a quick reply

the question was posed how i wash my charms and yes, i do use a lingerie bag.  first i scrunch up the squares to make sure they all get washed.  once out of the dryer, ironing is necessary but at least i know they have been washed and dried.  and yes, i have already chosen a patten and started cutting out the pieces for a small hand-pieced project.  what fun!

a "charm" ing squishie

recently participated in a civil war reproduction charm swap and so these arrived in the mail yesterday.  it is the most frugal way to obtain new stash.  first a quick trip to washer, then dryer, then into the stash for future small quilt projects.  *** dodged the SNOW bullet, but it is chilly for april here this morning.  maybe spring will come NEXT week?  there is always hope....and BTW, a happy birthday to Gladys Taber, author of the "stillmeadow" books.  if you haven't read one, you are in for a delightful sojourn!

a mod finish

so here is the mod tote for my laptop all finished except sewing up the seam inside where it got turned.  i think i used up about 7-8 FQs making this; it is always good to bust stash!  i saw a kit for this in a quilting catalog at $45, so decided to try and make it on my own with pretty good result i think.  even though these little 3.5" blocks sew up fast, it does take a bit of time to make enough for a project like this.  another shoebox got emptied as well, double good!  **** other than this finish, life is quiet here in our maine lake woebegone.  it's been cloudy and rainy for a few days but would you believe they are talking snow for tonight?  me either!  now on to another little project plus more quilting on autumn change.  and today's word?  enjoy! 

no need to ask....

what else i did on sunday...here's the proof.  this is probably the one time i am soooo glad we don't have a gas stove.  i turned on the back (i thought) burner, then had to run to the {ahem} facility, which is another, longer, much more unpleasant saga.  anyway, yes, i turned on the WRONG burner and quite soon the kitchen was smoky.  so glad it wasn't the cover else gordon ramsay would be, shall we say, disfigured?  i watched this series 4x on the BBC channel and loved it, so got the book; his other shows don't interest me because there is almost no content--all bleeped out.  unlike many cooking shows, this one is for the home aka normal cook.  no wacky or expensive tools or ingredients, but he does utilize some new-to-me spices that are interesting and jazz up banal recipes.  like most professionals, he makes it look super easy and simple.  those i've tried so far are very good and fairly quick to prepare.  i flung 3 cookbooks so i've room to keep this one.  now back to quilting......   

early morning strippin'

on the to-do list today was to cut a stack of 1.5" strips for an upcoming swap.  experience has taught me NOT to commit to 10-12 packages, and this time it was 4.  so pulled out an elfa drawer and cut 40 strips 11 x 1.5" (bottom right).  and since the rotary cutter was warmed up, also cut a stack of repro strips for an inprocess project (bottom left), which left, obviously, leftovers of some short strips, inchies and then strings (top, left to right).   glad to say the trash can didn't get fed much at all from this task.  **** with this done, can go back to laptop tote and some hand quilting and it isn't even 9 AM yet...how good is that?