Choices and Thankfulness

'Killer Clothes - How seemingly innocent clothing choices endanger your health...and how to protect yourself'. This is a very enlightening, and frightening book, best read in small doses. It covers much more than just fabric composition. Every time I pick it up I become more aware of the clothes I am wearing at that moment. Part of my response has been to make myself a skirt late last week from organic cotton using a length of Cloud 9's Wildwood which I had bought to use as a quilt back.

Same technique as when I made a skirt recently, using another skirt as a template. Here I am wearing it again today, a perfect lightweight for our hot almost-summer days. It's been worn and washed several times already, softening with each wash. We hang our washing/laundry to air dry (weather permitting) and thankfully the skirt hasn't required ironing. I'm planning on sewing more clothes using organic cotton.
*Update August 2015. The fabric in this skirt has continued to soften with ongoing wear and washing, however it really doesn't offer the soft drape which is desirable in a skit like this. However this speaks well of the durability of the fabric for use in quilts and other household items.

With recent hot days, I sometimes cook our evening meal very early to help avoiding heating up the house later in the day. The chicken went into the oven before sunrise and was enjoyed with salad that evening.

The twins turned 17 this week and chose to celebrate with an ice cream cake which they had the pleasure of constructing.

There is a sombreness in the home at the moment as a well loved Australian cricketer, 25 year old Phillip Hughes, has died this afternoon as the result of being hit in the upper neck with a cricket ball while batting on two days ago (just below his helmet). Earlier this month while Miss N, Miss G and Master J were playing local club cricket a middle-aged team member dropped to the ground unconscious in the middle of a game with a brain bleed. He remains in hospital with an uncertain future. Life can be unpredictable, let's be thankful for each other and each day - and a very special Thanksgiving to my US readers :)

Miss E sporting fancy sunglasses during her first dental checkup. She was still smiling afterwards too!

Last but not least, a little more hand stitching on my epp flowers for my Fresh Fields quilt - loving these colours as the near-summer heat sets in.


Sharing at WIP Wednesday.