What’s the H.E.R.Monthly Pad Club?![]() It’s Homestead Emporium’s club in which subscribers receive one new pad every month, for three months! A colorful, cheerful, luxuriously soft and pampering surprise in the mail. A surprise to make your monthly just that much more enjoyable! If you LOVE our pads, if you LOVE our variety of colorways, you will LOVE each surprise you receive! Each month I will be making a special batch of pads created with a new colorway. You will receive one regular flow pad to add to your stash!
![]() The the H.E.R.Monthly Pad Club Subscriptions are open to anyone, anywhere. The price is the same for each THREE month subscription, however, shipping prices vary. Please be sure to choose the correct shipping cost for your area. Be sure to read the full list of details, including information on shipping, here:
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The H.E.R.Monthly Pad Club is FINALLY here!
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Canada Post Strike Update, new stocking, and more!
Update for US & International Customers:
So far it doesn’t seem Canada Post is going to be ending the strike in the next couple of days, so I’ve got a back up plan for our US and International customers (and I’m hoping those of us in Canada can sweat it out a little longer, since it’s our fellow residents fighting their battles here).
On Tuesday, June 28th, I will be sending a very large box of packages/purchases made over the past couple of stockings to the US via UPS to a very trusted work at home mom.
She will then be rerouting all the packages directly to each of you from her US address so that no one will have to wait any longer for their orders then need be!
For Canadian Customers:
While we’re waiting, we discussed on facebook that it might be fun to have a Canadian’s only Co-op. What’s a co-op? It’s a ‘group’ buy where everyone places their order, with me, and then I make everything at one time, like a large order, but then I ship it all out to each of you individually. Co-op participants receive 20% off their orders. Co-op turn around time is aprox. 6-8 weeks, depending on the final order size, and by that time, the strike should be LONG behind us!
So if you’re in Canada, and would like to get in on our co-op, then join us at facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HomesteadEmporium.
I’ll be putting up a notice with the information later today.Thanks again for your patience everyone!
The coupon code for 15% off, “STRIKE”, will still be valid for this week’s stocking!
And don’t forget, I’m going to be hosting a drawing for a three month membership to the Monthly H.E.R. Pad Club!
For the duration of the strike, every single order that uses the coupon code STRIKE upon checkout will be entered into a FREE drawing for a totally FREE THREE MONTH subscription to the Monthly H.E.R. Pad Club!
We’ll even pay the shipping!
What’s the H.E.R. Pad Club?
It’s a top secret club in which subscribers receive one new pad every month, a surprise in the mail. A surprise to make your monthly that much more enjoyable!
The subscriptions have not even been offered up for sale yet! The winner of this prize will be our VERY FIRST H.E.R. Pad Club member!
As an added bonus, I’m also going to converse with the very first member, the winner of this awesome give away, to find out what THEIR favorite pads and dye colors are and I will take this information into consideration while creating our first three H.E.R. Pad Clubsurprise pads!
So there you have it, today’s updates! I wanted to let you all know what’s going on behind the scenes before our stocking today!
Come join us and see what’s new today!
http://hyenacart.com/HomesteadEmporium/
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I’ve decided to make the switch, now what?
So you’ve decided that you’re finally going to do it!
You’re going to make that big switch, the switch from disposable pads, to cloth pads.
Now what?
Where to begin? What to buy? There’s SO many options, so much to choose from, it can be SO confusing!
How many pads does one truly ‘NEED’ for their period?
I’m going to try and keep this post as simple, and short, yet as informative as possible.
How many pads YOU will need in total depends a lot upon how often you’ll be washing your stash. For example, if you are able to wash your stash daily then your stash needn’t be so large.
If you usually wear one disposable pad per night, then you just need one night time pad per day.
If you are changing out your disposable pads 4-8 times per day, then you’d need 4-8 regular flow pads per day.
If you have a lighter flow, you’ll need even less pads.
If your flow is heavier, you will need more pads, OR simply more of the heavy flow pads instead of more of the regular flow pads.
