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This week we look through a different lens at sustainability. I speak with Dara Tomasson about her journey to becoming a life and weight loss coach for quilters. We get into a great conversation about sustainability beginning with the individual and rippling into other parts of our lives as we feel confident.  There's no doubt that we have to be in the right mindset to think about the world around us and it can start with putting ourselves first.  Many quilters are women over 50 and life changes can result in habits that are not the most healthy for our bodies. Dara talks about learning to nourish yourself, which can lead to great things. Join us while we talk about these concepts and more. 

"After spending the past 25 years of riding the nauseating roller coaster of weight loss and gain with its accompanying negative self talk and discomfort I knew I needed to help others achieve the same results."

Dara Tomasson is a  life and weight loss coach for quilters. She has written a program called Love Yourself Thin that teaches quilters to show as much love and compassion to themselves as they put into their quilts and has helped quilters lose 100's of pounds.

You can find her here: 

• Website: www.daratomasson.com
• Instagram: @dara_tomasson
• Facebook: @DaraTomassonLifeCoach 
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DaraTomasson

You can find me, Bridget O'Flaherty - The Sustainable Quilter here:
www.bridgetoflaherty.com

Instagram: @thesustainablequilter
Facebook: @thesustainablequilter
Youtube: Bridget O'Flaherty The Sustainable Quilter

Music Credit: Thanks to Isaac Matthews for his incredible talent.
You can find and follow him on Instagram @hesjustakid for more of his music. 

Support the show  but me a cup of tea!
https://bridgetoflaherty.com/product/support-the-podcast/

Support the show

Follow Bridget O'Flaherty @thesustainablequilter 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

Send us a text

Janine Heschl is an art activist that creates her art to bring light to endangered species. She is a thread painter extraordinaire and we talk about her process, inspiration and even her experience in meeting her idol - Jane Goodall. Making art can go far to making a difference. We talk about the creative process, thread, environmental overwhelm, inspiration and even dig into our thoughts on what quilt suppliers and companies need to be doing to advance sustainability.

Her aim with photorealistic embroidery art is to translate wildlife into thread and to let the viewers connect with the softness of the rawness of animals, to see them in a different perspective, different lighting or in fragments; to evoke emotion, increase levels of empathy and stimulate a connectedness with the subject. She believes in order to save our wildlife we need to develop a deeper sense of caring and cultivate empathy – to make compassion common again. #empathyforwildlife

You can find Janine here:

Website: www.textilewildlifeart.com
Instagram: @janine.heschl
Facebook: @textilewildlifeart

The Ivory Game 

Earth League International 

Wounda and Jane Goodall 

IUCN Red List

You can find me, Bridget O'Flaherty - The Sustainable Quilter here:
www.bridgetoflaherty.com

Instagram: @thesustainablequilter
Facebook: @thesustainablequilter
Youtube: Bridget O'Flaherty The Sustainable Quilter

Music Credit: Thanks to Isaac Matthews for his incredible talent.
You can find and follow him on Instagram @hesjustakid for more of his music. 

Support the show

Support the show

Follow Bridget O'Flaherty @thesustainablequilter 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

Send us a text

Sustainable quilting is catching on the world over. In the Netherlands,  another sustainable quilter - Rianne Doller from Kick-Ass Quilts and I talk about the motivation behind her sustainable quilting projects and some of the people she has helped already.

Rianne Doller is also know as The Sustainable Quilter in the Netherlands (there's room for all of us!). With Kick Ass Quilts, she teaches and inspires people to up-cycle old textiles into new quilts. They are also a movement for a welcome, sustainable, world for everyone with the magic of quilts through joy, connection, mindfulness and sustainability! Societies trash will be their treasure.

You can find Kick Ass Quilts here:

Website:  https://kickassquilts.org/

Social Media handles: 

·     Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kickassquilts/

·     Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kickassquilts

·     YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGRVeNT5t58qEE0gRhRpFtg

·     Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kick-ass-quilts/ 

You can find me, Bridget O'Flaherty - The Sustainable Quilter here:
www.bridgetoflaherty.com

Instagram: @thesustainablequilter
Facebook: @thesustainablequilter
Youtube: Bridget O'Flaherty The Sustainable Quilter

Music Credit: Thanks to Isaac Matthews for his incredible talent.
You can find and follow him on Instagram @hesjustakid for more of his music. 

