A new can of wall paint comes with a paint stirrer or two. I use them and I save them. Because I paint my walls often, I have lots of stirrers. I was about to thin my collection when I realized that these paint stirrers are a great record of the colors I have on my walls and trim. If I need to match the paint I can take the paint stirrer to the paint store and get an exact match – which is a lot easier than trying to take in a piece of the wall :-).

I drew a light, level pencil line on the wall in my utility room. I drilled a hole in the end of the stirrers with current paint colors. I wrote pertinent info on each stirrer and hung them with small nails. It’s nice to see them all lined up as time I come and go.

Wouldn’t you know it – Martha does this too! I just looked through a “how to paint” slideshow at marthastewart.com. I hate to say it, but her stirrers look better than mine – and she’s recorded more info on hers. Her paint can is tidier too. But she has a staff of helpers and I don’t!

This short film (found on Design*Sponge) was commissioned by AIGA in Maine to be shown between speakers at the Compost Modern Conference. The conference showcases how graphic design, advertising, engineering, manufacturing, and architecture can contribute to greater global awareness and ultimately, more sustainable solutions. Compostmodern provides valuable tips, tools and information to improve your business (and life) practice. That’s all wonderful and I wish them much success but what I liked the best was the pincushion that shows up at 24 seconds. I believe I’m going to need to make at least one and give him/her a name!

I re-discovered skirts last summer. They are cute and easy to move around in – and often they are more flattering than shorts. I’ve seen so many wonderful cotton quilt fabrics that I wanted to wear that I decided to take the plunge and make one.

I bought this pattern at Creations Quilt Shop in Kerrville, TX last month. I wanted to make skirt A – but I didn’t have enough fabric (I never thought that would happen!) Skirt B requires less of the primary fabric and has a contrasting band of fabric at the hem. I didn’t have enough of a single contrast fabric either – so I thought like a quilter and used 4 different fabrics.

It took about 5 hours to make a lined (I added the lining, the pattern doesn’t call for it) skirt with a zipper. I had to call on skills that I last used 20 years ago and was reminded that a 5/8″ seam allowance is HUGE. The skirt is cute on and swishy which On The Street reporter Bill Cunningham identified as a new trend in a video I watched this morning.

Making this skirt was way more fun that I remember it being. If you’re interested in skirts, you might also enjoy Sew What! Skirts. It’s a good resource.

My husband, Steve, took part in the Relay for Life last night. The funds raised go to the American Cancer Society to fight breast cancer. Several of his friends and colleagues at Austin College have fought breast cancer and one, Shellene Kelley, died a few months ago. The AC team ran in her honor.

Since Steve was the only man on the committee, he was nominated to take part in the men-dressed-as-women lap. There he is, with a determined look on his face, stunning in a Marilyn Monroe-type dress and Hannah Montana wig. He collected money in a lovely silver purse (picked up at Goodwill earlier in the day). You can’t see his feet, but the brown Birkenstock sandals truly completed the outfit.

This wonderful raffle quilt was a project by Meg Hawkey and the girls at Crab Apple Hill. Many quilt designers, Linda and I included, made blocks for the quilt top. Each designer also signed strips of fabric that were made into blocks and used on the quilt back. It was quilted by Debbi Trevino at Village Quiltworks.

The Forget-Me-Not raffle quilt will travel to the Quilt Inc. shows this year and will be raffled off by “Susan G Komen for the Cure” in December. Raffle tickets are available at the Susan G Komen site. Even if you don’t win the quilt, we all win if the funds raised bring a cure for breast cancer closer.

We recovered the chairs in the dining room to go with the new paint. Steve and I bought these chairs in our first year of marriage and that was 31 years ago! Needless to say – it was time for a change.

Steve pulled out the staples that held on the old upholstery. Whoever put this fabric on the chairs intended it to stay there forever.

I really like this fabric and it looks good with the leaf quilt on the wall!