I’ve found in speaking with hundreds of women about their periods, even those with the heaviest flow usually have days where their flow does taper down. Personally, I use about 4-6 heavy flow pads per day for my cycle because I have 24-48 hours where my flow is very heavy. However, once it tapers down, I am fine with the regular flow pads and I really only need about 4-8 of those per day. As my flow tapers down even more, I switch over to a light pad/panty liner. I really don’t like to wear more pad then I need to.
So to re-cap in real short form, here are a few examples of packages for each type of flow.
Typical Regular- Heavy Flow Package:
- 2-6 Heavy Flow pads
- 6-12 Regular Flow Pads
- 2-4 Light Flow Pads/Panty Liners
Heavy Flow Package:
- 4-8 Heavy Flow pads
- 4-8 Regular Flow Pads
- 2-4 Light Flow Pads/Panty Liners
Light – Regular Flow Package:
- 1-2 Heavy Flow pads
- 4-8 Regular Flow Pads
- 2-4 Light Flow Pads/Panty Liners
I hope this helps ease some confusion for those of you wanting to take that first step into the wonderful world of cloth! If you’d like to read more, I have several articles pertaining to cloth pads in my All About Cloth section here on the blog.I have several other links for your reading pleasure as well:And if you’re still unsure and would like to read feedback from other women just like you, we have LOTS:So go for it, just do it, it really IS much easier, and much more comfortable, then you could ever imagine! -
My soft spot.
You may not know this, but I have a soft spot for one of the products we sell.
It’s nearest and dearest to my heart. Why? Because it’s exactly what I wished I had for so many many years, so many years ago.
Our nursing pads.
My children have all grown up well beyond the nursing stage now. My eldest will be 20 in just two months. My youngest, our twin girls, are now 11.5 years old.
I have not nursed a child since they were just 2.5 years old.
It feels like just yesterday Julia looked up at me when she tried to nurse, and let out a little cry, and said, “Wawa (her way of saying Shaylah, her twin sister) drinked all my milk…”
I knew then that our nursing days were over. My milk was now gone.
In total, I’ve nursed five babies for 108 months of my life.
During that entire time, I always wanted some awesome nursing pads. I was a soaker, a super soaker. I wanted super soaker nursing pads that could withstand my super soaking needs.
However, at that time I didn’t know about pul, organic cotton fleece, and other such high quality fabrics that could help me.
So instead, I made myself reusuable nursing pads out of flannel from the local fabric store, and, of all things, baby plastic pants.
I cut out tear drop shapes, and sewed them onto the backs of my homemade contoured nursing pads.
I had no pretty colorful pul back then. Such a thing didn’t even exist in Canada! But the plastic pants, purchased at a local thrift store, actually did suffice fairly well!
BUT, when I learned of pul… and absorbent organic fabrics…
I was in awe. TOTAL awe! These amazing fabrics that could withstand leaks, even leaks like those of mount milkie! I wished I had discovered these fabrics years before, but was so VERY happy I had discovered it now!Maybe I couldn’t help myself, as my nursing days were now over, but I could however, help those who understood the same frustrations I had felt when nursing.
And this, is how our nursing pads were born. Years ago, and now loved by so many.
I thank YOU for that!
*If you’ve used our nursing pads over the years, please, share here! YOUR experience could help another shed those disposable nursing pads and realize that they can have their needs met with reusable!
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We’re sorry…
We’re sorry, but we can not receive your ‘call’ at this time.
All systems are busy, please try again later.
That’s how my brain & body feel right now. Ha! What I “want” to do is sit here and look for a farm within our budget, now that we’ve “lost” the other farm, but what I must do is get busy and finish up this week’s stocking items!
By the way, I did it again, but this time you were not sleeping. I did another dyeing session, unannounced. Hee hee. I had to dye two pieces of fabric for a custom order, sooo… why set things up for just 2 yards of fabric when you can enjoy an ENTIRE afternoon dyeing up 10 yards instead?
Plus with all the fabric I’ve been cutting through for all these extra’s like the luxury cloths, more fabric, (and more COLOR) was needed.
I’m sure you all won’t mind my sneaking away like that. Only good things come of that kind of sneaking…
Maybe this stocking will need to be called, “while you were playing…”
I’ll try to share some sneak peek photos on facebook some time in the next day or two!
