Musing Crow Designs

Quilt sticks are two feet long are available in near endless widths as well as custom made sizes! I am a gadget girl. I always have been and will probably always be one. I think it comes from my father who had to try each new thing that came along too.   Quilt Sticks are rotary cutting tools that are designed to provide you with accurately cut strips every time. For me, using a Quilt Stick makes cutting strips faster and more accurate than using a regular ruler for cutting. Sometimes I have issues with regular rulers. My aging eyes can't always be quite certain that I am lined up precisely on the mark, and sometimes the ruler moves off the straight and narrow just a bit as I cut my strips (even when I use one of those suction cup handles). You know how it goes though, when you are 'just a bit' off and then add another strip that is also "just a bit' off, you end up with more than 'just a bit' off by then end of your project! I use many thin strips

This lovely ram looked like such a wise old goat! Our 2013 County Fair is now in progress. My friend, Lauren, and I went and a few things really caught me eye. We seem to follow the same pattern every year. The animals are our favorites. I have a thing for goats , and always come close to nabbing a pygmy goat to bring home. Then I stop and consider that were I to bring a goat home, it is likely that DH and I would love it so much that it would have to become a pet. Tillie would freak out, and the house would be a total mess. Bad idea, but I do love goats! This little cutie caught my eye, but when he stood up to try to eat our 'just purchased' baskets, we noticed that he/she seemed to have what looked like a broken leg! Whether broken or not it was swollen and he/she was avoiding putting weight on it. We pointed it out to someone and I hope that the leg was looked at quickly I also have a yen for ducks and who could resist these little quackers with their mom. 

A sad pin cushion before cleaning Although it may sound very dubious, one of the great pleasures of being retired has been being able to clean, sift, sort, toss and re-order my 'stuff'. When I working I simply did have the time or energy to really look too deeply, or care too much, about at what needed to be cleaned and tidied. One thing that I never thought I would ever care about cleaning is my pin cushions ! Just how bizarre is that?!  I use them all of the time of course, but they had become ugly and dirty with age. All of the of the pins and needles had become smooshed into them so deeply that I had no idea what size pins or needles were available, and it took some time to dig them all out! These images of this one pin cushion tell the tale of neglect. I removed all of the pins and needles from the pin cushions and cleaned the cushions themselves and then replaced the pins and needles; actually, neurotically, sorted by color and size! Can you believe the differen