010-01-31T15:28:00.000-07:00

One promise I made to myself in starting Mountain Stitchworks back up is that I would maintain balance in my life. Beyond that I knew I couldn't continue sewing on a daily basis and stay in good health without exercise and yoga. So when we moved to the big metropolis of greater Denver I took it upon myself to get educated and become a yoga teacher in the Iyengar tradition.

A rather large percentage of our population suffers from scoliosis. There are two types; the kind where you are born with it (structural) and the kind that you develop (functional). If you know you have it's probably structural and yoga can work to improve it. If you don't know you have it, it's probably functional and yoga can work to make it go away!

I didn't know I had it, but my yoga teacher kept telling me I did. I thought she was crazy, but the more I studied, the more I believed her. Now I can recognize it in myself and sewing is one of the main causes for me. I now have the rule that if I sew today I do yoga today. It's making a huge difference in my well-being and pain-free-ness.

It's just a gander, but I think a lot of artisan entrepreneurs suffer from various aches and pains that yoga could help with. If you live in the area you're more than welcome to drop-in at my yoga class. If not, consider attending a bi-weekly yoga class, I recommend classes in the Iyengar Tradition. Blue Spruce Yoga and the Iyengar Yoga Center of Denver are great places to attend.

Stay tuned for yoga sequences if you already doing yoga at home.

Sources for Newbies 1

2010-01-31T10:28:00.006-07:00

Here are a few useful links, sites, blogs, ..."sources" (there's a good ol' fashioned word) I've been using:

Etsy and how to sell

Paypal 101

How to make a Facebook page

Blogging 101

Etsy Newbie Tutorial by Pixie Treasures

Frontiers

2010-01-31T09:27:00.006-07:00

Blogs, Facebook pages, Etsy stores, flickr, ezines, paypal

I use to think I knew my way around the world wide web, but what I've discovered is that Im what you'd call a newbie.

I have always wished to live during the frontier days. Exploring new terrain, scavenging for gold, and a constant barrage of new challenges is a domain I would thrive in.

Now I find myself on the brink of a new wave of frontiers-people as an artisan entrepreneur on the world wide web.
Where might it lead ? . . .

"May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. May your rivers flow without end, meandering through pastoral valleys tinkling with bells, past temples and castles and poets' towers into a dark primeval forest where tigers belch and monkeys howl, through miasmal and mysterious swamps and down into a desert of red rock, blue mesas, domes and pinnacles and grottos of endless stone, and down again into a deep vast ancient unknown chasm where bars of sunlight blaze on profiled cliffs, where deer walk across the white sand beaches, where storms come and go as lightning clangs upon the high crags, where something strange and more beautiful and more full of wonder than your deepest dreams waits for you beyond the next turning of the canyon walls." -Edward Abbey

A little history...

2010-01-30T13:20:00.008-07:00

I started MSW (mountain stitchworks) in 2000 to:

1. Fulfill a small towns need for a seamstress.

2. To initiate and promote sustainable textile options in my little town.

I really wanted MSW to be Sustainable:

"Being sustainable demands that we weigh each decision on the scale of life. Each choice we make has a cost. The true cost weighs economically, socially, and environmentally. Mountain Stitchworks will seek to provide a service that will consider each customer's needs in these three lights. Additionally Mountain Stitchworks is committed to performance, customer satisfaction, and product quality."

And I was way into RE:

"Sustainable options include REusing fabrics, REpairing already existing textiles, REducing (by only using the essentials), REcycling and using recycled products, REsearching and using fabrics that are environmentally safe, recycled and/or safely biodegradable and made by companies implementing manufacturing processes that embrace environmental sustainability."

MSW was successful:

We (me and MSW) provided our little town with a reliable sewing service for nearly a decade. REpairing, Altering, Customizing, and Contracting were our specialties. In fact, we were so busy keeping up the the requests of a constant flow of customers I was challenged in the aspect of finding affordable sustainable products. People liked the idea of sustainable fabrics but very few 'bit' on the price tag. The option that shined the brightest was that of REusing old textiles in various ways.

We moved:

At the end of 2008 we moved, and gone was the customer base of MSW. As I considered reopening MSW over the last year, the internet as a way of doing business was the option that sparked my interest enough to do.

Starting a business in Colorado (Talk to your CPA (accountant) about being an LLC)
Get your EIN (federal Employer Identification Number)
Sales Tax in Colorado