Lestoil or More Toil, that is the question....

The unmistakable odor of LESTOIL hit my nose this morning... it was coming from under the kitchen sink!  I thought perhaps I had been sloppy when I used the Lestoil to clean the kitchen floor last time, so I poked around trying to find the source, and sure enough it did leak, but not the way I suspected!  It turns out the bottom of the bottle had cracked, and leaked a whole puddle of LESTOIL under the bottle and it's surrounding bottles - into a mess that I cannot describe in words, so here's the picture:

I thought I could just wipe it up and put everything back under the sink.... but that didn't work out so well, since the LESTOIL had dissolved the paint - it just doesn't seem to have a bottom anymore - the wood is so saturated that it continues to leach out of the wood under where the paint was....

 

very penetrating stuff!

 So, instead of playing in the snow (with a shovel, of course) this morning I am coping with this mess:

So, if any of my deadlines are missed this week, you know why.  I looks as though we may have to replace the kitchen cabinet (and hopefully NOT the floor UNDER the cabinet!) to completely purge the odor, since I don't think I'll ever be able to completely suck all that LESTOIL out of the base of this cabinet.

If you have a suggestion for how to get LESTOIL out of the wood, please - by all means!

Because I'd love to get back to the studio and do more sewing, or painting, or even tidying up my fabric stash!

a snowy, sewy weekend

Good Morning Snowbunnies -

We've made it through the 4th worst snow storm of all recorded time (for Pgh, PA, at least) and so far, so good!
Actually, I spent the day in the sewing studio with a bunch of little square friends.....

getting ready for a block swap!

We had about 16 to 18" here in Greensburg, just east of Pgh, and dh spent a LOT of the weekend digging the cars out so we could fulfill work and social needs with the help of an angel with a snow blower - and I made it to teach the first of a four part quilting class to very appreciate newbie quilters. 
... so, how was your weekend?  have you made a new friend lately?

lots and lots of squares

Yesterday, I spent the day cutting up 5 yards of fabric into squares.  Today I sewed half of the little squares to the corners of the big squares.  This evening I'm snipping threads and clipping corners.  Mindlessly seaming endless corners.  Looking forward to what they will look like when they get together with all the other squares from the FB Quilters Block Swap.

 

And, I'm almost done putting the binding on this little beauty:

 

 

 Tomorrow I'll be teaching, so watch for another post over the weekend.  Let me hear from you - don't be shy!

is it painting? or just messing with paint?

What's that you say?  Where have you been all week?  Oh, you don't care?  Well, I'll tell you anyway....
It's another cold snowy morning in SW PA - so I've been making messes at the 'painting salon' in the basement and turned out some very colorful batting scraps to use in an upcoming Fiber Art Trade/Challenge:

and yesterday I went to play with friends - with paintsticks and stencils and inkie goodies,

and the day before that, I was quilting on this:

which I'm hoping to finish today.

and then I'll be serving the "World Famous FPC Spaghetti Dinner" at the church tonight... so come on over - it's all you can eat!  Includes beverage, salad, bread and dessert for only $6!  Such a DEAL!  and I'll be your server, and you don't have to tip me!  how easy is that?

Monday already - where did the weekend go?

A few weeks ago, I joined an online yahoo group called QuiltersFleaMarket - hoping to post some things for sale as I de-cluttered my sewing studio and storage space.... so okay, I haven't posted anything yet, but for any of my newbie friends who are looking to BUY things for their studios, including books, sewing machines, etc. this is a goldmine!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/QuiltersFleaMarket/

Today I rec'd two wonderful packages in the mail - a box of Aurifil thread:

and a Fiber Art PostCard:

the picture doesn't do it justice - it looks like a treasure map - complete with little treasures made from silk, paper, and brass!  ...and doesn't my stove top make a good background?

Sometime last weekend I managed to start my 'calendar quilt' with a strip for each day of the year... here's January, so far:

I can see why they need to be trimmed at the end of the month...

And  the quilt rack is attached to the dining room wall:

complete with the dragonfly quilt I made some time ago.... and yes - this is hand applique - and free-hand machine quilted, with dozens of tiny little crystals on those orange flower petals.

So - it was a productive weekend, which explains why it is a blur in my memory!

Hope yours was a good weekend, too.

Sweethearts Rock, and sewing in general rocks my world!

Hello again,

I've been sewing again....

 

this little dittie will be mailed on Monday to my swap partner, and I'll be looking forward to the one she is going to send to me!  Whoohooo, what fun!  I love swaps!

Here's a close up:

those are not X's, they are BOWS!!!

Today I worked on my 'calendar quilt' adding 24 pieces to my strip so far this year.

Beautiful day today - hope yours was, too!

quilting progress

Good Morning (or Evening, or whatever...)
I've been spending a bit of time listening to online radio while I quilt - what fun!
Watch for a pic of my 'Sweethearts Rock' quiltlet coming soon....
Enjoy your day, whatever it brings.