The Matersum Blog: i.am.mother.

Feverishly Cathartic Sewing

Geneviève — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 21:30:35 +0000

Many of you know that my mom passed away this Spring after a short bout of recurrent breast cancer. She first beat breast cancer 14 years ago and I was so thankful that she was with us to see me marry and have her grand babies. There was a time we didn’t think she’d have been there for any of it. It brings me to my knees just thinking about it. We were given a gift of 14 extra years and I am so so so thankful.

Enough tears, my lovelies. Good things are coming to Matersum!

After a morning cup of coffee (and thanks to hubs for keeping the kids occupied most of the day!) I toiled away in my freshly re-arranged studio to produce some new pieces.

Oh girls, I was giggling, I tell you! The fabric was dancing in my hands, begging to be sewn with!

What is that GORGEOUS fabric you ask?

Well, though I have, in principle, abandoned the purchase of conventionally-grown cotton for environmental reasons, I broke my promise for Tula Pink. Tula, you captured my heart with your nightshade collection. If you could only convince FreeSpirit to offer organics, I’d be yours forever!

So after combining Tula’s fabrics with some Canadian-manufactured certified organic cotton fleece (can you say YUM!) I made…

Wait for it…

THESE!

Now, tell me … are these not the most fun Hallowe’en pads you’ve ever seen?

Oh my lovelies! This has been such a wonderful day!

But.

(Don’t you hate ‘buts’?)

I only have a limited amount of this most wonderful fabric. There won’t be more that maybe 6 or 8 pads per print. And the portraits are almost certain to be one of a kinds!

So if there’s something you like, you’ll have to hop! hop! hop! quickly like a bunny to catch one while they’re available!

They’ll be available in my Etsy shop ~~tonight after my kids are in bed~~ probably Monday morning if I can take better photos! Message me if you want to reserve something!

Fun fun!!

Matersum is paused

Geneviève — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:51:25 +0000

After a brief battle with recurrent breast cancer, my mother passed away at the beginning of April. It has been a tremendously emotional time, trips to and from the hospital since February, caring for my kids, colds, flus, Spring.

MatersumPads is in mourning. Thank you for your understanding and support.u

A Healthy Future – Cancer-Reducing Choices

Geneviève — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 14:31:25 +0000

There is no single cause of cancer. From what is understood, it is primarily the combination of a lifetime of lifestyle & environmental factors. From the more obvious risks such as smoking, to more subtle risks such as slathering our bodies for decades in shampoos, conditioners, body washes, soaps, skin creams & make ups that are composed to carcinogenic ingredients, Cancer is everywhere, more prominent than ever. And when one in 2.3 Canadians will be diagnosed at some point in their lives, it’s surprising that not more is being done to educate the population.

Making green choices is one the best ways to help reduce your risk of Cancer. It may seem silly, or trendy, but there are real benefits, life long benefits, to making sustainable choices. By reducing our exposure to known and suspected carcinogens over the long term, we give ourselves, and the planet, a fighting chance at a healthy future.

On a personal level, I started “greening” my life back when I started growing my own vegetables 15 or so years ago. When I had my first child over 6 years ago, I eliminated toxic cleaning chemicals and switched to baking soda, vinegar, and lemon to make a safer environment for my baby. I opted to cloth diaper my baby and, perhaps best of all, dedicated myself to breastfeeding.

Since those days I’ve made other changes, little changes, to help improve our environment and our health. I know it seems counter-intuitive in a modern life, but the result of three generations of progress being made in the name of convenience has shown us that not only is this lifestyle unsustainable, it’s truly bad for our health.

BMatersumPads are my small contribution to making the world a better place. Reusable cloth menstrual pads reduce landfill waste, and if made from organic materials, reduce crop pesticides and other chemicals used in the production of fabrics. MatersumPads are made from quality, Canadian-manufactured, certified organic & earth-friendly cotton & bamboo fleece, handmade with love and care by me in my little studio.

Cheap & Easy Stovetop Pot-Pourri

Geneviève — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:50:21 +0000

Make use of those orange rinds you’re about to toss and instead drop them in a pot with some water, a little vanilla extract and a Cinnamon stick on low/medium heat and you’ve got a virtually free aromatherapy & humidifier during those cold, dry Winter months.It smells positively divine!

Let them eat cake!