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“While you were sleeping” surprise colorways stocking & more…
We’ve been discussing what to title this week’s stocking on our facebook.
One day last week, while most of you were probably sleeping, I had a ‘secret’ dyeing session.
I had my younger three girls dye with me this time.
I wanted a chance to just play with some color, without any pressure to produce any one thing in particular, and so the girls could have some fun with me. So we had a late night dyeing session.
It was fun!
Shaylah has been wanting to dye some fabric in the colors of her bird “Stevie” for quite some time now.
So this is what she came up with! She’s making herself some cloths, and she let me use some for the shop as well. Our mini luxury cloths.
Julia loves rich colors, here’s her piece. She used some of it for her own pad stash, which is growing by the WEEK. Ha! This girl is going to have the largest pad stash you’ve ever seen, and she’s only 11. She can’t help it, she loves color. We even cut me out a new pad with some of her fabric. We’ll show them here once they are done. She wants to show off her entire stash at that time.
Elsa picked out a lot of pinks and purples and here’s what she ended up with.
She cut out some cotton balls for this week’s stocking from her fabric, and gave some to Julia to cut out as well.Pretties that have been all cut, and now waiting to be sewn up by me.
It’s very important to me that this business of mine, not only bless my children through the financial aspect of putting food on the table and a roof over their heads, but also in more personal ways.
My time working, is time away from them. I may be “here” all the time, but I’m not here at “their” disposal all the time. I’m constantly having to say, “Sorry, but I can’t right now. I have a lot of work to do.”
I don’t want them to hate this business because of all the time it pulls their mama away, so I include them in the business in any way that THEY want to be included.
This is what makes this business a true ‘family’ business. It’s a part of our lives, we come together to create things for the shop, and find joy, and blessing, in it all.
At one time Elsa and I offered scented sachets in the shop. My time became too limited to be cutting them out and helping her to sew them up, so we stopped.
This past week however, I realized her sewing and cutting skills have now become such that she could possibly make the sachets all by herself!
She was so excited! Here’s some of the ones she made for this week’s stocking.
As for what I’ve been up to…
Here’s a sneak peek at just a few of this week’s,
“While you were sleeping…” stocking!I don’t want to show too much, or it will ruin the surprise!
Everything will be previewing in the shop tonight in preparation for our stocking tomorrow at 11am pst/2pm est.
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VERY excited about this week’s stocking! New products!
I am VERY excited about the stocking this week! We’ve got NEW items!
Or maybe I should say, a new spins on already loved items?
In either case, I’ve been busy designing behind the scenes and finally had to share!
First off, we have a new nursing pad design.
~Introducing the EnduraFit Nursing Pad!
The EnduraFit allows YOU to customize your own personal fit!
Simply overlap the two ends to the perfet FIT for YOU!
The EnduraFit has been created with a cool wicking fabric layer, for against the skin. This is the same as we use in our EnduraPads.
This fabric will keep you feeling cool, and dry, through the hot summer months and beyond!
Pair this up with our new ‘large’ milk.stops and you’ve got awesome protection even for super soakers! For this stocking, we have two sets of EnduraFit Nursing Pads paired up with our new SUPER TRIM ‘large’ milk.stops! What a great combination!
~Next up, our new UltiMax Slim Pad!
*these photos were all taken before snaps were added.Many of you have asked me over the years for a pad as absorbent as the Ultimate and then the UltiMax, in a version that could be backed in PUL (poly laminated cotton fabric) for a trimmer, yet still highly absorbent, pad!
Because of the super curves of the Ultimate and then the UltiMax, and the issues with the PUL not stretching well enough to really work with those curves and still conform to your body, I have now created a new design which will FINALLY allow for the best of both worlds!
The UltiMax Slim.
The pad shown in these photos not only has a SUPER trim PUL backing, but it also has a zorb boost as well as our usual heavy flow absorbency!
This pad is SUPER absorbent, yet just take a look at how slim it is!
Super absorbency, super slim, yet SUPER comfortable! Just what you need on those super heavy flow days when you need to be out and about and NEED that extra protection!
And last, but not least, we are bringing back an ‘original’!
The ‘original’ Comfort Contour Pad!
When I first designed the original comfort contour pad, it was super trim, super slim, and super comfortable!
