Weekly column by Barbara Hirsch

Weekly column by Barbara Hirsch

Some of our clothing is made with fabric that is both synthetic and natural. The fundamental substance is wood pulp, which is then synthesized through a chemical process.  This process, of extruding filaments into thread from a highly viscous, or viscose solution of dissolved cellulose (also used to make cellophane before the advent of plastics), was first developed in the 19th century. The American Viscose Company began producing this material in 1910.   The soft and shiny stuff was sometimes called artificial silk because of its similarities to the natural stuff, for which silk worms did the work, extruding their own viscous saliva.

Rayon became the common name and in recent years other varieties and trade names have emerged, such as Lyocell and Tencel, Modal,  and Danufil.  Bamboo based fabrics require the same processes in its manufacture.  Environmentally speaking, these are unfriendly, even by the Federal Trade Commission’s standards, using “harsh chemicals that release hazardous air pollution.” Sodium hydroxide and carbon disulfide are two of these, with associated harmful effects on rayon workers and the factory environment. Lyocell and Tencel are preferred, as their process is less toxic and closed loop, meaning that the chemicals are recovered and reused rather than disposed of.

The methods and sustainability of growing and harvesting the wood for these fabrics is another factor. FSC cerified (Forest Stewardship Council)  eucalyptus is used for Tencel, and as we’ve all heard, fast growing bamboo – most grown in China – can also be extremely sustainable, but perhaps it is better utilized in buildings and flutes, rather than in our t-shirts and sheets.