Geneviève — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:25:12 +0000

I went off on a fanciful twist this afternoon and baked! Oh, I often cook up all kinds of goodies in my kitchen, breads, cookies and other yummies, but today we fancied a chocolate-cherry cake! Kids in tow, apron at the ready, we headed into the kitchen!

We’re still looking for our groove. Bebe#1 and I have baked together for a long time. But Bebe#2 wants to take part now and is still rather little. Sometimes, the simplest of tasks can help keep things running smoothly.

We used this recipe for the vanilla cake and doubled it to make it two layers. We took Vanessa’s tips and used 1.5C of milk instead of 1C. and 2 tbsp. of vanilla instead of 4tsp.

The center is nothing more than cherry Double Fruit. Mmmmmm.

For the icing, I used this recipe and added just a little extra cocoa for a super chocolate kick!And of course, the piece de resistence : sprinkles!

Of course no cake is complete without a little cup of tea which was just about to boil!

Care to join me?

Why don’t Matersum Pads have waterproofing?

Geneviève — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 02:22:45 +0000

So you love the look of Matersum Pads and you love that they 100% certified organic or Eco-friendly but you’re scared to use them because there is no waterproofing. It’s okay. Read on.

There are a few types of waterproofing: synthetics like polyester fleece and PUL which are the most popular and natural fiber like wool.

As a dedicated environmentalist, I can no longer condone the use of synthetic fabrics. Derived from oil, polyester micro fleece and PUL will not degrade for hundreds of years once we toss an aged pad. It’s great that the pads can last 5 or more years, but ultimately they still end up in a landfill.

Wool, I love wool. But modern wool production can be a really bad existence for a sheep, much akin to the harsh conditions food livestock have to live in. Certified organic wool from ethical farms exist, but for the moment it remains prohibitively expensive.

To compensate for a lack of waterproofing, Matersum Pads are made with at least TWO TIMES the number of absorbent layers that most other brands of pads are made with. That’s a lot of certified organic cotton goodness! Used to only 2 or 3 layers of protection? Most Matersum Pads are made with 4 or 6 layers and yet remain less bulky!

So why not gIve Matersum Pads a try: they’re scrumptiously soft, exceptionally luxurious, highly absorbent and earth-friendly to boot!

A Lady of the Land

Geneviève — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:44:43 +0000

Most of you don’t know that I am an apprentice herbwife. I have been growing my own certified organic flowers & herbs for a few years now and more recently harvesting them to make organic balms and salves. There is something tremendously… alive… about being a part of the process from growing, to harvesting, to creating a finished product. Oh, I will be an apprentice for a very long time, until I am old and gray I am sure. And every day I strive to learn more.

For example: collecting your flowers just before it rains to try and save them… will not save them. Lesson learned: patience, my friend. My supply of oils are dangerously low. The call of Spring is illuminating my heart! And while I sit on this cold, cold January morning dreaming of warmers days, I am reminded that I must have patience. Spring will come. The great thaw is just around the bend. I’ll take this time to plan, as I should, on a cold January morning.

Soothe a Sore Throat Naturally

Geneviève — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:04:19 +0000

If you find yourself with a sore throat and are looking for a non-pharmaceutical way to soothe it, you might like to try this traditional remedy.

2 tbsp lemon juice (squeezed, preferably)
1 tbsp honey*
1/2 C of warm (not boiling!) water

You can play a little bit with the measurements to find what suits you best.

*Please remember to never give honey to a baby under 1 year old.

{ N O T E }

I am not a doctor and the above does not replace medical opinion. Please seek consultation. Matersum assumes no responsibility for your actions.

Share your Cloth Pad Story with us!

Geneviève — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 01:33:56 +0000

If you’re a cloth pad user then you must have a tale of how you made the switch from throwaway sanitary napkins to washable cloth pads. And Matersum wants to hear about it!

Was it a long time ago? Was it yesterday? Did it change how you felt about having a period? Do you like big pads? Small pads? Thin ones? Thick ones?

Share your story (either here in the comments or link me to your blog post) and you could win a 100% certified organic cotton fleece cloth menstrual liner by Matersum!

New Stock Coming in Matersum’s Shop!

Geneviève — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 02:06:01 +0000

I’ve been in the mood to sew. Tonight I made this fun little set of 4 Matersum cloth pads. They measure 7.5″ long by 2.25″ wide (when snapped). They’re perfect for those light to medium days! Oh I love them so! These will also be in the shop this week!