However, the company we were purchasing from, who makes the windpro fleece, complete re-organized their way of dealing with small businesses (they were going to close their doors to small business all together, thank goodness they didn’t do that!) and we were no longer able to purchase certain fleeces we usually had. Namely, the shirt-weight fleece.
This created a need for a slight re-design. We went from a two piece backing, to using the pad and tab wings out stretched to create a new pattern for our backing in a one piece. Rather then sewing the wings on separately, the backing and wings became one.
The light weight to mid-weight fabrics were were getting in were no longer thin enough to create the Comfort Contour as I had originally designed, except when using PUL as the backing.
Although the pad is essentially the same, there is a slight difference. When sewing the center and top onto the backing in the new way, the backing had to be made just a little larger so things would stay nice and even, and so the pad would have a better fit with the fleece backing done this way.
However, I have always prefered the ‘original’ comfort contour pad over the new style.
Why? Because I feel it makes for a better pad for those who prefer the comfort contour style. Those with a flow that ‘behaves’, a flow that is simply a regular flow, not too heavy, not gushy. For those who, when using disposable pads previously, preferred a pad with NO wings. One with as little bulk as absolutely possible.
This is why our light comfort contour pad, and tiny liners, have always remained the same. Since they are not a ‘thick’ a pad, I never had issues with the backings using the light weight fleece.
Over the last while, I have been able to bring in some more of the original super trim fabrics we began with, more of the shirt weight windpro, and thus I am now able to bring back the orginal, one and only, truly Comfort Contour Pad.
Those who have some of the originals in their stash, will be pleased to hear it!
We will still carry the newer Comfort Contour pads for those of you who prefer our slightly thicker windpro fleece backing, but for those of you who say GO SLIMMER, GO TRIMMER, you’ll love the ‘original’ comfort contour pad.
This week we will be stocking these with trim waterproof fleece, and some with super trim PUL backing!
If you have a regular flow, that likes to stay put, will behave for you, and remain where it belongs, these are just perfect for you!
Or if you have a flow that begins heavy, but as your period goes on, it tapers down, these are also perfect for those days near the end when you no longer need a great big pad and you just want some contoured comfort instead!
*More details to come about all the new items tonight as I list previews for Friday’s stocking.
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Our backing fabrics explained and up close!
Here at Homestead Emporium we use several fabrics for the back of our main product line, our H.E.R. pads (Homestead Emporium Reusuable Pads)
In our pad making process we use two main types of waterproof fabrics,waterproof/water resistant fleece and PUL.
The water’proof’ fleece we use is always, and only, Polartec (formerly Malden Mills) fleece and 99% of the time, it is windpro. Why? Because, although it is a very expensive fleece, 99.99% of the time, it has never, ever, let us down. They do not classify it as ‘waterproof’ but instead it is classified as water ‘resistant’. However, in my years of experience with this fabric and women’s menstrual cycles, unless you make a mistake in bleaching it, or abusing it some how, for cloth pads it behaves 99.99% as waterproof as any other barrier fabric I have ever use.
It is also soft, durable, and very dependable.
All fleece(s) are NOT equal. The fleece you might buy at your local fabric store will be very different from the fleece we use at Homestead Emporium.My only dislike about the fleece we use, is it’s hard to get at a decent price, especially in a large variety of colors, unless you are able and willing to buy very large bolts. If you’ve seen my sewing studio, you’ll know that I do not have the space too many very large bolts. I also can not afford to be buying more then 2 or 3 bolts at any one time, so I try my best to be wise each time I buy, and rotate the colors I can add as often as possible to give our customers some variety and to keep several colors at all times in my current fabric rotation.
Within the windpro ‘family’ of fabrics, there are several different styles/types. Our favorites here at Homestead Emporium are mid weight, light weight and shirt weight. If you’ve purchased several pads from us, you may notice that some fleeces are different from others. The ‘weight’ of the fabrics is the main difference.
An example of Windpro Fleeces and their thicknesses, in close up.
Bottom– mid weight, Middle– light weight, Top– shirtweight,
-Mid weight is thicker then the other two, yet still soft. It is very durable and ‘solid’. Snaps hold very fast to this weight of fleece.