Support the show

Follow Bridget O'Flaherty @thesustainablequilter 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

Send us a text

Sustainability contains three pillars; environmental, economic and social contexts. All three need to be considered. Community, history and legacy are such a huge part of a sustainable future. The history of Residential Schools and the revelation of unmarked graves in 2021 compelled  Vanessa Genier to offer comfort to her community. It started as an ambitious, community project and has grown bigger than she could have imagined. It has touched communities all across Canada, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, from volunteers to survivors. She sits down and talks to me about some of the stories she has heard, some of the history she knows and the healing that is happening. 

*This episode contains topics and conversations about Residential School conditions and impacts that some may find triggering.

About Vanessa: My name is Vanessa Genier my spirit name is Summer Sky Woman. I am an indigenous mother from Missanabie Cree First Nation located in Ontario. I live in Timmins Ontario with my five children. I am a passionate quilter for over 30 years and am a bookkeeper by trade and have my Bachelor of Business. I believe that we have responsibility to use our gifts to better those around us.

If you would like to help the cause, or want to request a quilt for a survivor,  you can find Quilts for Survivors at www.quiltsforsurvivors.ca

Social Media: 

• Instagram:   QuiltsforSurvivors
• Facebook: quilts_for_survivors 
• YouTube
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Quilt4Survivors
• TikTok

You can join the sustainability community on my website www.bridgetoflaherty.com. There you will find my newsletter, memberships, courses, resources and supplies.

You can find me on Social Media

Instagram: @thesustainablequilter
Facebook: @thesustainablequilter
Youtube: Bridget O'Flaherty The Sustainable Quilter

Music Credit: Thanks to Isaac Matthews for his incredible talent.
You can find and follow him on Instagram @hesjustakid for more of his music. 

Support the show

Follow Bridget O'Flaherty @thesustainablequilter 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

Send us a text

Joins us as we learn about the colonial history of Shweshwe fabric and the complex, fabulous story of resilience of this South African fabric. This parent company does the trifecta of sustainability with social, economic and environmental projects steeped into their business model.

Driven by her passion for the beautiful creativity of South Africa, Céleste Compion aims to teach more people about it, by importing and distributing Three Cats Shweshwe to North America. Shweshwe, often called the “tartan" of South Africa, is a heritage fabric with a fascinating social justice story.

Noted within this episode:
Da Gama Fabrics: www.dagama.co.za
Poppi dolls: I did a pretty extensive search into locating contact information for this project, but did not turn up anything concrete. If you know how to find these dolls, please let us know!
Kekfesto: Wikipedia 

You can find Meerkat Shweshwe in the following locations: 

Website: www.meerkatshweshwe.com

Social Media handles: 

• Instagram: Meerkat Shweshwe 
• Facebook: Meerkat Shweshwe 
• Twitter: mtshweshwe 

How to find your host, Bridget O'Flaherty:
You can join the sustainability community at  www.bridgetoflaherty.com. There you will find a newsletter, memberships, courses, resources and supplies.

You can find Bridget on Social Media

Instagram: @thesustainablequilter
Facebook: @thesustainablequilter
Youtube: Bridget O'Flaherty The Sustainable Quilter

Music Credit: Thanks to Isaac Matthews for his incredible talent.
You can find and follow him on Instagram @hesjustakid for more of his music. 

Support the show

Follow Bridget O'Flaherty @thesustainablequilter 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

Send us a text

In this first episode of Threads of Sustainability, I flip the interview and have a conversation  with Jasper Nault who asks me about the motivation for starting a podcast on sustainability in quilting, fibre and textile arts. 

We talk about: 

• Who I am
• Eco-overwhelm
• Problems in the textile industry
• Overconsumption
• Environmental issues
• Themes and topics the podcast will explore 
• Re-enforcing that small actions matter and, 
• Inspiration for change

You can join the sustainability community on my website www.bridgetoflaherty.com. There you will find my newsletter, memberships, courses, resources and supplies.

You can find me on Social Media

Instagram: @thesustainablequilter
Facebook: @thesustainablequilter
Youtube: Bridget O'Flaherty The Sustainable Quilter

You can find and follow Jasper Nault on Instagram @jasper_nault to see all of his latest and coolest art.

Music Credit: Thanks to Isaac Matthews for his incredible talent.
You can find and follow him on Instagram @hesjustakid for more of his music. 

Support the show

Follow Bridget O'Flaherty @thesustainablequilter 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