Episode 23: Bill Stearman talks about his Journey Towards Sustainability with his modern Quilts

02/16/23 • 54 min

Bill Stearman and I are friends and colleagues. We both quilt, we both teach, we are both passionate about our journey and feel strongly about telling our stories. I met Bill at a quilt conference 4 years ago, where I was speaking about sustainability and he was speaking about his journey as a gay man, expressing his stories through his modern quilts. That pivotal meeting is where Bill decided he wanted to do more than just tell the amazing stories he does. He also wanted to bring sustainability into the narrative. He's been working towards that ever since.
We talk about all kinds of connections, concerns and solutions that he has come across as he has journeyed. We also talk about some of our personal stories that we feel very strongly about sharing with openness and kindness.
Bill struggled with storytelling as a way to make sense of his life for many years. And then discovered his voice in quilt making.

Fabrics and carefully placed stitches express joy, anguish, hope, gratitude, and love, providing glimpses into deep and important stories; stories that matter on personal and social levels.

His quilts make bold statements and provoke thoughtful consideration of a variety of issues.

You can find Bill here:
Facebook: Bill Stearman
Instagram: @bill_stearman
Website: http://billstearmanquilts.blogspot.com/
You can get tickets on Eventbrite for Bill's talk on February 27th, 2023
Toward Sustainability as a Quilt Maker
toward-sustainability-as-a-quilt-maker-bill-stearman-tickets-

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Join The Green Stitcher's Hive at https://thegreenstitchershive.mn.co/
Follow Bridget O'Flaherty @bridgetoflahertytextiles on Instagram and @thesustainablequilter on Facebook.
You can find her online at www.bridgetoflaherty.com
Thanks to Isaac Matthews for the music, follow him on Instagram @hesjustakid

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Fabrics and carefully placed stitches express joy, anguish, hope, gratitude, and love, providing glimpses into deep and important stories; stories that matter on personal and social levels.

His quilts make bold statements and provoke thoughtful consideration of a variety of issues.

Support the show

Previous Episode

Episode 22 : How The Oeko-Tex Certification Label Delivers Safe Textiles

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Elana Frosk from Oeko-Tex joins Bridget in this episode to get deep into the weeds of certifications. She loves nerding out just a little about this topic. It's near and dear to her heart. Labelling and certification not only assure us of the authenticity of a product in its claims but also gives the industry data to work with to make more strides in sustainability. They talk about why people should care about certification, this one addresses harmful substances in the textile world. Companies need to get on this train, consumers are starting to demand more and more transparency when it comes to having healthy textiles.
If a textile article carries the STANDARD 100 label, you can be certain that every component of this article, i.e. every thread, button and other accessories, has been tested for harmful substances and that the article, therefore, is harmless for human health.
Below is their web page on OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100:

https://www.hohenstein.us/en-us/oeko-tex/output-control/standard-100

Below is their web page on OEKO-TEX® MADE IN GREEN:

https://www.hohenstein.us/en-us/oeko-tex/output-control/made-in-green
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oekotex
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oeko_tex/

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Next Episode

Episode 24: How to Create Thrifted Quilts with Sonya Oblak

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This episode features Sonya Oblak, a thrifty, improvisational quilter who recently built her dream home with an ideal quilt studio in northern Canada. Sonya shares her must-haves for a quilt studio and reflects on her 25 years of thrifting and quilting, offering tips on how to thrift for fabric for quilts and sharing her favourite thrift store finds. Did you know it only takes 6-7 shirts to make a quilt top?

She also shares her passion for improvisational quilting that tell inspiring quilt stories, encouraging quilters to challenge themselves and show off their scrap quilts. Sonya shares her scrap and thread bit storage ideas so that her scraps are easy to access for her next project. She uses every bit of the clothing she upcycles including the seams in her hobby of crocheting rag rugs. We also talk about how busy hands are important for mental health, it’s ok to have an active mind!

Living in a high-efficiency designed home in the Yukon with solar, Sonya has also found ways to bring sustainability into quilting, sharing practical steps to create a better world and keep fabric and textiles out of the waste stream. She offers advice for newbies to sustainability, including identifying linen and cotton from thrifted materials.

Join us in this inspiring conversation as we explore how small choices we make can impact all areas of our lives, how sustainability in quilting can lead to a better world for all, and how we can make quilting accessible while preserving traditional up-cycling practices.
Plus, don't forget to take up the challenge, show off your scrap quilts on IG, and tag us!
You can find Sonya on Instagram: @Sonya.oblak

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