Happy Easter, everyone! In central New York, the weather is sunny, windy, and a bit cool to be outside. But snowdrops are blooming and the crocus have leaves breaking the surface. Yes, the first day of spring has come and gone (March 20), and there is hope that winter will soon leave. But I remember last year on April 16 that we had a major snowstorm--so I'm leaving my snow shovel out--at least until July 4! LOL
Great news! The American Quilter's Society is reprinting my book on CD! Dresden Plates of Distinction has been out of print for about a year in paper, so I am thrilled that it will again be available. The CD has the entire book on it; you just pop it into your computer and it opens! You can print pages, or just read on the computer screen. It's easy to store and the CD artwork is bright and colorful!
Needles and pins, needles and pins--what to do with those used ones. Here are a couple ideas that I use. At home I use salt and pepper shakers to put the used pins and needles in. They are decorative and pretty, and when they are full, I can take all the "sharps" and dispose of them properly. (I know that some of the cheaper salt shakers could probably just be taped closed and disposed of that way, but they are just too pretty to do that!) Those larger-headed pins that we love so much just don't fit into salt shaker holes, so I got a small grated cheese shaker to put near my machine--perfect to drop pins into without taking the lid off each time! The antique shaker in the center was a gift from a friend (Colette M.); I have it on my windowsill where I see and use it every day.
Did you also know that you should change your needles about every 8 hours of sewing? That also goes for the sewing machine--it shouldn't be changed just when it breaks! (You know who you are!) When needles dull, it takes more hand strength to sew, making our hands tired quicker and making us more suseptible to injury. Needles (hand or machine) are the cheapest part of our projects. It's money well invested.
Happy quilting!
I love your blog!Thanks for the good pointers about pins... the last time I changed my sewing machine needle was when it broke. I also remember the day I had to borrow a sewing machine needle from an elderly friend down the street, because I didn't have any extras!Luckily I have grown older and wiser, with Sharon's help:)Happy Easter!
ReplyDeleteVery nice--always bright!! What a great tip for pins--I often wondered to do with them even though I'm not a quilter or even a sewer--I still use pins for little crafts and need to do something with them!! Thanks for sharing even more of you and the wonderful photos!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures!
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