-The light weight fleece is a favorite. It’s still fairly ‘solid’ yet a tad trimmer then the mid weight. Perfect for those who want that ‘solid-ness’ in their pads yet don’t want more ‘substance’. If that makes any sense?
*An example of pads made with light weight waterproof fleece backing.-Shirt weight is SUPER trim, almost as trim as PUL. If you’re not familiar with pul, then I can best describe the thickness of this fleece as being almost as trim as a thick piece of construction paper but much more supple and has a really nice drape to it. However, as with anything, there is one drawback. It’s not as ‘solid’ for snaps, BUT, windpro is such a durable fabric that this usually is not a problem if care is taken not to ‘yank’ the snaps open. Just as you are careful in unsnapping/unbuttoning a more delicate blouse, care must be taken when using the shirt weight windpro. For those who really love a super trim, barely there pad, it’s well worth it.
When creating each of our pads, I keep the different types of fleece in mind for each style. The main issue we have with the fleece, and the ONLY reason we are not able to always offer every individual pad, in every type of fleece we carry, is often simply due to color matching. Because of our limited supply, we have limited colors of fleece, but we have endless colors of top fabrics. Sometimes this means either the fabrics won’t look 110% perfect with one another but will still look good. My dream is to one day have a rainbow of windpro, but unfortunately I don’t see that happening any time real soon.
Our other waterproof fabric is PUL.
Photo of black PUL on top of fleeces to show the thickness in comparison.
PUL is a knit fabric laminated on one side with Polyurethane.
The laminated side is ‘hidden’ within the pad and the knit fabric side is what you see/feel on the back of our pul pads.
My three favorite things about PUL are:
1. it is VERY leakproof
2. it is SUPER trim, if you’re not familiar with PUL, I can best describe it to be almost as thin as paper, but MUCH MUCH more soft and has a nice drape to it.
3. it comes in a HUGE array of colors
*An example of PUL backed padsIn my own personal stash, I have about as many PUL backed pads as I do windpro fleece backed pads. These are my ‘go to’ pads for when I am wearing jeans and I’m on my way out the door. I feel our pul backed pads are almost as trim as a store bought disposable pad.
What are the negatives about PUL?
First off, PUL does not stretch and conform as the fleeces do. This means it does not work well for some of our more ‘curvy’ pads.
It is “possible” to back an UltiMax, UltiMini or an UltiMini xs pad in pul, BUT, it doesn’t make for a very nicely fitting/conforming pad, so I really prefer to stick with the fleece for those curvier pads. For women who want the super trim pads in those shapes, I recommend the shirt weight and light weight. For those who want the SUPER soakability in those sizes, I recommend the light weight or mid weight fleeces.Some feel pul is too ‘slippery’. Personally, I find if I am wearing well fitting undies, this is not a problem. My favorite undies with my PUL backed pads are my dundies. They are wider in the gusset, and fit really well. There is no ‘wiggle’ room for the pad, and I think this makes a big difference. If the gusset area of your undies are too narrow for the size of pad you are using, or your undies are fitting a little ‘baggy’, then there can be the potential for a PUL backed pad to slide around. This is something to keep in mind. However, if you’re wanting a SUPER trim pad that is discreet, yet super reliable, especially in a nice fitting pair of jeans etc., PUL is really the way to go.
I hope this helps you to understand our main backing fabrics better!
Come check out all our fleeces and even a set with PUL at our stocking today!
http://hyenacart.com/HomesteadEmporium/ -
A peek around the sewing headquarters
Thought I’d take you on a little peek “tour” around the sewing studio this week.
Cuts, cuts, cuts… there’s always lots of cuts of fabric around.
Nursing pads all done and pantywraps waiting for snaps.
Random shot of some random wovens, yarn (which I intend to knit one day…) and other things.
Custom order all done, and more fabrics in the background. Lots of PRR (painted red rhino).
Another shelf with some pottery from Hands & Fire Pottery, a cute wooden sewing box from my mother in law, and just a few of my crafty books.
And last but not least, sewing… there’s always, always, ALWAYS lots of sewing going on.
Just a few little snapshots into my world.
Well… my sewing world anyways.