Recent Comments! Anonymous : Great point. And exactly why the Machine has gone into overdrive trying to discredit the candidates who are more about common-sense than party politics and union rules. Local level issues are really not so partisan, but there’s such a determination to promote the “in crowd” without looking at the interests the serve. Look at the police endorsements, which are really about benefits to the police, rather than promoting safety, otherwise they would have gone to strong public safety supporters Francisco and Self. Throw yourself on the cogs on the Dem Machine : Santa Barbarans have to stop thinking money raised, ads published and brochures sent means there is “popular” support for that candidate. It represents special interest money with prices to pay later – public employee unions have cash to burn and they are the ones behind this fake “popular” front supporting their favored Democrat machine candidates. If you keep voting for this fake astro-turf candidate marketing like you just did for Das Williams, then there are no ground left for later complaints when you yet again put in tax and spend Democrat frauds and wonder why more and more of your present tax dollars go for more and more lavish employee benefits. Get the connection folks – money spent on local campaigns in these lavish amounts to buy fake publicity does not come from “friends and supporters”, it comes from the union-cash machines hiding behind fake campaign names. Do some homework and follow the money this next time. And look for similar addresses on the multiple fake name fronted organizations. There seems to be one on the Mesa that is looking highly suspect. anonymous : If she did do that, falsify signatures, then I hope it will be prominently displayed in ads during the election time. She’s a disaster. She moved back to SB after 20 years and promptly applied for the harbor commission, sometimes a feeder to the council, saying she used to go to the beach as a child. Despite Falcone-House, she didn’t get appointed so she applied to the planning commission probably because she liked houses – she had no community planning experience. She was appointed a year and a half ago in December, 2009 – thanks to Das and the Dems who kicked off the really good commissioner, Addison Thompson, who received high praise from Bendy White, as he did before he became a councilmember, “The planning commissioners’ planning commissioner”, someone who did his homework and did not have an agenda. Annie Haven | Authentic Haven Brand : Not all manure and compost is toxic fee organic yes, but not toxic free it’s important to know the source manures what livestock is fed and compost where did it come from. Southern California- Independent Woman Rancher, Annie Haven produces a garden Soil nutrient line of manure teas that are harvested and hand packaged for the Container, Patio, Balcony and home gardener. From her grass fed livestock only, free of GMO/GE tainted feed, antibiotics, growth hormones and pesticides. Talk to Santa Barbara Garden Designer Nell Foster and owner of JoyUs… Who has been brewing and feeding this manure tea from a closed loop source. It’s all about the Soil with Annie Haven and when you are growing edibles you had better beware of your Soil what you put in the Soil will come up through the roots! Anonymous : Along with the correct (i.e. Spanish) pronunciation of these Spanish words, it might be nice to include the colloquial pronunciation, too. I hear most old time SB’ers say “goo tair ehs”, completely skipping the “eee” sound. Grinding Gears : The reason we have a Democrat Machine is because SEIU and other employee union fronts need a place to put their massive campaign cash they use to buy city council members, as well as any other elected officials or school board members who have control over public employee contracts. That is the sum and substance of this Democrat machine and why we got into such a mess. They claim they are for the environment or social programs and toss a few crumbs to keep that cover, but 99% of their focus is on public employee contracts first last and always. They are for affordable housing only because they know every public subsidized housing unit the city builds or controls is one more Democrat machine vote. Please voters, don’t keep doing this to yourself and keep voting for Democrat machine candidates. You know who they are; now you know why. Barbara : THANKS to CEC for this ad!! (and to SB View for posting it.) The water bottle thing is part of a much bigger issue, making things for using once and tossing. Disposable stuff, highly convenient, and that is the only good thing about it. The economics of oil prices going up will begin to change this, I hope. Anonymous : Totally agree with left-out-democrat. Schwartz is anointed, by Salud, to pay her Momma Naomi back for anointing him. This is solid-machine-in-action kingmaking. When people see things like this, they get disheartened, because it locks out good candidates from running. I am shocked Santa Barbara does this, and tolerates it. Schwartz falsified two deaths at an intersection targeted for bulbouts on Milpas, that she supported on the Planning Commission. Hotchkiss called her bluff, and the police verified it – there were no pedestrian deaths there that would warrant a bulbout. I worry that these results mirror how the election might actually turn out – the Dem machine is strong. But it’s also dead wrong. Please don’t send us back into the dark ages with Schwartz and Falcone. Left-out Democrat : Not to go all conspiracy theory or anything, but in the City-run election pretty much anything can happen…especially with these hand-picked Machine candidates and the absence of a serious watchdog press. The gang that runs this place does not inspire my trust in a cleanly run election, not from the mailing of the ballots, the actual unmonitored voting over a month-long time period when the politics can enter in to see who is voting or not, and especially the counting itself. I remember some talk about Marty and her cronies checking signatures and making sure that certain ballots were re-checked. No wonder she was crying on election night when Michael Self managed to win anyway. Do it Yourself is Best : When you see the high prices for very simple, cheaply made clothing that proliferates in more and more shops downtown, one should learn how to sew these simple items themselves. Then they could stop complaining about it costing too much to live in Santa Barbara with the hundreds of dollars they would save with each outfit they learned to make themselves. Sorry to see Grant go but this location was not good for his customer demographics. Not sure why he left the Milpas area because sewing is still popular in this town and he knew the business of good machines. Bring back “home ec” and “shop” classes because too many young people waste too much money not knowing how to make or fix things. NO Democrat Machine Cronies : Don’t forget who put flunkie Deborah Schwartz on the Planning Commission in the first place as an in your face repudiation of the last election that brought in the new voter approved conservative city council shift: the out-going Marty Blum led city council dropped Schwartz in our faces as a last minute appointment in total defiance. That group included Iya Falcone, Das Williams and Roger Horton. If you put in Deborah Schwartz, you are getting that whole discredited former city council group back in our faces again. Any group that intentionally did this to the Planning Commission with the clear intention of giving Do-Nothing Schwart a leg up on a city council seat, deserved to get a clear rejection message from the voters who are tired of this Democrat machine crony politics that used to get played in this town. Bill : Schwartz is a no-nothing nobody who shouldn’t even be on the planning commission, let alone the city council. Didn’t this town learn its lesson voting for the wife of a real congressman? Naomi’s apron strings gave us Salud (ewww, yuck!). Let’s hope SB doesn’t keep repeating the same mistakes. Stay the course….Dale, Frank, Michael and Randy will serve us better than a thousand Debs. What we need now is fiscal common sense. Not Darakara-topia. Dem No More : Machines know how to stuff ballot boxes, particularly in IV which is Dem Machine Central. You don’t even know if this poll is just for SB voters. Sound like Daraka Larrimore Hall is playing with his keyboard now that he recently got kicked out of his job. No way Schwartz will win because she has to pass public scrutiny in person and her Planning Commission performances all rate a D- minus. She is a loser. Not to worry. But do worry about the Democrat vote generation machine. They can overtake laziness, but not an engaged electorate. This poll should wake up the dead who will also turn out in droves to keep those Dem Machine losers out and keep them out. The Recount : its amazing took a hour for the votes to change Thats how we do it Florida el_smurfo : Unfortunately this poll allows for multiple votes so is completely worthless except to illustrate how the left works in this town…. Anything goes to protect the stupid taxpayers from themselves. Anonymous : I can’t believe Deborah would win this handily. I bet the Dems found out about this poll, and emailed their people to vote. Or the POA did. But it allows you to vote multiple times, so Schwartz could have voted for herself 40 times to boost her numbers. Pritchett was famous for that kind of thing. Sigh. If this is how the election turns out, we’re sunk. Evelyn : I remember Maggies Flying saucers. I also loved Frimples. They had the best cinnamon rolls! Anonymous : Really? How cool is that. Those certainly were the days. SB Seashells : Huh! http://www.swt.org/robert/writ /bottlevoice.htm In Santa Barbara, there is no evidence of actual public health concerns with the tap water, despite popular belief to the contrary. Some people do not enjoy the flavor of the water here. The flavor of the water is largely due to minerals picked up by the water in the rocky water tunnels from the reservoirs. It is ironic that people want to have these “contaminants” removed and then they pay good money to buy mineral supplements to have these minerals replaced in their diets. When I first arrived in Santa Barbara for graduate school in 1982, everyone I met told me I absolutely had to drink bottled water. Fortunately, the dental hygienist at the UCSB dental clinic told me that was not true. She told me that if you drink the local water for a couple of weeks, you become accustomed to the minerals and the water will taste just fine. SB Seashells : I remember as a kid being told how bad the local tap water is but havent heard that complaint in a while.

Melody Crust - Fiber Artist: Thread Tuesday

Rayon thread -- This thread is very a popular choice overall because of its attractive high sheen, widespread availability, and consistent trouble-free performance, holding up to high-speed stitching without breaking or fraying. Rayon thread comes in a wide range of solid and variegated colors, as well as in a new "twist" thread composed of two or more solid colors twisted together to form a single strand, which adds automatic shading and dimension to flat designs. Most rayon threads are available in a standard 40 wt. and a thicker 30 wt. (in terms of thread sizing, the higher the number, the finer the thread). My quilts are colorful, graphic, vibrant and joyful!! I use color and texture to explore the glories of nature. Realism or abstraction, are used as best fits a theme or concept. I enjoy the challenge and excitement of translating my vision into quilts through a rich variety of fabrics, gilding and embellishment. I find such joy in being able to express myself through quilting, that I'm not comfortable without a needle in my hand. Quilting is my life's work and a wonderful one at that. The best quilt is always the next one. I am proud to be participating in the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative, a program to raise awareness and fund research for Alzheimer's disease. It has two parts: a traveling art quilt exhibit interpreting Alzheimer's in fiber art that will tour the US for three years, and an on-going sale of small art quilts. All proceeds will go to Alzheimer's research.

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